Retail shop location dilemma

hawkquin

I'm at the early stage of putting together a business plan for a retail shop. I haven’t found any were affordable in Dublin city center and I don't feel my shop will succeed out of the main shopping area. I’m beginning to think a main shopping street in a more rural town out of Dublin might be better. Has anyone gone this way after giving up on Dublin or have an opinion on this?

prendy

this really depends on the type of retail shop...is it a speciality product range or general?
the fact of the matter is that if costs are too high to run the shop in dublin then look elsewhere.

antoinolachtnai

It's mostly about footfall. If footfall is important to your business, you are going to have to be prepared to pay twice as much to get twice as much footfall.

I am inclined to go against prendy's suggestion and say that if you can't find a way to make it viable in a big city like Dublin, you probably won't be able to get it to go anywhere in Ireland. Maybe I am overstating the point with that. But the population of rural towns is tiny. If your product is in any way specialized, you just won't have enough customers in an easy distance. If it's something people will travel to and seek out, why not rent a unit in an industrial estate, down a back street or in an upstairs location in Dublin? My view is that you should be able to find something in some Dublin suburb that gives you what you need, otherwise it's going to be difficult to make the whole thing viable anywhere in Ireland.

As prendy says though, it depends on the type of shop.

Also, look at your margins. Maybe you are just not planning to charge enough.

Good luck with your business!

hawkquin

Thanks for the fast reply! I think I’m just panicking in the early stages, that’s really good advice antoinolachtnai. My product is specialized and has been popular at farmers markets. I will look into my margins and give more research to options in Dublin. Just needed the facts thrown at me.