kinster started this topic @ 19:24 on 11/11/2004
Hi
How do I find out how many sandwiches/coffees certain outlets sell? I'm just wondering how they survive? How many items do they need to sell to cover cost? How do they make a profit?
Thanks
RE: coffee/cafe/sandwich shops
Jonny | 11/11/2004 08:01 PM
Get yourself a good book, head for a local coffee shop, find a good armchair and settle in for a good day's research. Not a bad way to spend a day and call it work?
I'd stay off the double espressos though or you'll be absolutely wireed by 11am.........
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RE: coffee/cafe/sandwich shops
stephenjamesmurray | 11/11/2004 10:54 PM
places like Starbucks and Costa make a profit by flooding the market and gaining economies of scale - and often putting small operators out of business at the same time. Smaller places do make a profit but as you suggest - even though a cup of quality coffee costs less than 15p per cup - they still need to sell quiet a lot to do well. I used to work in the catering business and we made most of our money through catering for events and functions - where if you can get some good contracts you can do very well out of it. I think to do well you have to look to get as much scope out of the business as possible - increase the average spend, increase economies of scale and think of other income streams that can you can generate from the business.
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Stephen
http://www.urbandesignclothing.co.uk
RE: RE: coffee/cafe/sandwich shops
Sweet Baby | 14/11/2004 10:04 PM
Hi
I've had the same problem trying to figure out what the turnover would be for my shop. A good way to start is to work out how much you need to make to break even. This means taking all the costs into consideration including insurance, rent, stock, equipment, wages etc, etc.
Thats the scary bit when you start thinking about rates, legal fees to check out your lease etc. Also think about how soon you have before you need to break even. Do you need to draw a wage, pay back investors or loans or can these wait to give you longer to get established.
Think about what your opening hours would be and then armed with these figures camp out as suggested in a cafe similar to what you are proposing. Pretend you are doing the crossword and note down the sales over a certain time. This gives you a chance to see what sells, what doesn't and what you can do better. The more research the better so a different cafe every day.
Most cafes are limited to to when they will be busy mostly 2 to 3 hours at lunch time. Think about ways to increase sales. E.g. breakfasts, event catering, late opening.
Good luck and don,t sample to many fry ups or chocolate cakes, but I supose I would never trust a skinny chef!
Sweet Baby.
RE: RE: coffee/cafe/sandwich shops
elaborations | 15/11/2004 01:28 PM
A little off topic - but what happens when you want to start up an online business, say for example a bookshop online. It's not possible to go to amazon and see how many people buy books every hour ...... any ideas anyone?
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RE: RE: coffee/cafe/sandwich shops
Sweet Baby | 15/11/2004 11:15 PM
Hi,
Good point, it is so difficult to work out turnovers etc. I am also considering on-line sales but have no idea what the volume of sales would be. Thats one of the reasons why I don't want to rely on a web-site alone. I had a look at Daltons weekly to compare turnovers for similar busineses but its difficult to compare when tou don't know locations and range of products etc.
When it comes to finding out info for on-line busi.nesses I have no idea. One of the reasons I chickened out of a bricks and morter shop was that I was not convinced by the turnovers I had seen quoted. I even spoke to an ex shop owner whose shop was very similar to what I was planning, his turnover for the first year was more than enough to reach a very early break even, but still not sure if this was real figures.
Sweet Baby.
