I'm working on a college business paper and the purpose is to write up a business plan and outline a couple years from your opening day for a company you'd love to start up. Well nothing gets me going like soccer so opening up a soccer store is ideal! Problem is, unlike opening up a hair salon, bar, regular retail, etc, there's not much information out there on opening up a soccer shop. So I'm turning to my favorite bunch of guys and gals So if anyone out there has considered, is considering, thought about, and even better, owned and has experience on opening a soccer shop or working for one, I'd be many times thankful if you could please provide me any insights you have. May that be what distributors you use (as in where do you get the team jerseys, etc), where does your growth come from, how much money did you have to start it up, how much inventory do you keep, what are your sale cycles, how much do you price up from distributors' pricing? What are your best selling items, worst, etc. Granted some of this may be deemed private so please feel free to message me any information you think would help if you don't want to release information but think it could help in my paper. Feel free to turn this into a discussion as well on soccer shops in general. Anything and everything will help! Thank you everyone for your help and I'll be sure to quote the "expertise" of BigSoccer
If you haven't done so, you also might want to contact soccer stores in other areas of the country to see what they'll tell you. Make it clear that this is for a class project and that you're not going to open a store down the street from them (yet!). I think they'll be able (and in many cases willing) to answer a lot of your questions in paragraph four.
I think the best bet for a store centered around Soccer would be to contact the schools with soccer programs and local soccer organizations ( Like amateur, and travel teams, etc) and let them know you existed. Maybe convince them you can disount gear .Soccer is niche sport, however kids play it and parents pay money. Just remember to carry lots of shoes. Nothing worse than a store with premium priced Chelsea jerseys, a few knee pads and a bunch of socks, forcing you to end up at the major chains in search of something. Also, the most obvious thing to think about is: location. A few months ago I was driving down Honeygo blvd in White MArsh , MD and I spoted a Soccer store in a business park. There isn't any foot traffic in a business park, I'm sure they have to suppliment their income by selling gear to students, or I have no idea how they survive. I know I didn't offer any advice on how to open one, it's just in my experience most of the soccer stores have been a let down.
A few miles away from me there's the Massapequa Soccer Shop, which advertises on FSC. http://www.massapequasoccer.com/ still has information about them being closed around Christmas and New Year's 2009 into 2010. I don't know if they would help you, but you can try contacting them at yuri*@*massapequasoccer.com (remove the *).
A good place to start looking for info is with Trade associations. I recently did a paper on e-commerce and tennis specialty stores (I play more tennis now days, my soccer glory days are long behind me...). If you want info on sales try - National Sporting Goods Association http://www.nsga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 They have some free research available. Also check: Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association http://www.sgma.com Also see if soccer if soccer has a trade associations and trade magazines: Here's a place you might want to start: Soccer Industry Council of America(SICA) http://www.allbusiness.com/membership-organizations/business-associations-business/4025417-1.html The only problem you may bump into is they charge alot of money for the most recent research. If you ask nicely, they may be able to provide you with research that's a few years old. Or ask if they have some sort of student discount or student membership that might give you access. Good luck.
Most soccer stores here have partnerships with the local club/traveling teams. Here in the Twin Cities there are 2 main soccer stores (Soccer Express and Soccer USA) each with 2 locations. All four locations are spread out. There is one in the nothern suburbs, one in the western suburbs, one in the southern suburbs and one in St. Paul. I believe each store is pretty split 50/50 for providing kits, warm ups, bags toe each club. Each club will only uses kits for 2 years before replacing. Then all players have to buy a new one both home and away. My kid has had to buy 3 in the last 3 years. He joined his local club in the second year of the kit. Then they swicthed last year. Then his team disbanded and he is with a new club. He had to buy a new kit, bag and warm ups this year. I think we spent little over $200. I know this doesn't help the orginal poster. But this was just to help explain how most of these stores are making money.
Find products that is unique and new, and be the first one to store them! I know of one you could check out. The FunToPlayUSA mini goals looks pretty amazing! It is used by Manchester United and other big clubs in Europe and has just arrived in the US. Take a look at videos here http://www.funtoplayusa.com
Try this franchise, they're one of the biggest soccer related stores in the USA, with a huge concentration in the northeast. http://www.soccerpost.com/storelocations_w6.cfm Not sure if you are close to any, just walk in and start a converstion w/ the manager. i've been in a few, and despite being a franchise, the owners are usually rabid enthusiasts and should be able to help you. Or call the headquarters and see what it entails to open a new franchise.
this is a little off topic but, does anyone where i can buy an american flag bandanna? i want to get a couple before the world cup?