Some help please

one man clappin

Hi folks
I am just trying to conduct a bit of a survey here please. One of my dreams is to have my own record shop. I have been looking at this thread for a while and notice that a lot of businesses are closing in Limerick due to high rates / rent etc.
Is there an opening for a record shop in Limerick or should I just go and have a cold shower and forget about it?
I am not talking about a hmv type shop selling everything but specialising in vinyl both new and second hand.
Any good advise would be greatly appreciated.

Marcus Halberstram

one man clappin wrote: »

Hi folks
I am just trying to conduct a bit of a survey here please. One of my dreams is to have my own record shop. I have been looking at this thread for a while and notice that a lot of businesses are closing in Limerick due to high rates / rent etc.
Is there an opening for a record shop in Limerick or should I just go and have a cold shower and forget about it?
I am not talking about a hmv type shop selling everything but specialising in vinyl both new and second hand.
Any good advise would be greatly appreciated.

None of the record shops in Limerick have lasted. There is a stall down the market alright.

Business in Limerick is dead.

crazygeryy

Empire music did all that sort of stuff and it died.but maybe start with a stall some where and see how you get on?

Good luck with it.

Kess73

vinyl only?


If so, then not a chance. Don't mean to sound dismissive but there is simply not a big enough market for a vinyl only store in Limerick.


Cities with much bigger populations and much bigger catchment areas struggle with such a niche product.


Would love to see someone come in and get a successful independent music store (that sells many formats as well as other related products) off the ground in Limerick, but you really need to look into the rent, rates, staff wages, insurance, stock costs, taxes, and all the other overheads, and tally that against what you would realistically need to make in order to have a profitable venture.


You could gamble on opening in some tiny back street unit with dirt cheap rent/rates (dirt cheap relative to better specced units in beter locations), but lack of footfall would be the killer and there have been a few attempts at specialist vinyl stores in Limerick and all went pretty badly in time due to gambling on demand for product outstripping any disadvantages from using the cheap units in poor locations.


Best thing you could do, imo of course, if to get a clear and concise business plan on paper, one that lays out your goals and strategies for the first 3 to 5 years of what you want to do. You should end up with a business plan that is about 20 to 25 pages in length (not including appendices). If you are coming up with a business plan that is only a page or two in length then you are nowhere near having looked into everything you need. Then sit down with a professional and have it evaluated.


The above is just a quick off the top of my head reply though, and is just my opinion on it. If you think you have a good idea and you think it is viable, then be sure to give yourself the best chance of achieving it. Cannot stress enough the importance of getting good professional advice with regard to finances and also with regard to business start up.

Marcus Halberstram

Talk to some business people in Limerick and get some feedback.

one man clappin

Thanks for the replies folks, much appreicated.
@ Kess73, thanks for the detailed reply, a lot of thinking and head scratching to do.

It will keep me busy over the next number of days anyway.

puntosporting

Online is the way to go no rates and a much bigger market place!

steveon

So many places have come and gone selling Vinyl over the yrs sad to sad but I wouldnt throw all my eggs in one basket with this one....would start small as suggested with a market stall...and if you make money expand..

But the first key to sucess is to enjoy and know your market so if your into vinyl yourself then your half way there in my opinion so I'd wish you the best with it..and maybe try and get a stall in the halls of ul or Lit once a month mite be a great way of getting off the ground...

tara m

Are there any bars and clubs in Limerick where the DJ's still use vinyl? I don't get out much these days, I assume 'the kids' are all using cd mixers these days lol - I'm a 'retired' dj/producer from London drum and bass scene - now a farmer lol. Seriously though, it's something I've considered as well, but on imagining how many people still own a record player, that isn't in the loft here right now, i'd guess you're looking at a very small customer base, into, probably a few genres of music - which themselves, have masses of sub-genres northern soul and ska 45's, 90's house etc etc...... and most dj's are sent records for free so you wouldn't be able to rely on them for trade - there's a lot of business online though, so maybe use a city centre spot as a base for your online operations and any passing trade is a bonus. But you would need a lot of inventory and average whlesale price of current 12 inch single is around 1.50 sterling. You can get 'packs' online, say a selection from a genre, 500 pieces, 500 quid, average resale 3 quid sterling. Good luck - ps where\s a girl to hear to some nice dub/ska and northern soul round these parts or am i going to have to get the mobile disco out of the barn?

daveob007

sell on ebay, vinyl only would be a disaster unless you sell rare or collectable discs,there are still many collectors out there but the common stuff does not sell,just look at the car boot sales,loads of boxes of lps and singles and very few people looking at them.
very hard these days to sell any product because the modern popular products are selling in cheapo shops all over the place,just sell a variety of goods including vinyl and tapes and advertise your unit and start a facebook page so we can all share.
keep us up to date here and good luck with whatever you do.

Limerick91

Would love to hear some northern soul in some pubs.

Maybe some pubs for example Dr Johns, Mickey Martins might be interested in a DJ set, I would contact them.

You could be semi-retired

geotrig

well vinyl is seeing a bit of a resurgence at present ,a lot of nice new prints and albums geting released ,but how long that lasts or how sustainable that is is a though question as a sop of vinyl o its own i dont think so.
for me i always liked vinyl and when i see a shop that has stuff i have a browse.

Could you maybe combine this with 1 or 2 othe ideas maybe to make it sustainable viable something differnt soemthing inviting ? a vinyl ,retro game shop and coffee shop all in one i know we have loads of coffee shops bu,t you would need to keep people coming in to keep cash flowing etc.

As well as the market sounds, it still would be hard to gauge potential business off that as not everyone would make their way their .

another reason i mentioned a coffee shop is you could spread your costs over that .price is ke too expensive and people will shop online or elsewhere a couple of quid over online prices and people will buy

good luck with the potetial venture and hope to see it happen

MrBizzles

Couldnt see a record shop lasting anywhere, never mind in Limerick City. Look at HMV etc going out of business & they sell everything media/music wise. Would be a bad business venture imo