Tips About Dollar Store Fixtures For Your Dollar Store Start Up

So you have decided a dollar store start up is for you. Owning and operating a dollar store is certainly a challenging and potentially rewarding path to follow. Yet it is important to quickly and carefully move from preparing for the dollar store start up to actually having the doors open and customers purchasing merchandise. There are many critical pieces to the preparation process. One of the most significant is associated with your fixtures. It is associated with determining how many fixtures you need, how they will be placed in your store, and how to maximize sales from them. In this article I focus on the process of determining your fixture layout and actual fixture needs.

• Know the footprint for your store before purchasing fixtures. Do not make the mistake of guessing and then spending thousands buying your store fixtures. Draw a planned store footprint and layout plan. Once you are sure you have the best possible footprint it is time to move forward.
• Develop your estimated dollar store fixtures requirement. Calculate the actual store fixture requirements for the planned footprint and layout. Don't forget to add-in end caps, cash register area displays, lobby, wall and window fixture needs as well.
• Examine your options; new and used. Buying new versus used is a major decision. For most it comes down to finances given the huge difference in pricing.
• Buying used. Buy with care. If at all possible examine the fixtures in-person. Don't let someone send you scratched dented and rusty used fixtures that should be destroyed when you thought you purchased lightly used fixtures. There are many options to end up with used fixtures that look almost new. Over-buy and sort out the very best is one option. Have the fixtures cleaned and painted before delivery is another. The least expensive option is to set up a cleaning station in your receiving area and carefully and completely clean all components before installing them. It is also wise to over-buy parts and pieces for used fixtures to allow for replacement of unusable (broken, terrible looking) pieces.
• Buying new. Purchasing new dollar store fixtures is very much like buying a new car. The moment you drive it off the lot it loses thousands in value. The only difference is dollar store fixtures are worse than a car. Especially in today's environment there is a limited market for used fixtures. While that might change, do not purchase new fixtures unless you have everything in-place to succeed. On the other hand, installing new fixtures gives your store a shiny, new look that cannot be achieved with most used fixtures.