On Jan 27, 7:00 pm, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Jan 27, 2:38�pm, Wine For Newbies >
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Jan 27, 2:33 pm, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
>
> > > On Jan 27, 1:18 pm, Wine For Newbies >
> > > wrote:
>
> > > > My dream is to open a wine store (wine only, not a generic liquor
> > > > store) at some point in the future.
> > > > I would like to know if there are store owners in the group who would
> > > > like to share their experiences.
> > > > Was it worth it opening the store? Is it still worth it? Pitfalls? How
> > > > to get figure out the numbers for a business plan? Any information is
> > > > helpful.
>
> > > From a customer's viewpoint, I would strongly encourage you to include
> > > a few quality beverages that may be served before, with, or after a
> > > meal. Depending on what country you are in, these might include
> > > Cognac, Armagnc, fruit eau-de-vie such as Framboise, perhaps a few
> > > quality liquors. In other words, I would suggest a one-stop for buying
> > > what you need for a dinner. If customers are forced to go to another
> > > store to buy Cognac, etc they need for a meal, they may find it more
> > > convenient to buy their wine at the other store also.
>
> > That makes sense. I just don't want to fall into opening a liquor
> > store that looks cheap.
> > Thank you,
>
> > Andrehttp://www.winefornewbies.com/-Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> It would help to know where you are located. With direct shipping and
> easy internet access we're seeing a change in the retail wine store
> business. As a distributor we noted a 14% decrease in sales to retail
> outlets in 2007 in revenue but a small increase in volume and analysis
> of those numbers showed an increase in sales of moderately priced
> French, Italian and German wines and a decrease in sales of domestic
> value wines. We also noted that 14 retail wine stores closed in Ohio
> and Kentucky in 2007. I personally knew four of those store owners
> and all of them closed due to downward margin pressure from larger
> players and internet sales and increased overhead. The bottom line is
> that high end, allocated wines are not making it into the hands of the
> small retailer and it's hard to make a living selling wines priced at
> under $20 bottle by bottle. Low end wines require large volumes and
> it's hard to compete against WHole Foods, Costco, etc in that market
> given the advertising budget and marketing power of the larger
> players.

Thank you for your very helpful info. I live in New York, but I don't
believe opening a store in Manhattan will be an option, considering
the exorbitant costs in the city.
I do plan on taking a more high-end approach, so your feedback also
helps me consolidate my idea a little better.
I noticed some new stores popping up around Manhattan, but mostly they
have a different and fresh approach to wine selling. They are clean-
looking, with one single bottle of each wine on display, good lighting
and excellent customer service. I do hope there is still space in the
market for me when I am ready.

Again, thank you.

Andre