Helping my pops with his C-Store/Mart - absolutely any tips would be really appreciated!

[cazzylight]

hello family!

backstory:

my pops opened up a small local store right before covid (i know right)

he's done manual labor a long time and wanted to try something different and useful; it actually is located right where a lot of immigrant laborers he'd hire (and pay well) come to stand around in the mornings in hopes of finding work

but with doing something new comes inexperience - he had no idea what he was doing lol

still doesn't! But through persistence and a lot of trial and error, things have been slowly getting better and better.

products:

- snacks, chips, drinks, ice cream, and other convenience store type stuff

- fruits - tried making it solely fruits and vegetables at one point but it wasn't enough volume (at least at that time)

- frozen goods and essential groceries (small certain selections)

- dollar store type goods (small selection)

- 90% of the items are hispanic brands

clientele:

- as mentioned above, mainly laborers in the area

- mostly Guatemalan hispanic families in the neighboring apartments

location:

- there is literally no parking whatsoever incl. the street it's on, it's very significantly dependent on foot traffic of the local community.

Have cigarettes, just got lottery put in about 2 weeks ago which has been working out pretty well.

He tried some hot foods and coffee at a point but said in didn't do too well because the store doesn't open early enough (8am). I was thinking of getting some Jimmy Dean type ready-made breakfast sandwiches and things like that maybe.

The biggest thing I'm trying to figure out is ITEMS FOR THIS MARKET!

My father and I only speak a bit of Spanish but we're very friendly and generally liked by customers and regulars. But the barriers in language and culture still make it difficult to gauge what products will:

- be of most value

- be needed

- sell (obv)

in regards to ingredients, merchandise, foods, snacks - I mean everything really. Mainly for hispanic families but I know that all hispanic cultures are *not* the same which is why I stress the neighborhood being mainly Guatemalan.

I plan to attempt some market research and plainly walk around asking neighbors door to door if they'd like to provide any recommendations or suggestions. I also want to make some printed marketing material with prices for the local area because a big incentive for customers is the cheap prices here. He doesn't mark up products egregiously. I'm also helping set up socials, FB/IG, maybe some paid campaigns, GMB, delivery on DD and GrubHub, etc.



Absolutely any and all suggestions, tips, advice, distributor referrals, etc is

MASSIVELY​

appreciated!

______________________________________

Here are 6 photos of the store and its current setup

(we've been moving stuff around which explains some areas looking out of stock):

https://ibb.co/zFNfsQ4

https://ibb.co/7ypsbtM

https://ibb.co/YDtLzMT

https://ibb.co/16MBMM3

https://ibb.co/qdRCq1N

https://ibb.co/XX1fGyH

 

[613jono]

@cazzylight Ok I'll throw my two cents in here. Please forgive me if I sound harsh but I'll give you my thoughts as if this was one of the stores I've taken over and rebuilt. And obviously you might not be able to do some of this immediately but rather might be something to think about over time.

The aisles appear to be really narrow. Narrow aisles usually turn people off. Also the floors being all different colors and the kind of "all over the place" feel just doesn't go well. For us whether a place is small or big presentation is important. Like our stores are not professionally designed but we try to keep it neat and organized.

On the counter area. It looks like there are 2 liters in the cooler there and a doorway and an entrance way at the counter. Is there anyway to move that entrance to somewhere less front facing? The counter you really want to have you best high margin quick grab items. And have as much of that area for product as possible. So there would be where you would want stuff like candy bars, single serve cookies beef jerky, 5 hour energy etc. I would want the counter to be as uniform as possible. The cooler that's there I would either get rid of or fill it with premade lunch sandwiches, grab and go stuff that has higher margins. Or if you're able to get a beer and wine license which here is almost necessary for a c-store I'd put things like single server beers in there. I see in the background stuff like gloves. Unless you have a shoplifting problem with them I wouldn't put them there. Being the counter I'd make sure that people see stuff like cigarettes, lighters, single serve medicine, prepaid phone cards, USB chargers. Stuff that either has to stay behind the counter legally or stuff that is more expensive and has a high chance of being stolen

Then stuff that's a tad lower margin would be close to the counter but maybe on the other wall away from the counter. Stuff like chips, ice cream cooler, etc.

Lower margin and slower moving cooler stuff I'd put toward the back. Stuff like milk, 2 liters, cases of soda or water, normal grocery item, etc. There's stuff that people will just impulse buy and then there's stuff people are after. Stuff people are after they will get it regardless.

From pictures of the grocery section I'd make sure bigger items were kept on the lower shelves they are easier to see and easier to grab without bending over unlike smaller items. If it's trying to keep like items on a specific shelf maybe try going vertically up the shelves. So like big cereal boxes on the lower shelf, smaller cereals on the next shelf,
Then the Quaker oats and stuff like that on the next shelf, then single serve cereals on the next shelf and then maybe something a tad bigger in the top shelf.

Like there looks to be a lot of rice and Spanish food there from one of the pictures. The statement I'd say to myself is that's a lot of rice stuff, but I've never dealt with a Spanish clientele so I dunno. But I would try to put that all in one 4-5 foot section. Bags on bottom a couple of shelves of rice and then other stuff from there up.

Just curious how you get products for the store? Like here there are distributors that will literally build a store for you if you want them to so I'm assuming they'd be more than willing to help with product ideas. And on stuff that didn't sell how long was an attempt made to sell them? Like we had a store that we tried selling premade lunch sandwiches and the staff pretty much got free lunches for like 6 months before we stopped having an issue with stuff going out of code.

 

[thisguy00]

@cazzylight I don't know many Guatemalans in the US but I do frequent Hispanic grocery stores. Most of the Central Americans in my area seem to buy a lot of Mexican products because that is what is readily available. I would recommend talking to the guys hanging around and asking them what they would like to see in the store.

I would definitely look at carrying products that are more familiar Hispanic brands. For example, our local QTs (and even Walmart) carry the Bimbo pastries like Nitos and Donas. They fly off the shelves! Jarritos are always popular even though they are Mexican. I know this sounds kind of weird, but people are willing to pay more for their familiar brands (think Suavitel instead of Downy.)

I think you would probably be making a mistake with the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches. Look into finding a local chef to partner with for some sort of "homemade" option. Here, all of the stores sell tamales in the morning. I know Guatemalans have their own sort of tamales (I think they do tamales en hoja instead of corn husk), but the flavor profiles are different and you would definitely have to talk to someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[613jono]

@thisguy00 The only thing with talking to a local guy for sandwiches is you'd have to check with your local health board. I know usually here it's a different license to sell prepackaged foods and more homemade style foods.

 

[613jono]

@cazzylight Shabbir Hossain has a few books that are corner store and gas station focused, like Sales Genie, that can give you a lot to think about regarding how to look at customer preferences, how to price merchandise, and run promotions.

 

[nhgamer500]

@cazzylight Tortillas vinegar jalapeños ( Chiles la morena is a good known brand) , get water, Gatorade, sodas. Try to open earlier for hot food ,mostly what they get is coffee,tea, and hot chocolate. Donuts and pastries which are in packages. (Muffins , croissant, danish). Have tools like gloves, scissors, zip ties , measuring tape , duct tape, a small hardware like section. Some always forgets something,if you say majority are day laborers and most clients are Hispanics remember this majority like to fix items themselves so having that small area plus ,get a small area of vegetables which consist mainly of red tomatoes, jalapeño peppers ,onions ,cilantro, spices.

 

[laluz12]

@cazzylight With Jimmy Dean foods and with other cold and pre-packaged foods like you're considering, you can accept EBT/Food Stamps which might also help a lot. He can then offer to microwave/heat them up as a free service. (Food stamps won't cover them if he cooks them beforehand as they don't cover hot foods)

Also, look into selling some smoke shop items. Kratom is a HUGE hit for c-stores. OPMS is a VERY popular c-store brand (like the ones here: https://www.wholesaleonline1.com/categories/c-store/kratom.html), as are glass "tobacco pipes" (depending on your state). Another good seller are those "sex pills" that use a legal analogue of the active ingredient in Viagra. Those impulse buys right at the register with huge profit margins make a big difference.

This might sound goofy (like, really goofy, and I know a lot of people that read this will roll their eyes and/or downvote me), but have him livestream to tiktok. Tiktok live shots of stores and people at work are getting insanely popular for some reason, ESPECIALLY if it's the business owner streaming them and not just the worker. I've seen streams of c-stores and smoke shops that will have thousands of viewers at any given time. And it's literally just people checking customers out, talking to customers, sometimes answering questions from the livestream. This will encourage younger people in the area to stop by AND the (small) tips/gifts he gets from the live stream will be a nice tiny little bonus that might cover his electricity bill.

 

[rotting]

@cazzylight If possible make shelves lower and maybe remove a row to make more room to walk. How are your dollar items selling? If not good enough sale get rid of them. Add more snacks candy's chips add more cooler items coke Pepsi products. Talk to your local coke/Pepsi Rep. They can setup cooler for you. Add salty snacks.

 

[ralphalvarezz]

@rotting Generally you can get Coke/Pepsi cheaper at Walmart than what the distributors will sell for.

 

[ralphalvarezz]

Tell them it is for resale. They may not charge you tax. Depends on your state, I think.

 

[xic]

@cazzylight Fried chicken - I know a guy who added $100k to his bottom line from selling it. Easy to make and store. Also see if you can add a “skill games” machine (basically a slot machine). Depends on what state you’re in - in places like GA and PA those machines are bringing in more money than the store itself.

 

[davidcn]

@cazzylight Reach out to your local small business development center and see if you can get some help with translation and market research, as well as stocking assistance.

Personally, I'd place the sodas and ice cream to the right when you enter. Instead of having 2-liter soda on the left in the deli case, I'd consider placing meat and deli or items in it.

I'd also be taking Spanish classes as well, maybe hiring someone local to help with it.