Does anyone have experience owning a liquor store? I want to buy one because it doesn't seem complicated and I need stable income
>>62337157Is it legally required to have an employee present? Are delivery robots allowed to carry alcohol? Would certain youths loot them in your area?These determine your margin in ten years, and if you buy that thing, it better hold for more than a decade.
>>62337204It wouldn't be a passive investment. I'd buy it with the intention of actually running it. As far as the youths are concerned I'd look into buying one in a pretty affluent area to avoid those thefts as much as possible but it's one inevitable
>>62337228Affluent could mean they use AI to buy at best price online, driving margin so low that all brands are sold directly from factory. If you go in balls deep like that, really research what will happen, and how you can react. If you got a strong lobby in your economic zone, that could help, but you got to have a plan now that AI & robots turn everything upside down. I have no clue about liquor though, I don't even drink (I'm half Russian & very Jewish, bad combo for addiction). I'd guess the main cost is some license mafia bullshit, if you put down 250k in raw usury for it, that needs strong evidence that its value will be defended by your lobby if AI comes for retail margin.
>>62337157I've never owned a store, but I managed a liquor department at a Supermarket and managed a liquor store.First of all, it's not as "easy" as it seems, navigating competing suppliers and merchandisers is a lot more annoying that you imagine, if you buy into a franchise then they will have standing orders for shelf space and displays etc. Even if their product doesn't sell well or has a low margin you're forced to put it in premium locations like a % of chiller room for white wine or a free standing display right in the middle of your floorspace. If you have a standalone store they try and impose this kind of stuff on you just to secure a supply contract, they WILL have merchandisers that come weekly to check on their products, they get incredibly butthurt about what's next to their product or where you put it and can directly influence your purchase costs.Theft is real, you need enough floorspace for an open feel to make your store a little more premium to attract a better clientele and the right area for it + 4K cameras.Sales are very cyclical and not "stable". Winter, sales down. Sports game, beer up. Horse racing, wine up. Weekend, RTD's up. Summer long weekend, Spirits up. Wine people are also picky, you need a wide selection of bottles over $40ea and enough time for word to get around to build up a "premium" customer base where margins are good, they also support the high end Port and Whisky sales, but those people also are averse to high security (locked cabinets, bottles behind the counter etc). The location will mostly determine what kind of store you will own and your sales data will reflect that directly.
Are you factoring in the cost of the liquor license into your inventory and all other costs? >I'd look into buying one in a pretty affluent areaIt's more expensive to buy someone's already approved liquor license and that doesn't mean the town didn't change the zoning laws. Also, liquor stores are never in affluent areas unless they are grandfathered in due to zoning laws. Just buy a McDonalds.
>>62337282Buying a macdonald will be more expensive plus macdonald will own the real estate and land.
>>62337157it seems like a license to print money unless you live in a bad area
>>62337327You think you own the real estate and land when purchasing a liquor store? They are in shopping malls or connected to bars/retail establishments for a reason retard. If McDonald's is too expensive then open a subway jeet.
>>62337267Good point I didn't consider AI and it's effects on something like this. I guess it's more probable than not however liquor laws are extremely strict so it might hold up enough for me>>62337272Thanks. How profitable do you think the store you worked at was? From things I've seen and heard it's pretty good money. However the barrier to entry is that it's expensive to buy but I don't think that will be a problem because I can just pool money with the family to buy one. >>62337282Yes usually the liquor stores that are for sale are easily a couple million to several million. That is because liquor licenses are extremely tight and regulated. McDonald's is not a bad idea however I think they require you to do a lot of training before opening one>>62337335I think you are right>>62337335A lot of the ones I've seen have real estate included and are standalone stores
>>62337357You don’t own the real estate when you buy a McDonald’s either, retard. Most of them are franchises in leased mall or strip mall spaces just like liquor stores.McDonald’s is ridiculously expensive to open you’re talking $1.5 to $2.7 million total investment, plus you need hundreds of thousands in cash upfront for equipment, build out, and all that corporate bullshit. A liquor store is way cheaper. You can get one going for like $100k to $500k in most areas, simpler setup, cheaper inventory, no insane franchise fees. Comparing the two is straight up stupid. Liquor stores are way easier and cheaper than buying a McDonald’s.
>>62337439>How profitable do you think the store you worked at was?It was probably pulling around $75k a week across the year.With an averaged GPM of 12% that's $9,000 before expenses.So their weekly FCF would range $2,000-30,000 between a rainy week in winter vs a summer Christmas.Obviously this would be oppositely skewed in the northern hemisphere.This is for an upper middle store at a small shopping complex with a very even spread between Beer/Wine/Liquor/RTD's.At a supermarket it's very different, no liquor only Beer/Wine with lower margins and huge volume. My small supermarket could do $275k in sales translating to a FCF around $30k per week.As a liquor store if you are next to a supermarket your sales will compete, a good idea would be to find a decent area with a supermarket that closes before you.
>>62337157Whatever you do dont hire indians.There is an indian liquor store next to my local aldi and its ran by some boomer white guy who hired all indians and one or two south americans.The indians are extremely annoying. Always coming right up to me to ask if I need any help, no I don't I'm just here to get my bottle of whiskey and fuck off.It gets worse when I bring a girl or my mom there. The entire store starts trying to hook up with them.There are random indians pacing up and down the back of the store talking on the phone in punjabi or whatever the fuck. I don't think they even work there.They're always blasting dingadingadinga music loud enough to where you can hear it in the other stores and outside.The only stereotype that isnt true there is shockingly enough the smell. It's not a smelly store. They're still pests though.The only reason I go there is because they have stock that the other stores don't. There are non jeet liquor stores around me but they are several miles across town and more expensive and have garbage on their shelves.I hate going there and I still give them my money because its convenient. I'm moving soon so I wont have to deal with my town being taken over by jeets thank god. But the demographic takeover is already over, nothing I can do anyway.These people are vermin and we have to stop letting them in. After they get in the country it's over and nothing can be done.
>>62337541Interesting thanks for your experience. Further evidence that liquor stores are profitable. I hear wine has the most margin but like you said id be competing with the grocery stores. >>62337558Haha that's funny cause it's kinda the same where I live too. Not sure if they own it or just work there. If they own it that would worry me because they can pool even more resources and fuck everyone else over.hmmm
>>62337439>buy famous local bar>need to close for renovations>during the 50 yrs that bar was open an elementary school was built within 500 yds>renovations finish>city says due to title transfer and new school no liquor license allowedThe idiot was out of a mil, couldn't even sell alcohol. It was BYOB until he could sell the property. You need to double check zoning with lawyers, if you really want to purchase an already operating liquor store. This is why purchasing a franchise (McDonald's or Subway) is easier for most. Even my father got fucked by zoning laws.
>>62337480>You don’t own the real estate when you buy a McDonald’s either, retard.Thanks for repeating what is already common knowledge. Grandma was always right, you were so special and smart.
>>62337597>I hear wine has the most marginActually it's mid-range spirits that are slightly off brand can carry 35% GPM, while big brands are down around 10-15%. Wine GPM gets eaten up by distributors and sits around 8-12%. Beer is 5-10% and RTD's a bit higher at 10-15%.A good forethought is Beer and RTD's always carry worthwhile discounts for volume so purchasing whole pallets can increase your margin buy up to 5% so don't cheap out on back storage space. You need rear or side access via roller door with a 2nd hand forklift and pallet racking. Space for 30+ pallets would be a good target. Beer particularly has use-by-dates, so buy in bulk but make sure you have a good turnover.
>>62337723Wine also carries a good volume discount but you can't compete with any supermarket on wine so it's never worth chasing volume. A supermarket large enough to have a distribution centre can buy 50,000+ pallets at a time, so your best bet is to have a wide range and a slightly more premium selection including some foreign imports to attract "Vino Connoisseur" faggots. But there's a fine balance where too much selection just becomes obscure products that nobody has heard of, and if you end up with inventory that doesn't move, you can waste hours wondering if you should separate some 2009 bottles that didn't sell and trying to capitalise on vintage vs just marking it down to get rid of it.
Liquor licenses are notoriously bullshit. You will get extorted for money on a yearly basis and you need to make sure your buisness is profitable enough to pay off the commissars arbitrary prices. But otherwise yeah I think you could make it work. I wonder why I never see liquor stores that are also head shops? seems very logical to combine them. You could really make the big bucks selling Kratom and Kratom derived pseudo opiates to junkies. I have heard of people spend tens of thousands of dollars on 7-OH pills in a matter of weeks Of course that legal loophole will be closing soon I am sure
>>62337844Oh you better believe I would keep raising the prices on wine I didnt sell. Rubbing my hands together and laughing all the while
>>62337204>selling addictive product>known for being a prime target for theft>"gee I wonder if people would steal it"
>>62338369I said>in your areaIn my area, there is no theft of liquor, only legal crime.
