Butchers

[micky 3,325]

14 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

That's where I disagree. I don't think butchers are shutting anymore.  The local villages are seeing butchers thrive. The ones that shut have new ones opened. In the 90's supermarkets had an effect but I think it's come full circle. The local town has a number of new butchers and they are packed. Our village is the only place locally with no butcher......as I have said it's a small town in its own right now. Just can't see any possibility of a suitable site ever coming up. People want traceability in meat these days since all the scandals.....

 

Well go  for it then , but i will stick to my comment  , You do not have a chance ,some people do want good meat  but more do not ,the masses want cheap meat and a small Butcher cannot compete because of overheads and the buying power of supermarkets, i used to sell Rabbits to  six local Butchers with good Footfall and sons coming up to take over the shops  they all  shut because they could not compete , i wish you well in you're venture but i think you are a dreamer and will go skint.

 

[socks 32,253]

25 minutes ago, micky said:

Well go  for it then , but i will stick to my comment  , You do not have a chance ,some people do want good meat  but more do not ,the masses want cheap meat and a small Butcher cannot compete because of overheads and the buying power of supermarkets, i used to sell Rabbits to  six local Butchers with good Footfall and sons coming up to take over the shops  they all  shut because they could not compete , i wish you well in you're venture but i think you are a dreamer and will go skint.

 

How can he fail if he buys an established business that's been turning over a profit for many many years ......

[Mister Gain 1,759]

We used to have 3 butchers in the high street and one in Well Hall, they have all gone now, even the wet fish shop closed down. One of them was sold to another butcher but he only lasted a short while. He wasn't making enough and his prices crept up and up, which in turn had an adverse effect. People were shopping at sainsburys and iceland and later Lidls, where everything is all under one roof. I'd say that if you are opening a butchers shop you need to have other shops close by, greengrocers, bakers, grocer etc. I can't see Mrs. Nicelady driving to the supermarket to get her shopping and then diverting to the local butcher for her meat, she's more liable to buy everything in one hit IMO.

I do know a place, Evelina Road, Nunhead, where there are 2 butchers, 2 greengrocers, a wet fish shop, a very good bakery and a greengrocer all in one parade of shops and they have been there years and are doing OK, but the alternative would be to visit Peckham to do shopping or sainsburys at east dulwich... not nice areas.

The heyday of the butchers was before people had freezers and very few had fridges and people would shop pretty much every day for fresh food that seemed to fade a bit when Bejam became established.

Wish you all the best if you decide to go for it.

[trigger2 3,100]

56 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

That's where I disagree. I don't think butchers are shutting anymore.  The local villages are seeing butchers thrive. The ones that shut have new ones opened. In the 90's supermarkets had an effect but I think it's come full circle. The local town has a number of new butchers and they are packed. Our village is the only place locally with no butcher......as I have said it's a small town in its own right now. Just can't see any possibility of a suitable site ever coming up. People want traceability in meat these days since all the scandals.....

 

sounds like youve got a good chance if you open one up in your village, and you have enough contacts from your pest control with resterants and farms so i dont think you are going into it totally blind.

i see you mentioned a butcher advertising on facebook, theres a shop up the road from me thats does the same bbq packs and different meat deals through the year. they also deliver to your house and they are busy. people just leave a cool box outside there house in the summer with payment in, its nice stress free shopping they get straight back from work and all meats arrived for the bbq.

butchers can work some long hours it aint just 9 to 5 in the shop.

[micky 3,325]

11 minutes ago, socks said:

How can he fail if he buys an established business that's been turning over a profit for many many years ......

If it is a good business  why is it for sale and if it is very good one there will be people with very deep pockets after it ,butchers often rely on Personality and trust  to keep their customers happy  and this is not developed  over night , it takes years to achieve a rapport  with customers you cannot just walk into it . In the cold light of day he will fail

[DIDO.1 20,804]

I'm not going to be silly about it. Not just opening a shop an hoping. 

I don't think butchers are shutting at the minute. In the whole North West in think they are increasing I really do. 

I'm going to do a few courses......at the very least it will be fun and be useful with my interest in self sufficiency. I'm also going to see a champion butcher who has turned around a farm shop butchers to a massive degree. At the very least it will be fun, interesting and I can make some homemade sausages and make more use of the venison I often get given ?

 

 

[dogmandont 9,313]

Local village to me has two pubs a shop, a post office and a butchers and the butchers is always packed. Sell a good product that people want at a reasonable price and you can't fail.

[socks 32,253]

23 minutes ago, micky said:

If it is a good business  why is it for sale and if it is very good one there will be people with very deep pockets after it ,butchers often rely on Personality and trust  to keep their customers happy  and this is not developed  over night , it takes years to achieve a rapport  with customers you cannot just walk into it . In the cold light of day he will fail

It's for sale because the chap is on his sixties and his health isn't great so wants to retire and chill out ... as for a customer base one of the butchers has been there for 24 years me the other for 18 so already have. Massive customer base hence turning over nearly £30,000 at Christmas alone ......

[micky 3,325]

2 minutes ago, dogmandont said:

Local village to me has two pubs a shop, a post office and a butchers and the butchers is always packed. Sell a good product that people want at a reasonable price and you can't fail.

 

3 minutes ago, dogmandont said:

Local village to me has two pubs a shop, a post office and a butchers and the butchers is always packed. Sell a good product that people want at a reasonable price and you can't fail.

30 pub a month close in England , there are many reasons but the main reason is that you can buy better beer at a quarter of the price in a supermarket

[micky 3,325]

9 minutes ago, socks said:

It's for sale because the chap is on his sixties and his health isn't great so wants to retire and chill out ... as for a customer base one of the butchers has been there for 24 years me the other for 18 so already have. Massive customer base hence turning over nearly £30,000 at Christmas alone ......

I have no knowledge of the retail trade so i googled  it,  23 Butchers a month close down in England and it  is expected to get worse in the coming year, that says it all .....you cannot beat the odds and i doubt any Bank would extend on such a venture .

[socks 32,253]

12 minutes ago, micky said:

I have no knowledge of the retail trade so i googled  it,  23 Butchers a month close down in England and it  is expected to get worse in the coming year, that says it all .....you cannot beat the odds and i doubt any Bank would extend on such a venture .

So if your not qualified why do you feel the need to keep telling the guy he will fail. My mates butcher has been going for nearly 30 years and is still going strong. So why would it suddenly close down ... all retail business rely on location and market needs my mates butchers has both ........

[DIDO.1 20,804]

30 minutes ago, micky said:

 

30 pub a month close in England , there are many reasons but the main reason is that you can buy better beer at a quarter of the price in a supermarket

30 pubs a month close cos they are shit pubs. Iv worked all round the country and stopped in hundreds of pubs......most had indifferent staff serving bog standard food. If any of the pubs had friendly staff and good food and beer then iv crossed the country to stop there again. We had 12 pubs in our village, 4 terrible ones shut.....6 bog standard ones struggling to hang on......2 good ones are packed, good real ale, cheap simple food and if you go in twice the bar maids know your name! 

Many pubs are tied to breweries so the more they sell the more the rent goes up....this leads to miserable landlords who just exist. I know quite a few people who work for big breweries and believe me they have no interest in long term successful pubs. They just want to take the next mugs life savings who come along to buy the lease.....if they can't find anyone they let the pub go to ruin and instantly get permission to develop the pub into houses. Closing pubs is nothing to do with supermarkets or smoking bans! 

But I digress.......in our county I have seen butchers increasing over a massive area in the last 8 years

Edited December 13, 2017 by DIDO.1

[micky 3,325]

Are you qualified to tell him  different ?   Thought not  , just Google Butchers in England  , its not you,re mate but  its the next best thing The Butchers Bible

 

[DIDO.1 20,804]

I'm happy to receive opinions good and bad?

 

[DIDO.1 20,804]

Lots of butchers were shutting in the nineties and early 2000's......due to supermarkets. Now they shut when business rates go up......or if an area becomes really upmarket and rents soar. Equally certain towns in certain areas are in a downward spiral and certain high streets get left behind.