business idea of a games exhchange shop in westbury

[takethatfan]

Hi,
Me and my partner are wondering if westbury would benifit from a games/dvd exchange store

Has this been done before in Westbury? would this attract many people?

we would like to know your thoughts, its just an idea at the moment, a lot of planning and research would be needed, whether it is worth looking into or not.

Would people be interested or do you travel into Trowbridge to get your games and dvds.

your thoughts and comments appreciated

thanks

[Mike Hawkins]

Sounds a good idea.

[Bazza]

I was only talking about this the other day.. We'd been in Morrisons and were saying how nice it is to be able to but something as simple as a CD without having to trek out of town..
There used to be the record shop in Haynes road if I remember rightly, not sure how long it had been there or why it closed.
I don't know if there's anywhere to rent a DVD/Game now that Coopers is gone.

Maybe there's an opening for it.. is there the demand I wonder.

[Clevercat]

I am not personally into gaming but so many are, I can really see this being a hit locally.

[Bazza]

I am not personally into gaming but so many are, I can really see this being a hit locally.

Neither am I but, like CC says, they are loads that are.. I think a small 'CD/DVD/Games shop' is a good idea..
I think we've probably got enough take aways/charity shops/estate agents now, maybe it's time for something else to keep people from 'straying off'

[cuthbert-murray]

I would personaly really do my home work ie where you would plan to set up ? is it near a car park and bus stops, what is the likely outcome  people using this facility will the prices be able to match out of town prices!
these are the  key factors of will it work if you need any help please contact me and I would be more than happy to help
mike c-m

[Yokel1]

Have a look on the business news on the internet to guage the actual profitability of Games Exchange et al

[Soup]

I think it's a nice idea, but not sure if it would work. I play games, watch DVDs, listen to CDs, but I would generally buy online or when I go to Bath or Salisbury as the prices would be better.

I'd like to see you prove me wrong though!

[Morri]

I have no idea if this would work.

We mostly buy online and rent movies via iTunes.

I have often wondered what businesses would work/are needed in Westbury. 

[hermes2007]

Though I personally buy mine online I think it would be a good idea for the town.
Given that Trowbridge support's two - I can't see why one wouldn't work round here as I can't think of one in Warminster or Frome ? I think (and this is some years ago) the chap who runs Games Exchange in the Shires was trying to franchise and he might be worth asking. I don't think he would see you as competition. Cetainly the Charity Shops in the town sell a lot of what you want to offer but they are not new. Morrison's range is pretty limited but very cheap at times when on special offer.

[maxi]

If you count Blockbuster, thier are 4 shops in Trowbridge,
Gamestation, Game, Pink Planet,

In Warminster thier are 2 Pink Planet and Blockbuster

So 6 shops locally i think another one here would survive.

[Yokel1]

I wish you luck but I cant see it working - youd need huge footfall to make sufficient turnover as your unit profit is so low, and visit Westbury at any time and its full of old people - not the teen audience you need to get the sales on games (where the margins can be higher).   Lets face it, i'm not going to buy £3 for a second hand dvd when I can buy the same one new for £4, and even if the shop were cheaper its unlikely I'd make the deliberate effort to go there and browse if its not open after 5.30pm.   
If you could combine a rental and an offy you might be onto a winner.   

[Yokel1]

One of your challenges will be the centre of Westbury is effectively dead on a Saturday afternoon as theyve all gone to Trowbridge.

Here's an idea.
Sit in westbury high street for a day and make a note of how many people LOOK like they would be customers.
Take that number and divide it by a figure that would represent the rate of purchases per person per week.
Assume your margin over tottal cost price per sale is £1
So, if you estimate 200 people per day look like they would be customers, = 1400 per week, and say your uptake per week is 5% = 70 sales per week (10 per day) = £70 a week.  You work for 6 days a week, 8 hours a day,  staffing yourselves only, = you will earn £1.45 an hour before tax.
Take the same formula and say you want to earn £500 per week, you need 83 sales PER DAY from the 200 that look like they might be customers.   Its not going to happen.

You could always combine your shop witha post office........

[Pete]

Nice idea, but not sure if it would work (God I'm so negative lately    ). Most of the big supermarkets are selling band new DVDs (not the latest releases though) for about £3 or less.

Pete

[Bazza]

All valid points I suppose.. which just shows that pretty much any idea to bring something different to the town, to make it more like a town with interesting shops and not the dump that it really is, look like failure..
It's a catch 22 situation - nobody comes to Westbury because there's nothing here and there's nothing here because nobody come to Westbury!

Sorry.. wandered off track there a bit.. Depends if you are prepared to do your homework and take that gamble.