How to Start a Local Grocery Store in India? Points to Remember!

Question:

Hi, I am an educated middle class wife. I wanted to start decent size grocery store in Hyderabad nearby my place. How can I get financial assistance from government?

To my knowledge, the government has many schemes to encourage woman entrepreneurs. Am I entitled to any government help for my endeavor? I wish to start with a capital of around 1 lakh? Can you guide me with the initial start up? It would be good if you give an estimate of how much money that needs to be invested and what is the maximum which I can get through loans.

Answer:

This is one such business where you get a regular stream of customers. So, you are guaranteed a decent income if not a good one. However setting up a grocery business entails a lot of effort. Yes, I would say luck too maters a lot. And that’s because, unless you get a good location for your shop, it may take some time for your business to get up and run. And if you don’t get one, there isn’t much to rue, as success would only be a matter of time. You just have to wait for people to get acquainted with your grocery store. If you still can’t wait, you just have to devise a good strategy to draw customers and once you succeed, there is no looking back.

Getting acquainted with the business is extremely important. You need t know where to source stuff from at a cheap rate. It is equally important to have an idea about the quality of the stuff. Again if the isn’t delivered to you at your door step, you need to make arrangements to procure them.

The next big thing after location is store space. This is a crucial factor which is equally responsible for determining the fate of your business. As grocery stores need to stock a vast variety of items, your store needs to have sufficient space. Space for goods?, Yes that’s right. In fact you need to go a step further and book more space to ensure your store does not have the constricted feel for you to walk around and remains ventilated.

If you have visited a grocery store, you must know what equipments you need to buy or lease to run the store. Yes you are right. The major items needed include freezers for perishables, racks for displaying items, slicers to cut deli meats and cheese, display cases to showcase pastries and breads, weighing machines, sponge matting for holding fruits and vegetables, plastic bags, misters etc. Besides you will need gadgets like fans, TVs, computers with software, printers, pen, notebook, dusters, sealing machines, RFID scanners, and even in-circuit cameras. Based on the equipments and available floor space, you need to plan your layout.

In a grocery store, who are the people who run the show?

It is the staff i.e. checkout workers, supervisors, bakery counter employees and stock keepers. You may not need all of them to start with, but once your business pick up, you may have to hire individuals for these posts.

Strategizing your business is very important. Unless you offer something lucrative why should buyers come to you? Moreover, it is such interesting deals that would help people discover your store. The best way to popularize your store is by selling items cheaper than the neighboring store. Clubbing offers like buy one get one free etc is also a good tactic to draw people. No matter what you have to offer, you need to spread the word around. And to get this done you can use pamphlets, newspaper ads, cable TV advertisements and mobile marketing. Marketing your shop will determine the fate of your business to a large extent. So, think less about your profits at the beginning and spend as much as you can to catch peoples’ attention.

In short: To set up a perfect grocery store you need to expend a lot. This may run into several lakhs. However, if you one to save on money, you can start the business at your home by converting a portion of your house into a store. Even for this, you may need to expend a couple of lakhs. If your budget is 1 lakh, and you have space at home, you can still start a small grocery store. Only that, you will have down heavily on store equipments and even items.