* Calculations use average data for Russia

1. PROJECT SUMMARY

The goal of the project is to open a tableware store in a city with a population of more than 1 million people for the retail sale of tableware and household items. A feature of the project is a promising cooperation with private craftsmen and the sale of author's dishes, which is a competitive advantage.

For the implementation of the project, a room of 50 m2 is rented, located in a shopping center.

The target audience is the female population of the city aged 20-60 with an average income level. The price segment is medium.

The initial investment is 1,000,000 rubles. Investment costs are directed to the purchase of commercial equipment, the initial purchase of goods and the formation of working capital, which will cover the losses of the initial periods. The bulk of the required investment is in inventory, which accounts for 50%. Own funds will be used to implement the project.

The financial calculations cover the five-year period of the project's operation. Revenue and net profit forecasts are based on a sales plan of 400 sales per month and an average bill of 1,500 rubles. According to the calculations, the initial investment will pay off in 12 months of work. The profitability of sales in the first year of operation will be 9.4%, while the industry average is 8%. Integral project performance indicators are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Key performance indicators of the project

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY

Tableware is a consumer good and is valued not only as a household item, but also as an element of decor. Demand for it always remains at a fairly high level for a number of reasons. Firstly, most of the dishes are quite fragile and break easily; secondly, it is interconnected with the dynamics of real estate sales, since usually new settlers prefer to purchase new dishes; thirdly, dishes and sets are one of the most popular gift options; fourthly, the tableware is influenced by fashion trends, so many consumers want to update it; fourthly, customers spontaneously purchase dishes that they like. To date, the market is represented by a variety of products of various types of dishes and price categories, which allows you to satisfy any demand.

The dynamics of the development of the tableware market directly depends on the well-being of the population. According to statistics, household incomes against the backdrop of negative GDP dynamics in 2015 decreased by 4% and continued to fall in 2016. The decrease in buying activity led to a decrease in the volume of retail sales of tableware in various market segments. It is possible to maintain the level of sales in the tableware market due to the intensity of discount promotions in retail stores. At the same time, in 2016 there is an increase in the cost of dishes by 10%.

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At the end of 2016, the tableware market in quantitative terms reached 1.47 billion pieces, demonstrating an increase of 3%. Over the past two years, there has been a slight decline in the market, which is explained both by a decrease in purchasing power and a decrease in imported products due to the exchange rate. Tableware imports decreased by 34% in 2015, and its share in the Russian market was 46% (against 59% in 2014). Against this background, domestic producers felt much more confident, which was reflected in the growth in the production of tableware. Thus, the production of glassware increased in 2016 by 5.4%, porcelain - by 6%, while the production of ceramic tableware decreased by 3.4%.

Summing up, we can distinguish the following trends in the market for tableware in Russia:

Decrease in buying activity;

Shifting buyers between different price segments;

Reduction of imported products and import substitution policy;

Growth of investments in this industry, which arose as a result of reduced competition from foreign suppliers;

Departure of many sellers from the market;

Growth in sales of tableware in the online trading segment;

Decreased profitability of the dishware business;

Intensity of promotions in dishware retail to stimulate consumer demand;

Revision of assortment policy and decrease in product quality;

Decreased markup on crockery.

Thus, there is a downward trend in the tableware market, which, according to analysts, should change to a positive trend during 2017.

Despite the negative market trends, this type of business is still quite in demand.

3. DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

This project involves the opening of a tableware shop for the purpose of retailing tableware and household items. The assortment of the store includes the following product groups: glassware, porcelain, ceramics, cutlery, tableware, kitchen utensils, kitchen textiles and decor. The project provides for a multi-brand store format, which will best meet the changing consumer demand and offer a wider range of products. The store will specialize only in retail.

The store will operate in a self-service format. As practice shows, such a system contributes to the growth of sales. Goods in the store will be divided into categories: kitchen utensils, tableware (by segments - porcelain, ceramics, glass) and kitchen textiles.

To form the assortment, a thorough analysis of the manufacturers of tableware that are on the market should be carried out. A competent approach to the choice of assortment will allow you to avoid excess inventory, reduce the likelihood of illiquid assets and increase turnover.

When forming an assortment, it is necessary to consider the following recommendations:

Give preference to white dishes - this classic option is most in demand, as it is suitable for any interior and is quite democratic in design;

For the initial stage, the optimal number of suppliers is 4-5 brands;

Take into account the interest of buyers in a particular type of dishes: the most popular is porcelain dishes, and recently the demand for glassware has been growing;

The need for a variety of assortment with novelties, catchy and bright dishes. Its share in the assortment should be small, but such dishes usually attract the attention of buyers;

The need for souvenirs, tableware and cooking utensils - each of these segments provides about a third of income during the year;

In addition to well-known brands and classic dishes, you can complement the assortment with original and original products made by private craftsmen. Today, there are many talented craftsmen on the market who make author's dishes. Thanks to the sale of such products, you can declare the uniqueness of the range and stand out in the market.

For the implementation of this project, the assortment was compiled taking into account all the above recommendations. For convenience, the entire range is structured by product type. Table 2 provides a list of products and manufacturers with which cooperation can be established.

Table 2. Planned assortment of a dishware store

	Description	Manufacturers list
China	Tea and coffee sets, dinner groups, serving plates, teapots, salad bowls, bowls, cups and saucers, mugs	Dulevo porcelain factory, Gzhel porcelain factory, Imperial porcelain factory, Kuban porcelain, Wilmax, Twist, Claret, Lequn, ChanWave, Collage, Day, CraftWhite
Glassware	Glasses, drink sets, glasses, flower vases, jugs, fruit bowls, candy bowls	CrystalexCZ,Vellarti, PromSIZ, Experimental glass factory, Pervomaisky glass factory, Arcoroc, Mikasa, Luminarc, Simax
Ware from ceramics and clay	Mugs, plates, teapots, decanters, jugs	Skopinsk art ceramics, Borisov ceramics, Dymov ceramics, Vyatka ceramics, Pskov potter
Cooking utensils	Pots, ovenware, pans, storage containers, cutlery	Aluminum Metallurg Rus, Neva Metal Ware, Enamel, Power Don, KMK, Katyusha, Demidov Plant, Pyrex, SanitetHandel, STALEMAL, Rondell, Tramontina, Gipfel
kitchen textiles	Tablecloths, towels, cloth napkins	Arloni, Toalla, Homequeen, DM Textile, TM Domislava, Slavyanochka, Wellness, MonaLiza, Belarusian linen
	Plates, mugs, cutting boards	Claystreet, Clotis, Cookeramika, Good shop

At the initial stage, it is planned to work with five manufacturers that have proven themselves in the market: Dulevo porcelain factory, Pilot glass factory, Pskov potter, Aluminum Metallurg Rus, Belarusian flax.

4. SALES AND MARKETING

The target audience of the dishware store is the female population of the city aged 20-60 with an average income level. It is assumed that at the initial stage, the main buyers will be visitors to the shopping center who accidentally entered the store, where the outlet will be located. Over time, it is planned to form a client base and advertise the store.

To attract visitors to the store, a well-thought-out marketing strategy is necessary. Before opening a store, you should place an ad at the outlet and consider event marketing. It is advisable to time the discount promotion to the opening day or offer the first visitors a loyalty card. An interesting and original option for the opening action is the drawing of a certificate for a master class at a pottery school. You can spread the word about the opening in the media or hand out leaflets inviting you to the store. An effective advertising tool will be a decorated showcase that will attract the attention of potential customers. According to market research, 70% of customers enter a store because they are attracted to a beautifully designed window display. The cost of window dressing is an average of 25,000 rubles. A bright sign will help to focus attention on the store. An advertising sign will cost around 15,000, including installation.

Competent registration of a trading floor is an important element of marketing strategy. When placing products on the shelves, the following principles of displaying goods should be observed: dishes should be displayed systematically (taking into account manufacturers, colors, etc.) and without clutter, which will reduce the perception of the assortment by the buyer.

You can also create accounts on social networks, where store products, information about discounts and promotions will be posted. You can hold a “circle” campaign for a repost - this will expand the audience of consumers. You can run a "product of the week" promotion, offering customers to purchase a certain category of product at a discount.

Another attraction tool is a unique offer, i.e. the presence in the store of a product / service that is not provided by competitors. This will force the consumer to come to your store. For example, it can be handmade dishes, unusual dishes from different countries, etc.

This project provides for the following promotional tools:

Promotion with drawing of a free certificate for a master class in pottery -1500 rubles;

Window dressing - 25,000 rubles;

Distribution of leaflets with a 10% discount coupon - 3500 rubles.

It will take an average of 3 to 6 months to promote the store and reach the desired sales volumes - during this time, buyers have time to get to know and get used to the new outlet.

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When planning the sales volume, some seasonality of the dishware business should be taken into account - in the cold season, they often buy dishes for tea and coffee, and in the summer months - dishes for cold drinks. During the New Year and spring holidays, sales volumes increase by 2-3 times, the greatest demand is for giftware.

The planned sales volume is calculated based on the average check amount of 1,500 rubles and the number of customers - 400 people per month. Thus, the average amount of revenue will be 600,000 rubles per month. It is planned to reach the declared sales volume in the fourth month of the store operation.

5. PRODUCTION PLAN

The implementation of this project includes the following stages:

1) Business registration. No special permits are required for retailing tableware. However, the dishes are included in the list of products subject to mandatory certification by the decision of the State Standard. This should be taken into account when choosing tableware suppliers.

To open a dishware store, you will need to collect a package of documents, which includes a sanitary and epidemiological conclusion from Rospotrebnadzor, permission from the fire inspectorate, and regulatory documents for the store.

To conduct commercial activities, an LLC is registered with a simplified taxation system (“income minus expenses” at a rate of 15%). Type of activity according to OKVED-2:

47.78 Other retail trade services in specialized stores.

2) Choice of location. As with any retail establishment, location plays an important role. The location assessment of a store takes into account such components as area characteristics, ease of parking, foot traffic intensity, visibility and noteworthiness, proximity to similar enterprises. The required store area is at least 40 m2. For a store with a self-service system, an area of ​​​​at least 50 m2 is desirable. However, it all depends on the scale of the store and the assortment.

This project provides for the lease of premises in a shopping and entertainment center. It is important that there is no analogue store on its territory, which reduces the level of competition. The advantage of this location is the continuous flow of potential buyers. The main disadvantage is the high rent. A retail space of 50 m2 costs about 50,000 rubles on average.

3) Equipment of the retail space and the interior of the store. The interior of the store plays an important role in the perception of customers. The retail space should be bright and cozy, imitating a home environment. When choosing the premises for the store, the criterion for the suitability of the pavilion for the start of work was taken into account, so there are no repair costs. The decor of the room will need 15,000 rubles. In addition, you should purchase commercial equipment - racks, showcases, cash counter, cash register. Since the store operates in a self-service format, several racks will be required on which the goods will be placed. For the initial stage, one cash desk is equipped in the store, however, when the planned sales volume is reached, a second cash desk will be installed. Table 3 shows the main equipment costs, which amount to 132,000 rubles.

Table 3 Equipment Costs

4) Purchase of goods. Having decided on the suppliers, it is necessary to purchase goods for the store. Practice shows that for a small dishware store, 500,000 rubles will be enough to form the initial assortment. Based on the specifics of demand and the conditions of suppliers, it will be necessary to purchase additional goods. The main thing in this matter is to correctly calculate the required volume of goods in order to diversify the assortment, but to exclude illiquid assets and oversaturation of product shelves.

5) Recruitment. The main staff in the store are sales assistants. It is on them that the success of trading largely depends. Portrait of a sales assistant: a middle-aged woman, smiling and polite, who knows a lot about crockery paraphernalia and is able to convey information to the buyer in an understandable form. Practice shows that it is this type of seller that inspires the most confidence in the average buyer. The key criteria in the selection of personnel are communication skills, responsibility, courtesy, and the ability to work with people. For the initial stage of the store operation, two sales assistants and two cashiers will be required. A shift work schedule is provided, one sales assistant and a cashier work in each shift. The functions of a manager and accountant are assigned to the entrepreneur himself - this will save money in the first months of work.

Before starting work, the staff must be trained, having familiarized themselves with the range of products, their characteristics and sales technology.

6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

The preparatory stage lasts about two months, during which it is envisaged to go through registration procedures, establish partnerships with suppliers, search for suitable premises, select personnel, purchase equipment and goods.

In this project, the entrepreneur performs the main functions of a manager - he goes through all registration procedures, recruits personnel, negotiates with landlords and suppliers, purchases goods, is engaged in strategic promotion of the store, and controls sellers.

Sales assistants and cashiers work in the store to carry out the trading process. Since the store is open daily, a 2/2 shift schedule should be established. Shift - a cashier serving the cash desk, and a sales assistant working in the hall.

The opening hours of the store coincide with the opening hours of the shopping center - from 10:00 to 22:00. Based on these conditions, the staffing table is formed. The wage fund is 106,600 rubles.

Table 4. Staffing and payroll

	Position	Salary, rub.	Quantity, pers.	FOT, rub.
Administrative
	Supervisor
Trade
	Sales Consultant (shift schedule)
	Cashier (shift schedule)
Auxiliary
	Cleaning lady (part time)
	Total:			82 000.00 RUB
	Social Security contributions:			24 600.00 RUB
	Total with deductions:			106 600.00 RUB

8. FINANCIAL PLAN

The financial plan takes into account all income and expenses of the project, the planning horizon is 5 years.

To launch the project, it is necessary to calculate the amount of investment. To do this, you need to determine the costs for the purchase of equipment, the initial purchase of goods and the formation of working capital, which will cover the losses of the initial periods. The initial investment for opening a dishware store is 1,000,000 rubles. The main part of the required investments falls on commodity stocks - their share is 50%; 30% accounted for working capital, 13.2% for the purchase of equipment, and the remaining 6.8% - for advertising, business registration and arrangement of retail space. The project is financed by equity. The main investment cost items are shown in Table 5.

Table 5. Investment costs

Variable costs consist of the cost of purchasing goods. To simplify financial calculations, variable costs are calculated based on the sum of the average check and a fixed trade margin of 60%.

Fixed expenses consist of rent, utilities, payroll, advertising and depreciation. The amount of depreciation is determined by the straight-line method, based on the useful life of fixed assets in 5 years. Fixed costs also include tax deductions, which are not presented in this table, since their amount is not fixed, but depends on the amount of revenue.

Table 6. Fixed costs

Thus, fixed monthly expenses were determined in the amount of 179,100 rubles.

8. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

The payback period of the project with an initial investment of 1,000,000 rubles is 12 months. The net monthly profit of the project upon reaching the planned sales volumes will be about 50,000 rubles. It is planned to reach the planned sales volume in the fourth month of operation. The profitability of sales in the first year of operation will be 9.4%, while the industry average is 8%. The return on investment is 13.6%, and the internal rate of return exceeds the discount rate and is equal to 9.72%.

The financial plan takes into account the optimistic sales forecast that can be expected due to the favorable location of the store and high traffic of potential buyers.

9. POSSIBLE RISKS

To assess the risk component of the project, it is necessary to analyze external and internal factors. The specifics of the institution determines the following risks of activity:

Increase in purchase prices for goods, unscrupulous suppliers. In the first case, there is a risk of increasing costs and, as a result, the selling price, which may negatively affect demand. In the second case, the risk is associated with interruptions in the trading process due to a lack of goods. It is possible to reduce the likelihood of these threats with a competent choice of suppliers and the inclusion in the contract of all necessary conditions that provide for the liability of the supplier in case of their violation;

Insufficient level of demand. This risk is one of the most probable and may arise due to both low solvency of demand and high distribution costs. It is possible to reduce the risk with careful planning of the store's activities and financial results, competent choice of retail space, holding various promotions and discounts, stimulating repeat purchases, flexible pricing;

Reaction of competitors. Since the tableware market is quite saturated and the competition is high, the behavior of competitors can have a strong influence. To minimize it, it is necessary to create your own client base, constantly monitor the market, have a customer loyalty program and create competitive advantages;

property risks. This category includes the risks associated with damage and theft. Crockery is a rather fragile item, so it is not uncommon for it to be damaged. The self-service system increases the likelihood of this risk occurring. Minimizing the threat will allow the sales assistant to check the goods that enter the store, control the situation on the trading floor.

Problems with personnel, which means low qualification, staff turnover, lack of motivation of employees. The easiest way to reduce this risk is at the stage of recruitment, hiring employees who meet all the requirements. It is also worth considering bonus motivation for employees;

183791 times.

Profitability calculator for this business

The wholesale base "Posuda" began its history in the 90s. It was a warehouse and showroom, next door to a toilet paper factory. The first deliveries were from Ukraine, from where inexpensive dishes were transported in whole trucks. In 2013, the company created its online store on the platform, and in two years the site's turnover increased 30 times. How to open an online tableware store and how such a business works - this was told to us by development manager Rustam Musifullin.

How to open a cookware store from scratch and become the first in a niche

“Wholesale warehouse “Posuda” appeared in 1998, and now it is more than 15 years old,” says Rustam. - Then, in the 90s, everyone was looking for the best way to make money, they tried to sell everything in a row, up to car parts. And then we thought about the business of selling dishes.

A small dishware warehouse worked next door to a toilet paper factory. They were mainly purchased from Ukrainian factories: they were transported by trucks! Now those factories are not in sight, and the utensil business is alive. Our “horse” is domestic dishes. From abroad we carry almost nothing. Among our suppliers are such giants as the Kuban, Dulevo, Dobrush porcelain factories, Experimental glass factory ... More than 50 enterprises.

More than 20,000 items are presented in the online store: dishes and souvenirs, porcelain, faience, glass, enamel, aluminum, galvanization, non-stick, souvenir, household group, plastic. Everything a hostess might need.

We do not work for the end user

In the 90s, the company focused on the local market and some neighboring cities. Now it is export all over Russia. To the south - to the Astrakhan region. To the west - to the Lipetsk region. To the north - to the Arkhangelsk region. The main buyers are from Bashkiria, Tatarstan, Samara region. There is no region where the company would not carry dishes: there are buyers even in the metropolitan regions.

We focus exclusively on wholesalers. Clients - the same wholesale bases, markets, shops, points in the markets with household goods. And an important limitation: in the store, so that retail customers would not be interested in ordering one or two products, we set a minimum order threshold.

Our online store is not a standard store. This is a catalog store

Dishware businesses are not very fond of the Internet as a sales channel. Before creating an online store, we had a small website with product photos. So, like a catalog, nothing special: you can look - you can’t order. At that time, business trips of managers were the main way to sell goods: they traveled around the regions and looked for outlets.

They took packs of catalogs, disks with them, offered to look through the site-catalog. In general, they worked in the old fashioned way. And it worked! But in 2013, we decided to take a more thorough approach to online product promotion and created a website with the ability to order dishes.

The method, when the manager goes on a business trip and gets acquainted with the buyer on the spot, still remains the most effective. But now a potential buyer can see and order a batch of goods directly in the online store. All photos, all current balances, all discounts for customers registered in the store are in the online store.

We chose AdvantShop as a platform for creating a store website. The platform is convenient for the most unenlightened person in Internet technologies. You don't have to think: just insert pictures, edit and catalog.

We almost do not promote the online store of tableware: we do not work with contextual advertising, with SEO optimization, all this is useless. In the dishware market, everyone already knows our base. We go the simplest way: through a live dialogue with a potential client.

How to open a cookware store to stand out from the competition? The most important advantage is efficiency. The goods arrived - we immediately take pictures. Everything that is in stock immediately appears in the store.

How to work with a store client

We work like this: a store customer examines the assortment, adds the product to the basket, and the manager immediately starts working with the order. Now the order is his responsibility.

This scheme is not quite traditional for an Internet business, but we rely on personal communication with a client, even if he comes from the Internet. By phone, for example, we can resell something or offer an alternative to a product that the client needs, but we do not have it.

The manager tells the client about the system of discounts that he is entitled to depending on the volume of the purchase. The discount also depends on the distance of the region to which the goods are delivered. The farther the customer is, the more money the shipping costs will eat up. It also depends on the amount of goods that the customer is willing to buy. Now the average order in the online store is 40,000 rubles.

What departments does the dishware business consist of?

The structure of the company then and now is based on the principle: supply department, sales department, showroom, warehouse.

• Sales department. Its experts know how to sell the dishes that we buy from suppliers. This dish appears on the pages of the online store. Sales managers work with customers who come from the online store: they call, talk, place an order and monitor payment.
• Showroom serves local clients. The minimum purchase amount at wholesale prices is 4000 rubles.
• Stock. All dishes are delivered here and sent to customers from here.
• Purchase department works with all suppliers, factories and companies that are ready to work on barter. Suppliers consult with the sales department to understand what is most often taken and what the client needs: in order to understand how to sell dishes, you need to know exactly the seasonality of this product.

Holidays are always a surge of interest in our product: February 23, March 8. People are actively buying dishes. For men - men's sets and assortment. Women - sets, gifts, souvenirs. In summer, this is a household group: buckets, goods for working in the garden. Goods for children's camps, glassware, glasses.

How we work with carriers

The most common method is the formation of a route: for example, we gather together all the customers of an online store from Bashkiria, and the truck goes to all these points. There are other ways - for example, containers, rail transportation, air transportation.

All dishes are delivered in factory packaging. If the goods are delivered "in bulk", then we put them in boxes so that there is as little fight as possible. The fight arises - we pick up on acceptance.

How sales in the online store increased in 2 years

Photo-operation helped us to open an online store of tableware from scratch. In the first month of operation, the online store brought in a very small amount, but there were very few photos in the store.

Dishes are very reluctant to take photos of the goods, infrequently, and supplier plants provide images of their products. Many factories simply do not have photos of the goods, and the contracts do not state that they are obliged to provide them.

And we take a lot of pictures ourselves. And we do it quickly. Our difference is speed. Goods arrive - we quickly upload photos to the store.

Now sales and the number of orders of the online store are now constantly growing. We believe that the platform is a great tool for working with both new customers and old ones.

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Transparent, colored, plain, with patterns, flowers, checkered and striped - today the choice of plates, cups, glasses and glasses is striking in its diversity! Previously, such dishes could only be seen on TV, and at best in expensive restaurants.

And now from any "curiosity" there is an opportunity to dine just in your kitchen. And all thanks to entrepreneurs who make it affordable to buy original dishes. Maryana Zemlyanykh has been in the dishware business for seven years, and recently she opened the Posuda store.

– What did you do before? What brought you to the ranks of entrepreneurs?

- I worked at a dairy. She went on maternity leave and after the decree she quit, and it was not clear what happened there, everyone was fired, the beginning of the 90s. I sat without work for a long time, since my husband's situation with work was better. In 2000, I got a job as a sales assistant in the Everything for the Home store. She worked there for 4 years. During this time, I very often met customers who were interested in dishes. In that store there was a selection of dishes, but not a large one, people always left dissatisfied. And then one day I thought, why don't I “shape” this choice for buyers myself.

- And what were your first steps?

- Without consulting with anyone, I began to look for ways to implement my plan. First, I asked the owner of the store where I worked how he found suppliers of dishes, he naturally reluctantly told me, but did not specify anything. And so in the newspapers, I began to look for advertisements for manufacturers of tableware. I didn’t have the Internet at home, I didn’t know how to use it at all.

It can be said that my desire to become an entrepreneur accompanied my development, I went to computer courses, bought a computer, connected the Internet over time and continued my search for suppliers on the Internet, everything is much faster there - there are contacts, phones, I called everyone, everything is detailed found out.

I sketched a business plan in a notebook, and there was little left to do. I had to take at least 10,000 dollars to start somewhere to pay the rent (there was no talk about the premises yet, at that time it was unrealistic for me), for a place in the market and to buy goods.

- Where, if not a secret, did you manage to get the funds?

- I got into a loan, on the security of my husband's car, he became my guarantor. In general, the risk was colossal! Took more than 10 thousand dollars from the bank. My husband almost kicked me out of the house for all my tricks, we swore very much at that time. But, despite this, he supported me, grumbled, but helped.

Was the risk justified? Did the investment pay off?

- Certainly! I collected a variety of types of dishes, provided customers with a wide choice. Then the colors were very fashionable - bright different monochromatic colors, white dishes, transparent from black glass. Today, a square shape prevails, transparent glass with various patterns, vegetables and fruits.

I always try not to miss new items so that my customers can get everything their heart desires. So a year later, I was able to repay the loan, but I must say, I was lucky, there were many customers, the goods sold perfectly. And then it's time to open your store. All circumstances were conducive to the fact that my store opened.

- Mariana, tell me, what difficulties prevent you from working fully today?

Probably competition! It is very difficult today to survive among competitors, but we try, I think we are doing well. And the difficulty still arises in the fact that many still do not understand why special glasses for whiskey or martini are needed, because they either do not drink these drinks, or they will calmly drink them from ordinary wine glasses. Often such goods are sold more slowly.

But even in these seven years, the needs of customers have noticeably changed, even for a family, people began to buy expensive beautiful sets and plates for the dinner table. The buyer has developed his own taste, so to speak. If earlier the French Luminark tableware was bought only for a gift for a wedding or an anniversary, today I already have enough customers who have purchased such dishes for themselves.

It is very difficult to maintain a store without assistants. Tell me who is helping you?

- I have a sales assistant, I pay her wages, everything is as it should be. And, of course, my husband, he has his own business, but he also devotes time to my store.

– Do you sell only table glass or enamelware?

- Mostly glass, crystal, porcelain, but enameled - also abound. Colorful pots, pans, teapots.

- Do you consider selling dishes a profitable business?

– Naturally, the dishware business is a profitable business, since beautiful, original dishes are always popular ... Even our grandmothers loved beautiful dishes, but then there was no such variety. Manufacturers, in turn, advertise their product, for example, with the help of indirect advertising in TV shows, we can see a familiar plate or glass on the kitchen table.

Here you have an advertisement, the viewer has already deposited in the memory, some wanted to have such a plate for themselves. And where can I get it? And here entrepreneurs who are engaged in the sale of dishes will help the client satisfy his need. Everything is simple!

– What is the price of your dishes?

- Prices are completely different, there are funny cups for 15-20 UAH. And there are services worth 1500 UAH. (for 19 persons).

- What do you spend profitable money on?

- For the necessary needs. And also for self-study, I recently began attending English courses, doing shaping. For my son's education. There is always something to spend on.

“You must always keep your nose to the wind!” And at the initial stage, think it over carefully, write a business plan, even a non-professional one will help a lot. After all, starting any business is a risk.

Be carefull!

As the level of well-being rises, we begin to think more and more about the household items around us. Let's take dishes, for example. If earlier we paid attention to what we eat, now we are often interested in what.

Plates, pots, jugs, sets, glasses - the assortment is so large that a good housewife has new dishes quite regularly. Manufacturers are constantly updating their lineups, and sellers skillfully lay out new items on easy-to-view racks, tempting consumers to new purchases.

Conceptual moments of the tableware business

Before making a decision to start a business, make a detailed analysis of the tableware market, study the presented range, price range, level of competition. If the final conclusions are in your favor, feel free to move to the heights of the dishware business.

You can start with cheap Chinese and Turkish products. But since the main consumer audience belongs to the middle class, it will not be a big risk to look at the range of average prices represented by domestic and Eastern European goods.

As for the shape, color, material, then trust the opinion of experienced sellers. They advise to make an initial emphasis on traditional white dishes, in which any cooked dish looks great. White color successfully harmonizes with various colors of tablecloths, napkins, furniture. There will not be much contrast when using transparent dishes.

From the material, give preference to aesthetic and practical porcelain. Among its advantages, we note high environmental friendliness, excellent thermal conductivity and great consumer interest. Also, white dishes are relevant in terms of advertising. Pay attention to how many initially white cups, saucers, plates are transformed into gift items with the help of drawings and inscriptions. And how often applied company logos transform snow-white dishes into corporate ones.

By the way, gift and serving utensils, along with cooking utensils, provide the main income of the china shop.

It is better to buy goods directly from manufacturers - first domestic, and then, when you "stand on your feet", switch to high-quality imports. Look for foreign partners at international exhibitions. Cooperation with them involves prepaid work, but for large volumes, a discount of up to 10% is possible. For the first bulk purchase, plan an amount of up to $80-100 thousand.

Whatever the product - beautiful, affordable, fashionable - you should not expect big sales if the store is located in an inconspicuous place on the outskirts of the city. The mass consumer likes to go to supermarkets, located, most often, in densely populated and central areas. In such places, try to rent space for a future store.

For a small shop, 60 m² is enough, for a larger one, designed for several thematic zones, up to 150-200 m² will be needed. With a monthly cost of 1m² of about 200 euros, you can “estimate” yourself how much you need for rent.

The next "sore point" of many entrepreneurs is qualified personnel. When looking for sellers for a china shop, we recommend not chasing slender long-legged girls, but focusing on middle-aged women who know a lot about crockery paraphernalia and are able to convey the benefits of kitchen utensils to customers in an understandable way. Statistics show that it is this type of sellers that the average buyer of tableware has the most confidence in. Based on work in 2 shifts of 3 consultants, plan an expense item with a salary of each salesperson in the region of $300-400.

And another criterion that affects the final result of any business is advertising. For a “dishes” entrepreneur, an effective and profitable way to promote a product and promote the store itself is the so-called product placement. Now there are many culinary programs and other programs that use dishes in the transmission process. By concluding a “serving” agreement, you either earn “real” money or receive effective advertising that increases sales.