Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Custom companies => Topic started by: tommo256 on June 01, 2010, 09:33:37 PM
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Hello,
I was thinking of starting a business in the next few months and I would want to be selling the custom companies stuff eg Redback, Ayrtek, Black Cat, Vantage, Bulldog maybe Talisman etc.
I wondered whether this would produce enough turnover to be possible as an idea?
Thoughts appreciated
Lee x
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Its a great idea, but what is most important is your location. I started a business in ireland with a couple of friends, thinking it would really take off as a result of the national teams success in the world cup, but no one bought any of our gear even though we had 4 clubs within a 10 mile radius.
The simple answer for this is that the socio economic lifestyles arent sufficient enough for the average irishmen to go out and buy good gear. We were shifting the 5*s and the Kahuna Mayhems, but not the ricky pontings or the pro performance models (which have more of a margin). So its really important to situate yourself in a good economic area, far away from other retailers/competitors but at the same time accessible to local clubs. You need to make sure that people will be able to buy the best, otherwise you wont make enough money
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I think I am located in decent area, Middle of east anglia. I would start a web page to begin with, I dont think opening a shop would work but I would be able to float around local clubs offering the kit.
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Totally disagree with tommo. What is the point in opening a faceless website? Oh great, another one to add to the hundreds already there. You need a shop where players can go and try the stuff. Besides, all the cricket companies have a policy that states the retailer must have a shop or site where they physically sell gear so you wont get any orders unless you can provide an address.
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Join the club mate, i wanna delve into this, we need a chat on msn or somewhere!! I Just see it as something to help me learn the ropes of business and increase my contacts aswell as a little bit of cash etc...
Cheers
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Even though i am young, ive always wanted to bits and bobs in busniesses like this!
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I've sold the odd bit of kit on, but nothing serious. I think there is a market for the cheaper end items and some of the stuff on this site is very good value, so possibly a margin might exist with the right contacts and prices.Think of it as a pyramid, if you have a £200 bat with a high margin in terms of £'s, the market for that bat would be a select few. If you sell a bat for £50 with a low margin, then the number of potential buyers is alot more. It's hitting a point where prices and volume of customers allow you to sustain a business.
If I was doing it, I'd buy small amounts of stock, few bats etc and gradually build a reputation by going directly to the clubs - either through contacts or doing a few open evenings at the clubs in question. I think alot of players don't have the time after work or a rushed saturday morning to visit a sports shop, so bringing your stock to the club may prove a winner and will also get your face known. Sell your stuff and gradually expand. It may take 2-3 years before going full time, but you'd have a sound base to build on and the contacts.
Having a website is pretty much compulsory, but it doesn't have to sell stock. I worked for a major travel company in the 1990's and our website was doing £1m of business a year simply from brochure requests. You can do the same, or take email orders you can't fulfil in person (or where you have to order stock in).
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why would people buy from you instead of going straight to the manufacturer? If they contact SAF/H4L/Vantage etc... they can get a custom made bat to their specs. If you are going to make any profit, then you'll need to buy from the manufacturer at a cheaper price then the general public, meaning the manufacturer makes less money, so why would they supply to you at cut price?
By all means, you can buy the odd bargain here and there and sell it on at profit, but as a sustainable business I can't see that the companies you have mentioned would have any motivation to supply to you, when they can supply direct and make more profit.
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Would a not too well known brand sell in your area? If so why not start your own, bigger profit margins...
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How would you gain contacts for softs? Travelling to India? How would you brand the gear as well? So many questions for newbies to the industry!
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Start up capital will be a major stumbling block for a small business like this as you will need to buy the stock you intend to sell.
This is a tough market (Tom will know more about launching a brand than me) so his advice is interesting and relevent. But remember, people also like the brands they know, if you are doing a smaller brand then some form of retail space will be really important as people will want to check the stuf out before they buy it. You can buy some kookaburra softs from the internet as you know what you are going to get - you either need fantastic photo's of the smaller brand stuff on the internet or retail space to show it off.
This is a tough market and a tough economic climate to start something like this, with a lot of competition.
Start up capital is key - for a small business this usually comes from one of the three f's - Friends, Family and Founder...
good luck.
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How would you gain contacts for softs? Travelling to India? How would you brand the gear as well? So many questions for newbies to the industry!
Easy enough to get softs theres a guy on here who did the itias stuff I think, just need to give him an email with what you need. Its really cheap to get them done (about £18 for some nice gloves), but expensive to get them delivered and you will probably get stung by customs.
Bats are easy to get hold of from people on here...
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Leo need to chat, think i'm going to go for the instinct cricket!! Here comes another brand hopefully!