Point of sale analysis: how to find a “fish spot. Choosing a place for a store - a separate room or a shopping center

How often do I hear this old expression. And by the way, I totally agree with him. Recently, during a webinar, one of the listeners also wrote to me in a chat: “If the store is in a good place, success will be sure. "

It's hard to argue, so we're looking for a good place.

But if you think about it, few people rent premises for a store, spend money on opening, and at the same time believe that the place they have chosen is bad. So why do I hear so often from entrepreneurs the sacramental phrase

« We got the wrong place."

The fact is that the word "good" is an abstraction. To assess the suitability of a retail space, specific quality criteria must be adopted, and each store concept will have its own criteria, with their own hierarchy of their importance for the success of the store. If the entrepreneur does not have such a set of criteria, then there is a high risk of making a mistake and opening a store that will not be visited enough to become profitable.

What kind of mistakes that can be called “typical” are most often made? Especially if the future owner of the store believes that this place is “good”, simply because, for example, there are a lot of people in this Shopping Center, or the trading room is located on a very busy street. There is a lot to say here, but if you generalize such errors, you get the following:

Probably the most common and most dangerous mistake - the concept of the store does not match the characteristics of the flow . That is, the number of people passing by the store is large, but the proportion of your potential buyers among them is low. You pay high rent for this amount, but in reality, these are not your people. For example, you have youth clubwear, and your store is located on a very busy business street with offices. Among the clerks and managers there are not many regular buyers of this kind of clothing.

The store is in the "right" location, but for some reason it's hard to get into. This may be the entrance from the side of the building, in the case of a separate store. Or the third floor of the shopping center, or some other "barriers" between visitors and the entrance to the store. Quite often, entrepreneurs cannot assess the seriousness of the impact of such a “barrier” on future store attendance.

The quality of the premises itself does not allow for sufficient comfort for customers. No ventilation, no air conditioning in the south facing room. Often, when deciding on a lease, entrepreneurs do not pay attention to it, thinking that it positive sides(i.e big flow), its location, outweigh these "small" flaws. But for successful business customers should not only enter the store, but also buy in it. In a stuffy, hot trading floor, if there is not enough oxygen in the air, the conversion drops seriously. Yes, and sellers can not normally work a full shift. And no amount of motivation will help. Hygiene factors are very important.

No showcases. I myself remember very well how we rented a room in a very good Moscow shopping center, with high attendance, but the entrance to the store was through a short corridor. It was not even a corridor, but rather a wide and short hallway, but there was no shop window. And although we carefully designed this “hallway”, and the rent was much lower than in neighboring normal premises, and we agreed to place free advertising for the store in the shopping center itself, we did not manage to send ENOUGH visitors to the store. After some time, the store had to close. Also strong influence the shape of the trading floor has a bearing on the return of the trading area.

Your customers are driving and you have nowhere to park. Sometimes it's more difficult. Your product suggests that you need to come by car for it. For example, you sell flowers in pots. Few people will buy flowers to carry them in their hands. And it's hard to get to you . For example, there is no exit from the highway.

What is the resume?

Well, firstly, before signing a lease agreement, it is imperative to conduct an examination of it for the presence of all sorts of "traps and ambushes." In order for you to be able to do it yourself, I have made

Secondly, first develop a set of criteria for the correct assessment of the premises. This set is designed based on the characteristics of your target audience, situations of consumption of your goods, basket of consumption and other essential elements of the concept of your future store. I talk about this in detail at the seminar.

Some people say that doing business in our country is very difficult. Others, on the contrary, consider Russia one of the best countries to create your business. Both of them are right to some extent. You can do business with us, just like in any other country. And not always the difficulties that arise in the process of implementing an idea are the reason for starting a business in a particular territory (as some entrepreneurs believe). After all, there can be many reasons for success or failure. Today, under the rubric, we will talk about how to choose the right place for a store. Very often, the location is key factor affecting the success of trading.

If you yourself opened a store or saw how your friends and acquaintances did it, then you can certainly confirm the following statement. The vast majority of entrepreneurs opening their first one either do not conduct market research, or do it for show. Most often it comes down to "glancing" to the side closest competitors: an entrepreneur simply looks at a nearby store and tries to transfer the moments he likes to his future business.

Such important issue like, sometimes no attention is paid. Simply select a room at the best price. And then the owners of outlets complain that there are few customers and they have to work at a loss. To prevent this from happening to your business, we advise you to approach the choice of a suitable place for a store with all seriousness.

Tips for choosing the perfect store location

To begin with, it is worth clarifying one very important thought. The success of any store depends on three components - location, location, or once again location. This is how experienced traders joke, and this joke very seriously reflects the real state of affairs in the "shop" business.

So, the ideal place for a store should have two very important indicators. First, there must be a good flow of potential customers nearby. It can be pedestrians or owners vehicles. Secondly, your store should be easily accessible. It's about not only about a good entrance, but also about the availability of parking for cars.

These are the main criteria, but not all. For example, an important factor is the presence of competing stores nearby. The fewer, the better for you. But do not rejoice if there is not a single competing object. This may indicate the “lack of demand” for a niche in this area. Influences business success and social level district. If the “elite class” prevails here, then you should not count on the demand for cheap clothes. Conversely, it doesn't make sense to open a branded clothing boutique in a working-class neighborhood.

Separately, it is necessary to say about the formats of retail trade, on which the choice of a particular room depends. This may be a stand-alone store in a residential area, in a shopping area, or located outside the city. In addition, it can be a room in a large building or an area in a shopping center.

We will not dwell on the first formats, since we have listed the main success factors above. But about perfect location under a store in a shopping center, it is worth dwelling in more detail, since several important parameters are added here. One of the most important of these is the area of the store. As you know, traffic in shopping centers is very high. Therefore, there is a chance that several dozen people can enter your store at the same time (especially if the product is in demand). Your task is to offer the most comfortable conditions. And the square plays no last role in this matter.

The next important parameter when choosing a place for a store is the distance of your outlet from the main entrance to shopping center. The closer to the entrance or exit is the rented area, the better. The client will visit your store at the very beginning and, if he can find the product of interest, he may immediately make a purchase. In addition, he can re-enter you at the exit if he forgot or did not find something from other merchants.

If we talk about a place for a store in a shopping center, then pay attention to the location of the shopping center, the proximity of stops public transport, the presence of a large parking lot and the average attendance on weekends and weekdays. This will help you create a more accurate business plan that will surely lead to success.

The choice of floor is another parameter influencing success. It applies to absolutely all stores, and not just those located in shopping centers. Man is a lazy creature. It is a fact. If he can find something on the first floor, then he will never go for it on the second, and even more so on the third or fourth. Probably, for this reason, renting premises on the first floors of buildings is always more expensive than on the upper ones. Don't make your potential clients bother going up, look for rooms downstairs.

You should also pay attention to the interior layout of the room. Your store should be convenient and understandable for customers. You should not rent areas that look more like a labyrinth with a minotaur. If it is difficult for the client to navigate inside, he is unlikely to want to come to you a second time.

According to a well-known American saying, when choosing a place to open a store, the most important factors are the three "L" - "Location, location & location". On the scale, as a rule, there are two options - street trading or a square in a shopping center - each of which has its own characteristics. We recommend checking them with your type of business and expectations, and only after that make a decision on choosing a coveted place.

We already have enough information and may well move on to choosing the location of your offspring. There is only a small recommendation - important and mandatory:

The store is designed to bring profit to its owner, so even if it seems that you have found your niche, and for some reason things are no longer going well, you can (and should) repurpose your store in such a way that it meets the new requirements of buyers, your contract with a new brand, or its assortment has changed to a more popular one.

If you neglect this recommendation, you can lose not only money, but also the time invested in the store opening project. Do not grasp at straws if there is a lifeboat nearby. Even if the straw for some reason seems prettier to you.

Rule of three "L"

When it comes to choosing a location (premises or land plot) for your future store, it is worth remembering the American saying about the three "L". What is the most important thing in a new venture? These are three "L" - "Location, location & location". The place can rightly be considered the most important element of the success of the future store. Precisely because the place is a fundamental component of the whole affair, its choice should be taken very seriously.

First, let's decide on a fundamentally important decision in the store placement strategy - street trading or location in a shopping center. Then we will learn how to evaluate the proposed premises or site by conducting market research. To conclude this, we will look at concepts such as zoning and store fronts.

So, the age-old question is a street (sometimes they also say street-retail, in the English manner) or a shopping center? Let's think about the pros and cons of these accommodation options, and also suggest which stores would be more profitable to locate in one place or another.

To start, a little history. street trading- these are free-standing shops or shops located on the first floors of residential or apartment buildings; it is perhaps the oldest form of trading that has survived to this day. It originates from antique shops, medieval guilds and shops of Russian merchants. Usually the shop was on the first floor, and the owner (merchant or craftsman) lived above it. Every morning he went down, unlocked the bolt from the inside and received customers. Such stores were specialized because they were run by shoemakers, blacksmiths, potters and other artisans.

Merchants, of course, could deal with many types of goods at the same time. It can even be said that the merchants were wholesalers and small wholesalers. Artisans of Europe united in workshops and guilds, settled nearby. This is how commercial and industrial quarters and streets appeared - Kuznetsky, Weaving, Paper, thanks to which many Russian and European cities received most geographical names. Shopping streets are still common in the cities of Europe, but have almost disappeared with us. The urban planning policy of the Soviet era and the rejection of traditions are making themselves felt. However, to the credit of the Moscow government, it should be noted the trend towards the restoration and development of pedestrian shopping streets in the center of the capital.

Shopping and entertainment centers trace their pedigree from equally important ancestors from a historical point of view. These are fairs and markets that existed (exist to this day) all over the world. One day it occurred to our ancestors that it was possible to trade not only on weekends and holidays, but constantly, all year round.

So there were "stationary" shopping arcades and markets. In addition to trade, these places also attracted various entertainment enterprises: circuses, street theaters, jugglers and fakirs, and musicians. Going to a market or fair was similar to today's trip to a shopping and entertainment center: shopping was carried out there, you could have a bite to eat, find out latest news and watch the show.

This is how shopping centers are now working using this synergy. They combine many functions and satisfy many needs of buyers/visitors.

So what are the pros and cons of street-location stores and those located in shopping and entertainment centers? The table below provides a small comparison.

One of the main questions when planning a new store is the choice of its location. The profitability of the future enterprise will largely depend on its decision.

The primary task is to decide on the format of the store, whether it will be a separate store or a store in one of the shopping centers.

Shopping center

Pros:

As a rule, high permeability due to a synergistic effect.

There is an interesting pattern in the world of retail, it happens that a competitor that opens right next to your store not only does not reduce your turnover, but also leads to an increase in the number of customers, such a cluster of stores makes it very popular for customers, and they come even from remote areas for the sake of wide range and choice.

This is the so-called synergistic effect, when several stores standing nearby provide positive influence for each other's trade. shopping malls use this feature to the maximum, ensuring a consistently high flow of customers for each of the mall's stores.

Minimum costs for repairs and equipment. Usually the rented space in the shopping center is already repaired and ready to go. Commercial equipment is often provided by the center itself for rent or is sold there at a discount. It is also an advantage that the shopping center provides a ready-made infrastructure and you do not need to take care of it. This includes car parking, electricity, and the Internet.

Strategic planning of the shopping center.

As a rule, the manager of shopping centers is monitored, the number various types stores in order to provide a well-balanced range of products to customers, and thus make the center attractive. Similarly, management tends to locate stores serving the same target market next to each other. Thanks to this, the traffic of target customers is growing, which has a beneficial effect on the revenue of each particular store.

All you need is a lease agreement. An extremely simple registration of a retail outlet for rent, as a rule, the management of the shopping center itself deals with interaction with various inspection and permitting organizations. This plus is quite important, you have no idea how much you will save nerves, paper and time by renting an area in a shopping center.

Minuses:

Difficulties in design. Even if the mall does not adhere to the policy of unity of design of all stores, it is still very difficult to translate your design decisions on the design of the store into reality.

Although some shopping centers, on the contrary, have too strict requirements for the author's design of the store, and in order to meet the high standards of the shopping center, you will have to pay a round sum for the development of a design project, repairs and redevelopment.

The impact of the mall.

The traffic of your store and, accordingly, the revenue directly depend on the popularity of the shopping center where you are located. Any problems of the shopping center automatically become your problems and when the popularity of your center falls, no miraculous solutions will save your store from losses.

On the other hand, your store will never reach sky-high heights, because it is still limited by the influence of the mall, and if its popularity is stable, you will feel some ceiling that will be very difficult to pass.

High rent for really good places in the mall. You are unlikely to find a good location (especially a small area) for a moderate rent, finding a location will always be the choice of the most acceptable compromise between price and attractiveness.

Separate shop

Pros:

Low store maintenance costs. If you own a store, the cost of maintaining such a store will be several times less than renting a similar area in a shopping center.

For example, I will compare the cost of maintaining some stores (real amounts are given for August 2011 for some stores in one of the cities of Russia with a population of 450 thousand people).

Independent stores:

Shop 1 (40 squares): 6680 rubles.
Store 2 (95 squares): 17,805 rubles.
Shop 3 (150 squares): 20,780 rubles.
Shop 4 (80 squares): 11,700 rubles.

Stores in shopping malls:

Shop 1 (27 squares): 33,150 rubles.
Shop 2 (80 squares): 72,800 rubles.
Shop 3 (52 squares): 52,400 rubles.

It often happens that it is more profitable to take out a loan and buy the premises as a property than to rent retail space. Even taking into account loan repayments, the cost of maintaining a store may be less than the cost of renting in a shopping center.
Freedom in planning and design.

IN this case you are (almost) not limited by anything and are free to do whatever you want with your store, giving it a personality, making it attractive to customers. Thanks to the design features, you can really stand out from the competition and get additional profit.

Minuses:

No synergistic effect. In order to attract customers, your store must be of particular interest to them, this is a unique product, prices, events.

Although, on the other hand, if it is a grocery or other store selling everyday items, it does not particularly need synergy, the main thing is that there are more houses in its coverage area and fewer competitors.

It takes a lot of time and effort both for the initial design of the store, as well as for everyday communication with various communal and permitting structures.

Infrastructure.

Everything that is necessary for the operation of a separate store you will have to do and maintain on your own, these are light, water, heat, the Internet, cleaning the territory, organizing a convenient approach to the store, parking spaces, etc. All this is not so difficult, but still requires a certain amount of time and money.

How do shops usually open? IN best case- after a simple marketing research. A subjective analysis of already operating stores is carried out, fragmentary information about competitors is collected, and a simplified sociographic portrait of the territory is compiled. But a few months pass, and it turns out that the revenue is half as much as expected. Consider the approaches to choosing a location for a retail outlet that are used by the most successful traders in the Russian market.

We can single out the following methods for the effective deployment of a retail network, which are used by the most successful merchants in the Russian market:

franchising;
purchase of an existing business through mergers or acquisitions;
building your stores on their own using both own and debt financing.

To create or develop an existing retail network, you need the following types key resources:

financial;
temporary.

Importance of financial resources there is no need to explain. Of course, the company can attract investments and borrowed funds, but the level of the former is limited by risk managers investment funds or other institutional investors, and the level of the latter directly depends on the capitalization of the company.

As for the second factor, then o the influence in rapidly developing markets is often even higher than the influence of the financial factor. If the network did not take any promising place, then it went to competitors and the network lost twice: the first time, when it lost its potential income, and the second time, when the competitor received this income.

If we rank each of the ways of network development n about capital intensity, then the following sequence is obtained:

purchase of a business (the costs are the highest, since in addition to the appraised value of the company's property, it is also necessary to pay for some intangible assets of the acquired company, of course, if the company does not experience financial problems and is not in bankruptcy.
construction ;
franchising.

Ranking by time spent yes t the following picture:

construction (maximum time spent: direct acquisition of land and construction, recruitment, training, etc.);
acquisition of existing retail assets (needs time to complete the transaction and time to integrate business processes);
franchising.

We see that, from the point of view of time and capital expenditures, it is most effective to expand the activities of a retail network through a franchising program. Certainly for the sake of high speed you have to give up a certain share of the profits. If we rank networks organized on different principles, according to share of the profits remaining at their disposal, then the following picture is obtained:

Wholly owned networks that do not outsource logistics and other operations that own all real estate, which are used by the network to carry out activities. In this case, we are dealing with a quasi-vertically integrated company that has margin at its disposal as a property owner (stores as properties), as a retailer (stores as points of sale and inventory management) and as a logistics operator (transport and warehousing).
Wholly owned chains that partially outsource logistics and other operations, lease all or part of real estate, which are used by the network to carry out activities. In this case, the network loses part of the income from outsourcing activities and does not receive income as a property owner.
A network based on the principles of franchising. Such a network not only does not receive income as a property owner and logistics operator, but also gives away part of the margin on retail operations to franchisees.

From this classification it is clear that ownership of the entire network, including real estate, gives the greatest gross margin and minimal risk, and the use of a franchise allows you to get only a part of the profit from the retail trade in a certain territory. But it is also clear that the efficiency of using investments is inversely proportional to the value of the margin remaining at the disposal of the merchant. In the case of a franchise network financial resources franchisor are used most effectively - for the implementation of the most key function - the creation and replication effective technologies retail. Networks built on the principle of franchising most fully implement the concept of financial logistics - a total reduction in costs throughout the supply chain.

The role of logistics infrastructure in retail

The role of logistics infrastructure in retail manifests itself in the following components:

Store location.
Select the type of retail premises.
Creation of infrastructure of individual retail outlets (shops).
The location and type of the distribution center or centers of the network or simply warehouses that support the activities of the retail network.

As you know, the store is characterized by three main parameters rami - place, place and place. This only partly playful maxim has the right to life, since the value of this factor is an order of magnitude higher than the value of such fa ktorov, as the area of the outlet and its other characteristics. If we are talking about the location of the outlet, then we immediately come across the following important parameters that affect the logistics of the store:

availability of convenient entrances to the location.
human flow, pedestrian or vehicle, passing near the location of the outlet.

A number of formats do not involve the use of storage space at all, and in a number of formats (in hypermarkets), warehousing can be carried out on the same area from which retail sales. Each of the retail formats has specific requirements for real estate. These requirements are summarized in Table. one.

Table 1. Real estate requirements for trade enterprises of various formats.

Format	Room height	Finishing Requirements	Flow Logistics
hypermarket	10 m (due to the need to organize the second and third tiers of racks for storing inventory)	Medium	Excellent transport accessibility, large parking
Supermarket	3.5-5 m (required to create comfortable atmosphere)	High	Good transport accessibility, availability of parking, availability of pedestrian flows
Discounter		Below the average	Large pedestrian flows, availability of parking
Shop at home	2.5-3.5 m ( standard height middle-class commercial premises)	Medium	Passing place, the presence of parking is not important

In addition to the fact that the type of retail outlet is largely determined by the format, it also depends on the type of location of the outlet. The following types of outlets are distinguished:

street retail (or street retail)- detached stores located in a shopping area or on a shopping street with street entrances;
as part of a shopping center;
detached store located in a residential area(such as a separate discounter or supermarket located in the center of a residential area);
detached store located on a country road or in other parts of the city, which, by virtue of its size, is itself a place of attraction for buyers.

It is clear that in the latter case, the analysis of the logistics of customer flows becomes somewhat more complicated - it is necessary not only to analyze existing flows, but also to predict an increase in flows after opening stores of this type and reaching their planned performance indicators. This issue becomes especially relevant in the case of designing such stores or large shopping centers in central regions cities or on highways with insufficient throughput. In this case, there is a significant risk that after the opening of a large retail outlet, increased traffic or pedestrian flows will cause significant traffic jams, which will alienate potential consumers.

Consider general approaches used when choosing a location for a retail outlet.

How do shops usually open? At best - after a simple marketing research. A subjective analysis of already operating stores is carried out, fragmentary information about competitors is collected, a simplified sociographic portrait of the territory is compiled: a poor area, an elite one ... It is determined whether there is a large flow of people in the place where a new shopping facility is planned. Further decision dictates intuition, common sense company owners and managers.

But a few months pass, and it turns out that the revenue is half as much as expected. It's too late to change something: a lot of money has been invested in the equipment and repair of the store, the rent has been paid a year in advance. Worse than that, often the firm does not have any methodology at all that could be regularly used to decide on the closure of unprofitable stores.

The problem is further complicated by the fact that there is often not enough retail space on the market. It is necessary to evaluate offers from realtors quickly, otherwise there is an op asnost to be left with nothing. There is only one way out in this situation - to use more advanced forecasting methods that help avoid gross errors. One of them is peer review method. which allows you to combine objective indicators and subjective opinions about the trading facility.

Mathematically, the relationship between the characteristics of the outlet and its financial result is described using a special normalizing coefficient. To obtain this indicator, an expert assessment of already operating chain stores is carried out according to a number of criteria. Then the subjective assessment - in its quantitative terms - is compared with the revenue of each store. This can be easily done by dividing the average (for example, average monthly) sales of the outlet by the appropriate valuation value. The resulting number is the normalizing coefficient.

What is the accuracy of such forecasts and what does it depend on? If the normalization coefficients of different stores do not differ from each other by more than 5-10%, you are very lucky: you have acquired an indispensable business tool. In this case, the forecast for the revenue of new stores that you will have to evaluate will be within the same 10%.

However, the case described above is ideal. In reality, the picture you would like to get can be distorted by a number of subjective factors.

First, it is necessary to correctly select the most important evaluation criteria and find a mechanism to describe them quantitatively. And it's not always easy. One thing to measure trading area in square meters, the other is to measure the intensity of the flow of people flowing past the shops, or the level of well-being of the inhabitants of the surrounding streets. You will have to show both patience and imagination.

For example, some experts determine the level of "eliteness" of the area in such an original way: they count the number of expensive double-glazed windows on the windows and brands of expensive wines on display in the nearest supermarket. The "passability" of the outlet can be determined by simply standing next to it and counting how many people pass by. A manager who knows the basics of merchandising just needs to take a look shopping room to evaluate the convenience of its layout.

To facilitate this work, accurately select and quantify the evaluation criteria, you can consult with a commercial real estate specialist. If we speak in in general terms, then the standard set of factors affecting the volume of revenue will be as follows:

store area;
distance from the entrance to the shopping center;
the floor on which the store is located;
convenience of the interior layout of the store;
the location of the shopping center where the store operates;
the number of people passing by the shopping center per unit of time;
convenience of approach and entrance to the shopping center;
availability of parking at the shopping center;
competitive environment in the surrounding area;
sociology of the region.

The list of these factors can be longer or shorter - depending on the store format, its consumer audience and the tasks you set. The more criteria are taken into account in the assessment, the more accurate the forecast will be. However, one should not get carried away: the result is 80% determined by three main evaluation criteria.

The scope of the peer review system is not limited to retail revenue forecasting. It can be used to take management decisions in any area of business.

Sergei Alekseevich Uvarov- doctor economic sciences, Professor, St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance, Head of the Department of Technology Systems and Commodity Science