Start with a Mini-Market
The idea of setting up a mini-market is to find a halfway point between a supermarket and a warehouse. With respect to the first one, it is about doing the same as they do with respect to services, the arrangement of food and prices, while with respect to the second one it is about having a similar size and variety to them, but with the difference that people will serve themselves the goods they need, since there will not be a counter, but shelves.
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Considerations when setting up a mini-market
The main aspects when you go to set up a mini-market are the place, the variety, the prices and the aesthetics of the place, since the latter will make us look special and different, which is why we will be the ones chosen by the consumers.
Place: unlike the supermarket and, even more, the hypermarket, a mini-market cannot be located in places far from large concentrations of population, since it is with these that it will work mostly. Therefore, the central areas, close to large concentrations of offices, near places of study and state agencies, will be chosen to mount a mini-market.
Variety: variety, both in terms of types of products and brands of the same type of product, is fundamental. How can this be achieved in a small site? By optimizing the space vertically. The shelves were created for this type of business with the same purpose, so you must take measurements and request them according to your needs. At the same time, try to supply yourself with the best known brands, as well as having an exclusive corner, which can be imported, or also a national brand that is not very popular. We recommend this because it will give you exclusivity with the competition and customers.
Prices: although it is known that matching a supermarket can be a great challenge, it is important to do everything possible to offer competitive prices, since this is the main advantage of this kind of market, which sacrifices personalized attention for fast service and convenient prices. Therefore, get advice from your suppliers to benefit from promotions and discounts for large purchases.
Aesthetics: it is very important to have a colorful sign, letters that can be distinguished from afar and a logo that identifies us. However, this would be useless if we do not manage to create an aesthetic and hygiene that makes people feel comfortable shopping in our store. So we must take into account the material and color of the floors, as well as an excellent condition of the walls and a color that “invites to buy”.
Requirements for setting up a mini-market
When setting up a mini-market we must apply for legal and Ministry of Health permits, open the company legally with a name and assign it a fantasy name as well, hire staff and contact the suppliers of this kind of business.
Advantages of having this business
A mini market offers the advantage that you can offer diverse products in a small space and can give good profits and prestige to the investor if you work with customer service and have the products available when the customer needs them.
Another advantage is that if you have the brands that the customer is looking for, you increase in a short time the capture of customers who will come continuously to look for your products. Also the exclusives, which can be imported, or also some national or artisan brand of some product can be the trigger for increased sales. You can also offer products imported from some exotic place that people are interested in trying.
Problems that can occur in a Mini-Market
Setting up a mini-market can be a challenge if you can’t find the middle ground between a supermarket and a warehouse. With respect to the former, it is a matter of doing the same as a supermarket does with regard to services, food distribution, prices and product shelf life. Whereas, with the warehouse you have to have a similar size and variety as these centers, but the customers serve themselves the goods they need.
Another problem with the mini-market is that it cannot be located in places far from the large concentrations of population, since it works with a clientele that is precisely in concentrated and very dynamic places, where people take products home after work and a mini-market fence solves them and is comfortable for the time they save on the way home.
Success stories
A successful company is Mist-Markets, which has products from Eastern Europe, which has something cultural, learned to miss for example, some
specific dish that has been tasted on a trip and you want to have the experience again.
You can enjoy distant products, even perishable ones, available to the public, with heterogeneous offers, gastronomic diversity and attractions for someone with curiosity.
Another famous and successful mini-market is the Oasis, being a company that develops its activity in the sector of retail, food, drinks, drugstore, press, tobacco, magazines, video, dvd, among others.