LHBS questions

[Gunfighter04]

I live in a pretty rural area that is probably an hour and a half away from the closest LHBS. In the last few years I've run into several brewers in my area, and the general consensus is that they order on line from a myriad of different places. I've been toying with the idea of opening a LHBS in my area, and I'm looking to see what the opinion is of the forum. Are LHBS's a thing of the past?

I'm not looking to get rich, and I do think that I would offer an online storefront. (I'm an IT guy for my day job)

In today's eccomerce market I'm not sure how to estimate demand for the homebrewer.

 

[Nokitchen]

New York is obviously a larger market than where you're considering, but the LHBS that opened in Brooklyn a while back seems to be doing a bang-up business.

Brewing as a tactile hobby and drinking is (or should be) a social activity. There's something about going into the store and browsing the grains one's self that brewers enjoy. One can also get more precise amounts of grain, which either saves money or makes for fresher beers, depending on how long one keeps one's extra grain from the 1-lb packages you see online. Fresher and colder yeast, too, if you can get volumes high enough.

Do you have a regular homebrew group out where you're at? If not I'd definitely consider starting get-togethers at any LHBS I were to open.

 

[Gunfighter04]

I didn't want to write a novel, so I didn't do into much detail, but there is no local homebrew clubs or organization, so I have a site in mind that would support an organization, along with having a "Beginners brewing" class to try to entice more into the hobby. It would also make a very good marketing component.

 

[Pappers_]

I didn't want to write a novel, so I didn't do into much detail, but there is no local homebrew clubs or organization, so I have a site in mind that would support an organization, along with having a "Beginners brewing" class to try to entice more into the hobby. It would also make a very good marketing component.

For what its worth, my LHBS seems to do a bang-up business on wine, beer and mead making classes. We are in a metropolitan area, though, so there's a bigger potential market.

 

[Weizenwerks]

If you aren't in it for the money, starting a business isn't the right choice.

A home brewing shop would require a diverse inventory to include ingredients and equipment. What I would do first is research demand from your local market. There are quite a few home brewers in my rural area, but the local co-op that has some stuff is a joke so we all order from online vendors instead. Ecommerce is a viable business model, even supplemental to a B&M shop, but it's a competitive market.

 

[Golddiggie]

Do some market research before you start getting ahead of yourself. Make sure there's enough potential customers in the area to support a LHBS where you're thinking of having it. Or make sure you have enough funds to stay afloat for 2 years without bringing in much business (not enough to cover expenses)...

A quick look on the meetup.com site shows one group in the Harrisburg, PA area...

Of course you could always start your own meetup group in your area, to see how much business you can wrangle up. Maybe make up fliers to distribute asking if people would be interested in having a LHBS in the area you're thinking. Make it an online form (very basic, or simple)...

If there are people on HBT from the area you're looking to open the LHBS, then you could have the start of a customer base. I would just be concerned that there's not enough people close enough to where you'll open the location to keep it running initially. It is a great idea, just make sure you give yourself the best chance possible for success. It would suck to open the store, and have too small a customer base to keep it running. Or need to charge more than people are paying to get stuff via online shopping...

Of course, you could have a web presence too... I know that PA ships fast to a large area, even when using the ground option. I order from a distributor that ships ground from Harrisburg, and I have items typically within two days.

Maybe you could partner up with some local orchards and apiaries and sell their products along with kits. Or have fliers/info in their shops for people to see. Someone picking up a few gallons of cider, and such might buy even more (from the orchard) knowing that they can go to you for supplies to ferment it.

You might need to educate people on how this is all legal... At least to increase the customer base... I'm sure there will be people that live close enough to where you'll open the place that used to home brew, but had stopped for a while, but will pick it back up now that there's a good LHBS for them to visit... As great as online stores are when it comes to prices, there's something very satisfying about being able to walk out of a store with what you need, and use it right away.

DO let us know if you open up the place and how it goes...

 

[Gunfighter04]

Thanks for the input. All good points.

I hope someone in the LHBS arena would have a clue as to the number of 30 day customers you'd have to have for brick and morter, even for a small store. The ecommerce part I can handle as the company I work for now does just under 120M annually.

I'm also fully aware that in a lot of ways I'm being lazy as I have the means and methods to develop this myself and not asking a bunch of people on the web a bunch of "how do I" questions.

The summary I was looking for: "Is the Homebrewing market trending towards an ecommerce model only" ? Maybe I should post a Poll asking what percentages do the folks on here purchase online vs at their LHBS.



I do have yet to investigate the wholesale end of the accounts receivable.

 

[Golddiggie]

I do a mix of online and LHBS purchasing for my supplies. IF I could get everything from the LHBS that I wanted, at rates close enough to what it would be delivered from the online vendors, then I'd shop 100% at the LHBS. Often enough, though, the LHBS won't have everything you want, and they're not always able to order things that I do want. Or they would need to order a full pallet of something that I want just a few of, making it not viable for them to do so.

I think that if you were to have a wide enough selection, and be able to order up additional items fast enough, then people would use you for most things. You'll never be able to carry everything people want, but you should be able to stock enough.

If you posted when you placed special orders, like once a week, then I think people would plan to place those orders knowing that they'll get those items with the next delivery. I don't think you need to have a warehouse sized place in order to do well. Start of with a smallish place, with room to expand. Or, start off with a modest inventory, but post up about being able to order pretty much anything people want. Once you see the trends for the area, you can stock more items that actually move at a decent rate. Of course, chances are you'll always move the basics... If you can beat, or at least come within a small percentage, of the online stores pricing, then I think you'll do well.

I know from experience that with most distributors, until you do a significant volume with them, you won't get the really good prices. It sucks for someone just starting out and trying to compete with the places that have been around for several years.

You might want to offer a place for people to brew as well. Especially for those that want to, but they cannot get a full batch boil on their stove.

For your web site, you could put up some video's showing people the different options available to them (for brewing) or at least links to sites that already have it posted... Different all grain methods, extract batches, partial mashes, etc. Depending on how much time, energy, and effort you can devote to this, you could see it take off like mad...

 

[Gunfighter04]

I think your hitting on where the value of Brick and Mortar come from. Not the "hardware" but the services.

 

[Golddiggie]

Services, sharing knowledge, looking at things before investing in them... I would say that if you can plan to have one brew-day/demo day a month, or every couple of weeks, you'll do well. Post it up everywhere you can so that people know. Once they see what's involved, I think you'll get a good amount of customers. Maybe include an option for customers that buy kits, or ingredients to brew on site (make up a schedule with how ever many spots you set up) on a specific day/time... That way, they can get their batch fully brewed, have the yeast getting ready either at home, or at the shop, and then just pitch the yeast in when they get it home. You could offer fermentation spots for $x/batch... I think you'll get more people new to the obsession going that route initially, until they want to do it all at home.

There's so many things you could offer/do it can be a bit much... Whatever you do, start off on the small size, but with room to grow (physical space)...

 

[cricky101]

... Maybe I should post a Poll asking what percentages do the folks on here purchase online vs at their LHBS. ...

Not since yesterday! But I'm spoiled being about 10 minutes from Northern Brewer and 30 minutes from Midwest Supplies.

 

[Golddiggie]

Not since yesterday! But I'm spoiled being about 10 minutes from Northern Brewer and 30 minutes from Midwest Supplies.

Sir... You SUCK!!! lol

The closest LHBS (worth a damn) for me is about 30-40 minutes drive... There is one just a few minutes from where I live, but they're not even good enough to suck donkey parts. There are a few more in the area, but they're even further away from me...

 

[TheMan]

New York is obviously a larger market than where you're considering, but the LHBS that opened in Brooklyn a while back seems to be doing a bang-up business.

Brewing as a tactile hobby and drinking is (or should be) a social activity. There's something about going into the store and browsing the grains one's self that brewers enjoy. One can also get more precise amounts of grain, which either saves money or makes for fresher beers, depending on how long one keeps one's extra grain from the 1-lb packages you see online. Fresher and colder yeast, too, if you can get volumes high enough.

Do you have a regular homebrew group out where you're at? If not I'd definitely consider starting get-togethers at any LHBS I were to open.

You're obviously not ordering from the right places online...My LHBS doesn't do smaller than 1# packages, but I can order online from several places and get precise amounts.

In any case, for me the online stores are cheaper. Our LHBS's in the area have painful prices that limit me to only purchasing when in dire need.