[jerryleejr]

My wife and I are thinking of opening a photography store, for the simple reason we live in the 5th largest city in the state and the closest decent store is over an hour away. Yet there are tons of photography studios. Yes it's hard to compete with the Internet, and Wally world, bestbuy etc however I still believe that there are a lot of people that need to touch and see before they buy. And it has been years since we even had a Wolfe camera. Just wondering what the consensus is here and the areas you live in.

JJ

[monochrome]

Educate all your floor personnel, pay them fairly, without brand incentives, establish a culture of consultative selling and fair play, help your customers and "upsell" them by teaching them how to use better equipment - celebrate their successes and empathize with their failures - and over time they'll be loyal customers. Thus can you succeed - but it is a long road.

[ramseybuckeye]

We had two local camera stores up to about a year ago. The larger one, sold Nikon, Sony, Manfrotto, Lowepro, etc. I don't think they sold much high end equipment. They were a little shady in my estimation, they would sell demos at full price, sell used batteries etc. Location was not great. The other store sells Pentax, Canon, and off brand bags and tripods, it is tiny and they have no inventory other than a kit and some used lenses retailing at 2-3 times market value. It seems their biggest business is film developing and printing (how?). Not a great location either, probably very low overhead, it's owned and run by an old man, with a couple people working in the lab.

I know having a big inventory is expensive, but I think it's vital. If I were running a store, I would stay try to carry what the big box stores are not. I wouldn't carry the cheap Nikons and Canons, or the Sonys. Also think about video. I know of a store in Columbus that is extremely busy. They specialize in lighting, do video & studio equipment rentals, sell lots of tripods, and high end Canon and Nikon. They sponsor lots of classes and events at their store.

I think tou would have a good shot at it in Clarksville, Jerry, big University and Army base. Good Luck, let us know if you do it.

[ironlionzion]

Try to think of something that would set you apart from the online retailers. The store by my house has lots of rentals available, lots of use equipment, as well as half the store dedicated to film photography. It's nice to be able to try out cameras and lenses, but, with great return policies of online retailers, nowadays it isn't something limited to brick and mortar stores. Good luck, I'm sure it will be a fun endeavor.

[Clicker]

No, overhead is too high just having a "shell" then you have to financially qualify to have a keep inventory and then you have to have enough sales per month/quarter to keep brands on your shelf. There is no loyalty anymore that said, do a business plan properly, your banker should be able to help you then actually call each manufacturer's brand asking about qualifying and sales needed to keep the brands on your shelf (part of your business plan) do the math properly in your business plan....that alone will tell you if it's viable to proceed. if your bank after doing a complete business plan is NOT willing to support you then there's your answer.
To keep you afloat it's not the DSLR that's going to keep you alive but the accessories and more mass marketed items/cameras (P&Ss)