Retail Shop Front Vs Workshop/unit

[Handstitched]

G'Day , Not sure where to post this..... or how to explain this.........

Anyway, I wish to purchase  equine  related stock from an Australian  wholesaler, with the view of expanding my business  a bit into other areas due to an opportunity that has arisen in my town, just like the horse rug repair opportunity  that has been quite good for me  over the last 5-6 or 7 years or so. However,  despite the fact I have a registered   & approved business  in WA ,  ' X'  equine wholesaler won't sell to me all because I don't have a " retail shop front " . 

Just to give you a heads up, all the  retail shops  in   my little town ( Central Wheatbelt Western Australia )   are over 100 years old, in various states of repair......*cough* ....disrepair ,  not worth the rent and  the expense of any investment , painting, shop fittings etc.   as they came  to this  > ..<  close to being condemned and demolished one year. Some are still vacant , and some  small businesses  do occupy some of the shop spaces including a bakery.  How they still remain operating  ....and remain standing beggars belief .  I haven't explained this bit to the wholesaler ...yet, I need to get some info/ facts first before I do.  They are not breaching any Australian  retail laws ( that I know of) and this " retail shop front only"  nonsense is  not stated in any of their policies etc.  I just find them restrictive, and perhaps even discriminatory due to the physical  make-up of my business, and I have contacted the appropriate  retail governing peeps  for advice, just waiting for a reply.

What is the difference between operating  a business from a " shop / shop front"  in the street and a workshop /unit/ home based business ? Its the same transactions B to B , same retail  trade, same clientele ,that know me well btw , good rapport etc.   just a few K's out of town. I won't be impinging  on anyone,  I would be the only one selling ' X " products , no competitors in town....or the next , other than on-line. 

So, how do I get around this ?  Has anyone  else come across this " retail shop front only " policy ?  If so, how did you deal with it ?

I have also found another  potential  Australian equine wholesaler in the meantime.

Thanks, HS 

 

[bikermutt07]

I would approach the the other wholesaler. 

[Rockoboy]

In the past I was dealing with a wholesaler, who insisted on only dealing with shopfront businesses (unless you were buying a heap and he liked you), so I feel your pain.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, any wholesaler can sell to you or not, as the mood takes him, provided he is not discriminating on race, religion, gender, age etc etc etc.

Hell of a way to do business IMHO, but some people are crazy or have other motivations besides "a customer is a customer".

[immiketoo]

Retail spaces are money pits.  If it were me, I would ask for guaranteed revenue for displaying their product in my retail space since they have a requirement.  You should too

 

[Handstitched]

G'Day and thank you for your input. 

I've  been in contact with  a ' Small Business' helper , I'll be returning his call tomorrow ( 24/4)  to get some advice.

@bikermutt07  that will be my second option if this one doesn't ' play ball'' , just that  this one will sell me ' manufacturers '  supplies , like threads, hardware etc. go figure ?   They can sell me all that stuff, but not equine stock? Strange. Something I forgot to mention in my earlier post.

@Rockoboy   I can fully understand the ol'  wholesale  ' minimum purchase' ,  policy which is common, but a " must have a retail shop front"  policy ?   

@immiketoo yes, I agree, they are money pits. I've been in this little  town for many years  and I've seen so many businesses come and go .Even when they don't make any sales, the rent and o/heads  still have to be paid.The only businesses that survive in the main street are the " essential services " , like,  post office/newsagent, bank ( we only  the have one bank )  the 2  pubs, and the supermarket.   And yes, the pubs are an essential service .  

The only other business that does well, is the bakery, only because their meat pies are yummy.  This has nothing to with my little issue  , I know  

HS 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Handstitched

[immiketoo]

Mmmmm...meat pies.  And beer.

 

[Handstitched]

13 minutes ago, immiketoo said:

Mmmmm...meat pies.  And beer.

They're a staple   ' down under ' . The curry  meat pies are nice on a cold morning. Most people have cereal ...boring.

HS

[bikermutt07]

So, when you say equine stock, are you referring to shell cordovan? It's almost impossible for an individual to get horween cordovan here in the states.

[chrisash]

In the UK we can get around some shop rates by using industrial buildings and have a trade counter with display area

Some very old fashioned companies thing the small one man bands are going to only sell on the EBay and Amazon and lower the price and therefore effect their own sales

I would imagine a photo of your main street and  highlight the sales do not justify the shop, but if successful, then that would be the next option and a promise not to sell online may possible open the door

[Handstitched]

G'Day ,

@bikermutt07 Equine stock,  as in  equestrian  stable..... stuff, grooming stuff , tack, rugs  etc.  

@chrisash I guess I could do some ...er *cough*  cut and pasting of some " shop front"   pics with some equestrian  stock and send that to the wholesaler? Mmmmmm....nah , that wouldn't work  

I got a call from a small business dude, I just need to return his call and get some advice.

HS

 

[brmax]

Maybe Im missing something here in your first post. And or dont really understand some Down under business traditions. 

With that I can say here an Equine horse tac shop could be and is normally not intown or a city street location. Additionaly its certainly fine in a barn or structure setup to perform this work. ( in my world )

So maybe I might be missing a key point in typical business levels, rather than structures. In some of this i mean, few are going to get a big discount no-matter what, until a regular sales pattern is established. 

Here in the States a better than retail price is established only with the business to business with a license, this maybe and I think the same as yours in that a government I.D. Number is issued to you or the business. 

Its still a sure possibility here that the same retail price is going to be charged. This I may be partial to with my own business as Im a builder, fabricator and artist not actually a big parts/items transfer biz, yet to be realized  (? Before i retire again)

Have a good day and Cheers!

Floyd

[Handstitched]

Just an update:

I still haven't had any luck with ' X' wholesaler selling me equine stock ie:   mostly grooming and/or accessories, a  few halters etc. and those that I have spoken to, all seem to have the same opinion  that ' shop front only ' policies are discriminatory,  ( in recent days,  many ' shop front' businesses are going bust ,  because o/heads are too high)   But  I did  recently send an email to the WA  Chamber of Commerce  business law dept for advice.Just waiting for their reply. ( W.A. is ' Western Australia' but for us westies, it also means ' Wait Awhile' , and theres some truth in that too   ) 

However, I checked out a popular equine retailer  here in the outskirts of Perth WA . They had 50% off  everything online . So, I ordered a heap of stock online , and picked up & paid for my order this arvo.  When I went to the warehouse , I noticed some more bargains...and bought them too  

As for 'X' wholesaler,  all I can say is, theres more than one way to skin a cat......bwahaha !!! 

I want 3 parts to my business, 1) leather/ custom leather, 2) horse rug/ canvas repairs, 3) equine stock .

The first two are complete, and now , I've just started the 3rd part    

(The horse rugs are coming in thick & fast now....its Winter here in Oz now.  ) 

HS   

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by Handstitched

[Rockoboy]

1 hour ago, Handstitched said:

I want 3 parts to my business, 1) leather/ custom leather, 2) horse rug/ canvas repairs, 3) equine stock .

Good to see a small business expanding, in spite of 'X' wholesaler. Maybe they will come knocking on your door, when they see how much they're missing out on.

[chrisash]

It could well be they are doing alright online and want to keep out the online competition, which would over time just reduce selling prices

Therefore to limit competition they demand a retail outlet that meets their expectations and most likely also a demand you dont sell online

There must be a number a whole sellers in Aus apart from this one,

 https://www.google.co.uk/search?newwindow=1&source=hp&ei=Nl3bW7vDKdLgkgWK1KzgDg&btnG=Search&q=horse+tack+whoesellers+Australia&oq=clipart+or+Vector+drawings&gs_l=psy-ab.3...2020.21071.0.21622.27.24.0.2.2.0.88.1618.24.24.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.25.1555.0..0j0i131k1j0i22i30k1j33i22i29i30k1j33i21k1j33i160k1.0.iKJMRD0Rj5E

Edited June 21, 2019 by chrisash

[Handstitched]

Thank you for your support  

@Rockoboy Thanks for your optimism , but  I'm hardly going to conquer  the ' equine world'  ha ha  Just taking advantage of an increase in horses &  horsey people in my area .This is just the beginning, but over time my stock will build up , just as the horse rug repairs did ( I'm flat out  with those atm )  Reminds me of that ad on telly atm  , kaboodle kitchens? "yes, ...we did" , .........(the girl in the ad  is cute... er...... *cough cough* off topic   ) . 

@chrisash I have checked a few of those. One of which is an old  converted house not far from a race course and choccas with tack etc. If it wasn't for the small sign at the front, you wouldn't know it was a business, it looked almost derelict.    I went there once  to suss out some rip stop canvas for horse rugs. At the back was this old  shipping container....that must have leaked because the rip stop was all moldy. Needless to say I didn't buy any. 

HS 

[kgg]

Depending on your local laws a small sea can (shipping container) would make a get little shop. Put a small 12"x12" sign on it, 3'-0" door in the side and bang you have a brick & mortar shop. These are very popular and fairly inexpensive here in Ontario for general storage, summer cabins etc.

kgg

[Handstitched]

@kgg I do agree that shipping containers do make great sheds or workshops, however, our local laws here in Oz  suck . 

In a town 35k's south , they're not permitted to have them ...period. In my town, you have to apply for permission through the shire council to have one on a regional property.In the town centre....forget it!!

Our shire councils here in Oz have too much power over paid and over rated IMO ,  no brains or common sense, just ask ' Rockoboy ' , he's a westie like me. Shire councils here get a pretty bad rap, their own fault . 

I have my market stall in town sometimes. I had to go through a heap of  shire council red tape for  a permit just to put up a bloody gazebo in a carpark  !! The land/ carpark  I use doesn't even belong to the shire it belongs to the rail company....go figure ? 

Anyway, this is  going off topic   

HS 

[RockyAussie]

Is there some local competitor that they supply to that they think might do a better job retailing? If not I would consider selling to them the idea that you are a mobile type business that can do a better job selling and servicing that way. I know here in Rocky one busy equine seller has closed his brick and mortar and done just that. Often someone that can get to the shows and events and the likes can make a real killing and if that were not true why then would RMW have a huge semi that must have cost many $100,000s. That sorely can't be that hard a sell. Remember its easier to catch flies with honey.

[chrisash]

6 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

 Remember its easier to catch flies with honey.

 

Don't know about catching them, but from films you do seem expert's at breading them little critters 

[Handstitched]

@RockyAussie No, no competitors,  I am the only leather worker in town, and I am the only one that does horse rug repairs.I am bringing in  rug work from other towns too now .A lot of my business is word-of-mouth .    I have just started to get into selling a few equine bits & bobs like grooming brushes combs ,  kits, a few halters  etc. because to my knowledge, there is no-one else thats sells that sort of thing in my town. The closest  equine agent  is either 40k's south or  a retailer 70k's north or 130k's to Perth.   It will take a little time to build that part of it up.  But I'll persevere   

A'h yes, RMW, a respected brand, and I have seen those huge semi's,  but I have on occasion  seen some RMW  products made O/S.  

HS 

[Handstitched]

Just a quick update.

In the last month or so, I have found a supplier,only a few hours away ,  that are happy to sell me equine stock , as the helpful assistant said to me after a quick briefing on my  previous hassles " we don't discriminate, we'll sell to anybody" . Although they are a retailer, she offered me a wholesale  account . I order on-line , , and when my order is ready,  a quick phone call from them, I go and pick it up.  I do  have the option of postage, but it gives me an excuse to  have a browse at some bargains that are not listed online. So now, incrementally ( in baby steps)  ,  I'm buying the stock I've wanted for yonks.  The 3rd part of my business is now finally starting to grow.      And this weekend, theres an equestrian event  coming up in my town , perfect timing    

HS