In order to receive regular stable income in the modern world, you need to think about your own business. But how to determine a niche, so as not to miscalculate? Beginners are often interested in how to open a pet store from scratch. This topic in recent years is quite promising. Every year the market for pet products is growing by 20%. In this review, we will consider the main advantages and disadvantages of this business, a list of documents necessary for opening, a step-by-step algorithm, as well as calculation of investments needed for the first time.
Features of doing business
How to open a pet shop? Selling such peculiar goods is a very promising business. Most of these outlets pay for themselves after 1-1.5 years. Some stores spin up much faster. However, the short term return of capital is far from the only advantage of trading in pet products. The positive aspects can also be attributed to the ever-growing demand. Every third house has a pet today. Moreover, even in the conditions of the economic crisis, most families are not going to reduce the costs spent on keeping pets. This means that it is currently beneficial to open a pet store. Trading in pet supplies today gives many people the opportunity to do what they love and help animals.
Advantages and disadvantages
Let's dwell on this aspect in more detail. So how to open a pet store from scratch? Starting a business in this area is quite simple. There are quite a lot of pet product manufacturers on the market today. Therefore, to form a unique competitive assortment of goods may well every store. Another main advantage of this type of business is a relatively small list of permits. It is significantly smaller than that of a simple grocery store. Thus, we can say that the trade in pet products today is a rather promising business sector, which pays off in about a year.
This type of activity, such as the sale of pet products, also has its drawbacks. These include high competition. In many large Russian cities, network and private pet stores are successfully operating today. And feed and fillers can be bought in a simple supermarket. So, at the start of work, your store will have to immediately indicate its competitive advantage. You can offer your customers products from new manufacturers, promotions or low prices, the ability to place an order online.
Another disadvantage of this field of activity is the specific smell of goods. When starting a business, this minus may seem frivolous. But sometimes it has a decisive influence on the selection of personnel. In addition, if in addition to pet products, live animals are also sold in the store, the store owner will have to bear full responsibility for their health. A sick animal in the store can be a cause for litigation and greatly spoil the reputation of the institution.
Permissions and documents
This aspect should be given special significance. How to open a pet store from scratch? What is needed at first? Like any other business in Russia, the sale of pet products should be legal. Therefore, to open a point of sale, you will need to draw up a package of permits.
It includes:
- Statutory documents: certificate of registration of LLC or IE, TIN, lease of premises, certificate of assignment of OKVED.
- Permitting documents: conclusion of the sanitary-epidemiological service, approving the decision from the fire inspection, pharmaceutical license (for the sale of medicines, including medicines for fleas and ticks).
- Receipt of payment of state duty (7500 rubles).
- Veterinary certificates from the State Veterinary Administration (in case you plan to keep and sell live animals in the store). In addition, a separate certificate must be issued for each animal, which confirms the state of its health.
- A production control program, a disinfection agreement, a waste disposal document, sanitary measures logs - all these papers are necessary for Rospotrebnadzor.
- Documents of employees: employment contracts, medical books with a note on passing a medical examination and sanitary training.
As in any retail outlet, a consumer’s corner must be equipped in a pet store. It is also necessary to determine the location for the evacuation plan. These documents are drawn up in accordance with standard rules.
It may take up to six months to prepare the necessary documentation. In addition, certain costs will be required. Usually they do not exceed 20-25 thousand rubles.
Step-by-step instruction
How to open a pet store from scratch? The instructions below will help you understand everything. We will analyze step by step how best to choose a location for a future outlet, what you should know about the product range, and also consider other important aspects of doing business in the field of trade in pet products.
Choice of premises
This aspect should be given special significance. The success of the entire enterprise depends largely on the right location. How to open a pet store from scratch? Business will go better if you place the outlet in places with high traffic. The most profitable solution is to rent a room in a shopping center. There are always potential buyers here who are able to provide the store with profit even on weekdays.
The size of the room will directly depend on the size of the assortment presented in the store. If you plan to sell only a few categories of popular feed, toys and medicines, then you need only 15-20 square meters of area. If it is supposed to trade a large assortment of feeds belonging to different price categories, as well as medicines and related products, then you will need a room with an area of 50-70 square meters.
Of course, the store should be equipped with everything necessary: electricity, water, sewage. It is also worth thinking in advance about a high-quality ventilation system. Only in this case you will be able to avoid the specific smell emitted by animal feed. If you do not deal with this problem, it may well scare away potential customers, and even be able to provoke a conflict with neighboring stores.
Another important criterion for choosing a point of sale is the ability to adjust the lighting system. It is important to strike a balance between animal-friendly lighting and bright lighting for shoppers. Counters should be illuminated with a light indicator of 200-300 lux. For a zone with pets it is better to use sources of 100-150 lux.
Title
How to open a pet shop? A step-by-step instruction must necessarily include such an important point as the choice of a suitable name. So what do you need to know about this? After you decide on the name, you will need to print advertising posters and order a sign. When choosing a "name" for your outlet, it is important to observe the following requirements, namely:
- In the name of the store, try to make a reference to the animal world. This will allow potential buyers to understand that you are selling goods for their favorite pets.
- Do not use names that are officially registered as trademarks. There is a serious penalty for this. To check whether the name is framed as a brand, you can use special online services or the official website of the tax service.
Product range
We continue to consider how to open a pet store. The instruction also includes the selection of the optimal product range. The following items should be included in the standard set of the pet store:
- feed from various manufacturers: from economy class to feed of prestigious brands;
- cat litter of various types;
- accessories for cages and aquariums;
- drinking bowls and bowls;
- dietary supplements and vitamins for animals;
- medicinal and medical preparations;
- brushes and trays;
- collars, leashes, clothes for animals;
- carrying;
- toys, houses, scratching posts, mattresses;
- cages for rodents and birds;
- aquariums and vegetation for them;
- cosmetics and shampoos;
- birds: canaries, parrots;
- rodents: mice, hamsters, chinchillas;
- rabbits
- fish;
- turtles.
Staff
What do you need to open a pet store? As in any other business, an important issue here is the selection of employees. Now let's talk about it in more detail. The best option for a pet store is a 12-hour work day. The schedule of the outlet can be organized as follows: from 9 to 21 hours or from 10 to 22 hours. In this mode of operation, employees must work "2 through 2". Depending on the size of the presented product range, for the functioning of one outlet, from 1 to 3 employees should work per shift. The best option for the formation of staff is the principle of "employee at the cash desk and the seller in the hall. Special education for staff is optional. A couple of days is enough to understand the work of the cash register and the assortment presented in the store. Nevertheless, the presence of a veterinary education will not be superfluous here. Such a specialist will help create a good reputation for your business. For example, you can involve senior students in veterinary universities or colleges in your work.
How to open a pet shop? What needs to be explained to staff? Before starting work, stores all employees must undergo training. They should clarify:
- the order of the store;
- product range presented at the outlet;
- fundamental differences between different types of feed;
- rules for the use of drugs for animals;
- basic rules for caring for animals that are in the store;
- cash register regulations.
Calculation of fixed investments
Is it profitable to open a pet store? This aspect is worth exploring in the first place. Let's try to understand this issue by conducting simple calculations.
Selling animal feed is a pretty lucrative business. Trade margin on any product is about 50%. The margin on medicines starts from 20%, and on accessories - from 40%. The demand for pet supplies is quite stable, so the payback period of a outlet will be from 12 to 16 months on average.
Consider what it takes to open a pet store from scratch. The minimum investment is presented below.
Costs:
- rent of a trading floor (from 40 to 50 square meters): 80-100 thousand rubles;
- utility bills: up to 10 thousand rubles;
- purchase of commercial equipment: 30 thousand rubles;
- installation of a ventilation and air conditioning system: 50 thousand rubles;
- execution of necessary documentation: 25 thousand rubles;
- purchase of the first batch of goods: 200-300 thousand rubles;
- installation of a lighting system: 10 thousand rubles;
- installation of a fire alarm: 15 thousand rubles;
- purchase of cash machinery and equipment: 50 thousand rubles;
- scales: 2 thousand rubles;
- chairs and other furniture: 10 thousand rubles;
- aquarium stand: 100 thousand rubles;
- advertising costs: 20 thousand rubles.
Thus, the minimum costs at the initial stage are 742 thousand rubles. Also, do not forget about the mandatory monthly payments. These include replenishment of inventories (up to 500 thousand rubles), utilities, administrative expenses (2000 rubles), insurance premiums, disinfection and removal of solid waste (1000 rubles), detergents (1000 rubles), as well as expenses for animal feed, which are contained in the trading floor (15 000 rubles). It is worth considering the salary of staff. Much depends on the staff. On average, the seller’s salary is about 20,000 rubles.
Profitability
So, have you decided to open a pet shop? The reviews confirm that all stages of registration of activities do not cause any special problems. However, to get good profitability, you need to choose the right location and product range. According to statistics, the average check for standard pet stores is between 400 and 600 rubles. Thus, provided that 45-55 buyers are attracted per day, an entrepreneur can count on earning an income of 25 thousand rubles. After conducting simple economic calculations, we can conclude that the payback period of the project will be approximately 2 years. Profitability from running this type of business will average 9.7%.
Conclusion
In this review, we examined in detail how to open a pet store. The step-by-step instruction given in the article describes the main stages of conducting this type of activity. The first thing a novice entrepreneur should do is to carefully study the demand for this type of product and conduct preliminary calculations of the company's profitability. In order to ensure a stable flow of customers to the outlet, you should carefully consider the choice of premises and the selection of the product range. You should also consider a marketing strategy. Attract customers with special promotions and a loyalty program.
Experts in this field recommend focusing on the sale of unique products that are not represented in other stores in your city. An important issue is also the selection of qualified personnel. It’s good if you manage to attract specialists with a veterinary education to work. They will be able to give buyers competent advice on the content of pets, as well as talk about the features of a particular product. Provided that you are done correctly, the company will pay off after 1.5-2 years. In some cases, this period may take less time.
And finally, I would like to note that if you decide to do your own business, then you need to be prepared for everything. The most important thing is not to be afraid to take risks!