Considering RMU in a mall

can you make a profit?

[krolik]

I know it is early but I am considering leasing a retail merchandising unit in a local mall for Christmas time 2008 in addition to our normal ecommerce operation.
Does anyone here have any experience with RMU ?

The mall I am considering charges $ 6000 per holiday month (November, December, January) + insurance. It is pretty upscale and busy shopping center. Unfortunately I don’t have any experience or don’t know anybody who run RMU, so if you can share any experience / story regarding this kind of endeavor I will appreciate it.

The basic question is, can you make a profit ?

We are in jewelry business, price range of our products is :$30-$200

Thanks for you input.

[Dogza]

I ran RMU's for 5 years and yes, you can make a lot of money. $6000 per month for Nov. and Dec. is normal, but don't pay that for January!

The key is to sell high profit "Impulse" items. Jewelry typically sells very well. You may want to do a "trial" month in July or August before you commit to the Christmas season.

[krolik]

Thank you Dogza for you reply and suggestion on "trial" month before Christmas.

I am estimating that "real" cost of leasing per Christmas month is around $8000 including all fees except for inventory of course and labour. Am I right ?

Could you also give me a hint what is the range of gross sales that one can expect during holiday time (November / December) ?

As usual, thanks for you input.

[Dogza]

Regarding real costs, you will have rent, labor, phone, insurance and inventory plus displays.

A few things to keep in mind. The malls are open from 6am to 11pm, 7 days a week during the holidays so labor is a big factor. Also, the mall and the phone company usually want their money up-front.

Regardless of what people thing, November is a very SLOW month for retail. People are not buying for Christmas in November, so all of your holiday sales will be in December. In reality, all of your big days will be from Dec 12 through 24.

Regarding gross sales, My worst December was $30,000 and my best was $65,000. It really varies widely depending on your items sale price.

The biggest secret I could give you to be successful during the holidays is to make your item (in your case Jewelry) as "Gift Ready" as possible. Offer a free gift box and maybe some type of free warranty with the jewelry. Have several different "packages" of jewelry for the customer to pick from quickly. Maybe one package for $30, one for $50 and one for $100.

With RMU sales, you only have a few SECONDS to grab the customers attention and convince them to buy, so make the process as simple and as quick as possible.

[jsinger]

My experience in malls goes back some years but you used to be able to rent for a period of less than a month. Very costly of course. Maybe even one weekend.

Negotiate from a position of power. I was in a top mall yesterday and I couldn't believe the vacancies and lack of traffic. Malls are hurting.

[krolik]

Thank you very much for all the information. I really appreciate it.

Aleksandra