If you were starting a knife store.....?

[george tichbourne]

Like John said the initial order value is sometimes a killer when inventory turnover is critical, like the first year of operation. The main way is to purchase from distributors at a slightly higher price but it sure helps the cash flow because I can buy one or two knives at a time from the distributor where the factory wants $300 or more minumum restocking orders.

My initial local advertising will feature sharpening as a way to attract attention in the non knife community. You can't just appeal to knife lovers, you have to bring in new people or your customer base slowly shrinks as they die off.

 

[Boink]

I called The Bladesman, Seaford NY's best local brick and mortar knife store and spoke to Larry, the owner. I was seeking a medium Juice. He had one left, not the model I was looking for. I asked why he had so few. He responded that in order to carry the whole lineup, he'd have to pony up for $5,000.00 minimum worth of the merchandise, just so's I could go over and choose the one Juice model I was interested in. That was very revealing.

You could stock a store with all the stuff you like and think others will buy, but it does not mean they will in fact buy it. The area should be surveyed first for what type of buyers are there, then match the store to who's going to be visiting the store.

One other thing - Larry mentioned about harrasment from the local cops when he opened in that location. In one instance, they had confiscated a bunch of knives they perceived to be illegal. He eventually prevailed, but with money and time wasted.

 

[Boink]

Originally posted by george tichbourne

My initial local advertising will feature sharpening as a way to attract attention in the non knife community. You can't just appeal to knife lovers, you have to bring in new people or your customer base slowly shrinks as they die off.

That's the part I was referring to. Once folks get the hang of newly learned sharpening skills, they will start to look at all knives differently - maybe getting brave enough to bring home knives they ordinarily never would and expanding their taste. As Knife Knuts, many of us go around looking for a need that requires filling for a knife we want to get.