A grocery store is a retail store that primarily sells food. A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Grocery stores often offer non-perishable food, with some also having fresh produce, butchers, delis, and bakeries. Large grocery stores that stock significant amounts of non-food products, such as clothing and household items, are called supermarkets. Some large supermarkets also include a pharmacy and an electronics section, the latter selling DVDs, headphones, digital alarm clocks, and similar items.Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items are called supermarkets. Some large supermarkets also include a pharmacy and an electronics section, the latter selling DVDs, headphones, digital alarm clocks, and similar items. Small grocery stores that mainly sell fruits and vegetables are known as produce markets (U.S.) or greengrocers (Britain), and small grocery stores that predominantly sell prepared food, such as candy and snacks, are known as convenience stores or delicatessens.
Some grocery stores (especially large ones) form the centerpiece of a larger complex that includes other facilities, such as gas stations, which will often operate under the store's name. This setup is especially common in the United Kingdom, with major chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury's having many locations operating under this format. When people are looking for specialty foods or ingredients that can't be found at the corner store or neighborhood supermarket, they typically head to small grocers, also called mini-grocery stores. Such retail establishments sell food and items that are uncommon and not carried by bigger stores. Opening a mini-grocery can be a lucrative business venture, especially if you live in a city with little competition. There are several things you can do to help your mini-grocery store succeed.
Types:
Grocery stores can be small or large physical stores, or electronic (online) stores.
Small format
Convenience store: A convenience store is a small store that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, snack foods, candy, toiletries, soft drinks, tobacco products, and newspapers. They differ from general stores and village shops in that they are not in a rural location and are used as a convenient supplement to larger stores.
Delicatessen: A delicatessen store is a type of food store where fine foods are sold. In this sense the name is often abbreviated to deli. The term delicatessen means "delicacies" or "fine foods". In English, "delicatessen" originally meant only this specially prepared food.
Greengrocer: A green grocer is a retail trader in fruit and vegetables; that is, in green groceries. Greengrocer is primarily a British and Australian term, and greengrocers' shops were once common in cities, towns and villages.
Health food store: A health food store is a type of grocery store that primarily sells health foods, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. Health food stores typically offer a wider or more specialized selection of foods than conventional grocery stores for their customers, such as people with special dietary needs.
Large format
Supermarket: A supermarket, a large form of the traditional grocery store, is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food and household products, organized into aisles. The supermarket typically comprises meat, fresh produce, dairy, and baked goods aisles, along with shelf space reserved for canned and packaged goods as well as for various non-food items such as kitchenware, household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies.
Hypermarket: A hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise. Another category of stores sometimes included in the hypermarket category is the membership-based wholesale warehouse clubs that are popular in North America.
Electronic: An online grocer is a recent phenomenon that has developed as a type of e-commerce.Several online grocery stores exist, one of the oldest available in the U.S. being Pea-pod. Nowadays, Many online grocery stores like Amazon, Netgrocer, MyBrands, E-food depot and many more that all aims to provide quality ethnic food products with timely delivery and convenience of ordering online.
Food marketing: Food marketing brings together the producer and the consumer. It is the chain of activities that brings food from "farm gate to plate". The marketing of even a single food product can be a complicated process involving many producers and companies. For example, fifty-six companies are involved in making one can of chicken noodle soup. These businesses include not only chicken and vegetable processors but also the companies that transport the ingredients and those who print labels and manufacture cans. The food marketing system is the largest direct and indirect non-government employer in the United States.
Grocery Store Instruction:
Step 1
Pick a specialization, also known as a niche, for your mini-grocery store. If you simply try to be a smaller version of the large chain supermarket in town, your business is not likely to succeed. Those stores can get merchandise for much cheaper and will already be well-established. Instead, offer potential customers products not commonly sold in supermarkets. For example, your mini-grocery store could offer ethnic foods and ingredients, locally-sourced, gluten-free, organic or vegan items.
Step 2
Register the permits required to operate a retail business in your area. Contact your city's small business development center and health department and asking what business documentation you need to get. Doing this is important, because if you do not have the right permits, your store won't be legitimate and may get shut down.
Step 3
Buy or lease a small storefront for your mini-grocery. Try to find a location that is in or near a shopping center, restaurant, bakery, candy store, book store or coffee shop, especially those related to your niche.
Step 4
Purchase wholesale supplies, such as hand-held shopping baskets, merchandise bags, a tagging system and cash register, from store supply retailers such as Store Supply Warehouse, American Retail Supply or The Nu-Era Group.
Step 5
Source food to sell in your grocery store. Set up wholesale accounts with growers and distributors of food items in your niche. Try to buy as many local items as possible to keep transportation fees low and connect your business to the community.
Step 6
Organize the items in your mini-grocery store logically--you won't have much space to work with, so you need to make the most of it. Use wall shelving instead of bins, which take up valuable floor space and put like items together. For instance, place spices, seasonings and condiments in one area and breads in another.
Step 7
Market your mini-grocery store. If you own a store that sells ethnic food items, target not only members of that ethnic community, but local culinary academies, health food stores and wine stores, as well. People who patronize such establishments are often interested in international cuisine. You can also try launching a website or blog, promoting your mini-grocery via social networking sites, sponsoring a local food fair or other community event or passing out fliers at farmers markets--make sure you get permission from the market director before doing this.
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