Business Update: (Sometimes the Cookie-Cutter Model Just Doesn't Work)
If you've followed this blog, you'll recall how I shared the account of how a local convenience store lost their customer base and had to sell to new owners. That old saying about not learning the lessons of history and being condemned to repeat them, is playing out right before our eyes.
When they took over the store earlier this year, since I was a longtime shopper, neighborhood resident, and former employee, I offered to share with them my take on what went wrong and what they could do to avoid the same fate.
They weren't interested...
When I asked to speak with the new owner and his two sons, I thought they'd want to hear from someone who'd known what worked when the place was hopping. This family, like the prior one, are from India. They have few ties to the area and run a number of other stores outside the city, and thought they could bring a cookie-cutter approach to this one.
However the city has been transformed from the Irish, German, Polish and small Russian population of decades ago. It now has a Hispanic and African-American majority now, and my neighborhood in particular has very different needs than the population of the past.
Unfortunately, that isn't reflected in the products and services they have on offer.
I was shot down immediately when I offered to share my suggestions for some tweaks that I felt would bring in more shoppers as I really wanted the store to succeed.
The old man and his sons told me that they had a number of other stores that were breaking even and they were going to use the same approach with this one. "You're not interested in what I have to share?" I asked, "Thank you, but we'll stick with our plan" was their response.
Okaaaayy...
I've learned in life that wise people listen more than they speak, and was surprised/not surprised, as the last family to own the business had the same attitude right up until they were forced to sell.
Things Begin To Bite
Every time I go in there the place is empty of people. The clerk is on his phone either playing video games or watching foreign porn. Lately, when I come in the old man tries to interest me in more products, but their product mix is wrong and they've raised their prices due to the lack of business which makes them noncompetitive with other business in the area.
It's like watching the Titanic slowing heading for the iceberg with warnings unheeded and being able to do nothing about it.
They should be killing it, with the perfect location to run a thriving business. I know what the community wants and needs, and this isn't it. If they don't change course soon, we''l have to watch this ship sink and hope that the next owner is more accommodating and let the market decide.
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Imagine having someone who knows the business, the market, the target audience and good practices offer you help and you're too proud and stubborn to decline the help. Damn.
Regionalizing and adapting to your current target market is key, but seems like this business missed sales101 and doesn't know how to connect with the current neighborhood's needs.
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Yes, I was honestly gobsmacked when they said no and even asked them if they were sure they didn't want to hear what I had to say.
The tweaks I had on offer were realtively minor involving a slight change/addition to the product mix to reflect what sells to the customer base, some fixes to the store, and the hiring of someone local.
Example: They're in a majority Black, and Latino neighborhood, with suburban professionals that used to come in for breakfast coffee, donuts and lunch, but have nothing tailored to the workers and residents, instead offering a lot of Indian items that many have no familiarity with at all.
This place was known for their fried (and to the African-American population, barbecue) chicken. People would come from all over town packing the place to buy.
Now what little chicken they have is dry and cold, as opposed to the moist and hot servings that I prepared. It's sad as they are in a killer location right next to the CBD. Too bad.
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