Getting set up

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rickilambs

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Jun 19, 2012
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I was a buyer for a national chain. I just retired and have about 500k to start a store, focusing only on the best tools and knives in the business.

DISTRIBUTOR
In my previous role, I would purchase direct from the manufacturer. Now, beacuse I am not buying 100k in knives on each PO, I need to use a distributor.

I have called a few different players in the space. I wasn't impressed by the lack of customer service at Kroll. I called Moteng and they seem like they are all over it. Blue Ridge was good but they didn't want to help me with IT issues.

I did a quick study and found that Moteng has the most sophisticated CDI ties. The staff seemed like they were all fresh and working hard. My sales guy at Kroll didn't even bother calling me back!!

PRICING

As far as pricing goes, the guy at moteng said he would match ANYONE's price on earth and that he would take $20 bucks from his own pocket to guarantee that he was actually the best price. That's service.

NEW BRANDS

Does anyone have any distributors that carry lots of euro brands?

AMAZON PROBLEM

How are brick and mortar stores (like the one I am trying to set up) dealing with the brands that sell to amazon? Why do these brands think I can buy something for 50 bucks and try to sell it at 100 in my store when they are selling to amazon at 40 and amazon is selling it at $60?

Thanks for all the help in advance.

Ricki Lambs (soon to be CEO!)
 
Our general discussion forum is for knives. Maybe a business site would be better for your questions. For now the best place I can think of is GB&U.
 
I would seriously suggest that you DO NOT invest your life savings into a new business where you don't understand the business and have no insider contacts. You also do not seem to understand that online businesses are the future for hobby items (knives). You also should not be starting a brick & mortar store especially in this economy where the customer base is spread-out across the entire USA & world AND which online stores will regularly kick your @ss in pricing because they often drop-ship while you have overhead costs. Knife buyers follow trends and buy what is currently popular (we aren't that imaginative a group), if you do carry a lot of "euro brands" that most people haven't heard of, or are familiar with, who do you plan to sell these to?

Why not try & get a job first in a knife store (or sporting goods store) to educate yourself a bit while using somebody else's money?
 
After 35 years in the business and pretty much strictly brick and mortar it can be done successfully but you better know where all the bodies are buried and be the go to guy as far as knives go in your area. That takes years and sweat equity and to mention mucho dinero$. You need to be able to offer something most internutz operators don't and can't offer. I have forgotten more about knives than most sellers know today and learn something new every day! Most importantly, location is the key. You can't be afraid of high rent in order to get the right location.
There are definitely better ways to get a nice return on your capital. After years of expanding and then years of contracting my business I was able to get established before the internut took hold. It's all I have done my adult life and now I look forward to it in my later years. You better love knives, cutlery, and all the characters you deal with in this business! I enjoy and savor it. I consider myself a quality aficionado and derive satisfaction knowing I am selling the very best products and providing the very best services in my area. From that, word of mouth is my best friend!
Feel free to PM me if I can be of assistance in any way!
 
After 35 years in the business and pretty much strictly brick and mortar it can be done successfully but you better know where all the bodies are buried and be the go to guy as far as knives go in your area. That takes years and sweat equity and to mention mucho dinero$. You need to be able to offer something most internutz operators don't and can't offer. I have forgotten more about knives than most sellers know today and learn something new every day! Most importantly, location is the key. You can't be afraid of high rent in order to get the right location.
There are definitely better ways to get a nice return on your capital. After years of expanding and then years of contracting my business I was able to get established before the internut took hold. It's all I have done my adult life and now I look forward to it in my later years. You better love knives, cutlery, and all the characters you deal with in this business! I enjoy and savor it. I consider myself a quality aficionado and derive satisfaction knowing I am selling the very best products and providing the very best services in my area. From that, word of mouth is my best friend!
Feel free to PM me if I can be of assistance in any way!
 
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