Despite the ups and downs of the economy, people will always continue to buy food and other necessities. A supermarket is one of the most popular nationwide business ideas of the past few years. Here is how to start a supermarket business in Nigeria.
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1. Create a supermarket business plan
When starting a supermarket, business plan is the first and most crucial step of the process. A grocery store business plan allows you to create a detailed guide to starting and managing your business.
Writing a business plan on your own may be difficult, but luckily there are plenty of professional business plan writers that can help. At this stage you also need to conduct a feasibility study – in other words, investigate whether your business will be profitable under the current circumstances.
2. Become official
So how to start a supermarket in Nigeria the 100% legal way? The key is to register your business with the officials. Your supermarket needs to obtain all necessary permits and licences well before it opens the door for the first customers.
3. Find the right facility
With a supermarket, the size of your facility matters as much as the location. If you’re not absolutely confident you can find the right place to start a supermarket, you can hire a real estate agent to help you.
Typically, the location of a supermarket must meet three criteria:
- It should be situated in a popular location with plenty of foot traffic, houses, and business spots.
- It needs to be located far enough from other supermarkets and provision stores to not face stiff competition.
- It should have a big parking lot to easily accommodate large number of buyers who arrive by cars.
4. Look for suppliers
When planning how to start a mini supermarket, pay special attention to choosing the suppliers: the diversity and quality of the products you sell will determine the success of your business. The most common supermarket items list includes the following goods:
- Fresh food stuff;
- Groceries;
- Frozen food stuff;
- Toiletries;
- Household items;
- Baby care items;
- Pet care items;
- Beauty products;
- Kitchen supplies;
- Clothing and accessories.
Depending on the location of your supermarket, you can also add specific categories of goods to the list of items your supermarket carries. For example, if your store is located near schools or business centres, you can make a profit from selling stationery.
5. Organize the shelves
One of the most important things to know when learning how to start a supermarket is that the way you arrange your shelves and the goods on the shelves can have a huge impact on your sales. There are plenty of marketing researches regarding the correct placement of shelves that you need to study!
6. Hire and train your stuff
Unlike a small provision store, a supermarket cannot function with just 2 or 3 employees. At the very least, you will need cashiers, salespeople to arrange the goods on the shelves and restock them when needed, a store manager, and security. Additionally, you will need a cleaner and possibly an accountant.
7. Advertise your supermarket
When you are finally ready to launch your new supermarket, there is nothing more hurtful than opening its doors for the first time and only getting a few customers per hour.
To avoid this situation, make sure to raise awareness of your new supermarket before you launch it. You can use flyers, newspaper advertising, or announce the opening on the internet. Then your job is to do everything right, and if the customers like your business, the word-of-mouth marketing will keep your business afloat for years.
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