PART 3 | HOW DO YOU BUILD A LUCRATIVE RETAIL BUSINESS IN YOUR GYM?
This is the third in a series of blogs on the topic of Building a Lucrative Retail Business for Your Gym, Academy, or School. Adding retail services to your gym can elevate your business by adding to the bottom line, and providing students with the equipment they need to be successful in their training.
The next step to building a retail business is creating a retail space in your gym and start selling your products.
VIDEO: Here is part 3 of a live recording of myself presenting this exact topic in front of Martial Arts business owners just like yourself. This was recorded at the first ever Muay Thai Business Summit in San Diego, CA.
Here are some tips to help you as you create a retail space in your gym, school, or academy.
- Locate the retail space in the FRONT THIRD OF THE GYM. You want students and parents to have this space to be one of the first things they see when they enter.
- Studies have shown that 80% of customers turn right as they enter a store. This makes the right front entrance an important piece of real estate in your gym.
- DECIDE ON THE TYPE OF DISPLAY FIXTURES you will need to display products that will also add to the overall aesthetics of your gym. The fixtures should match your gyms colors.
- Adding a mannequin or two, wearing branded gear for your gym will capture your students’ attention.
- Make sure the hangers you use for apparel are all the same style and are aiming the same way on the racks. Keep the hangers evenly spaced.
- DISPLAY PRODUCTS IN GROUPS that logically go together. This can increase the average ticket order by encouraging the purchasing of multiple items.
- KEEP THE SPACE CLEAN and ORGANIZED. This is a daily task.
- Your vendors may offer signage, displays, and forms if you are a consistent customer. Do not be afraid to ask.
- Do not forget about the windows, the entrance, counter-tops, and the tops of display fixtures are all prime areas to promote your retail space.
- SWITCH THINGS UP EVERY 4-6 WEEKS. Move new products to the front of the retail space. Maybe move the heavy sellers towards the back. All of this will give a fresh look to the space and keep it appealing.
Selling Your Products
Here are some tips to effectively sell products from your retail space.
- PROVIDE SALES TRAINING to your employees
- Provide them with information, allow them to become product experts
- Encourage them with incentives
- Communicate with them
- MARKETING Your Retail Space
- Use in-house signage and displays
- Talk to students before or after class about new products or what is in stock
- Use Facebook & Instagram to talk about new products
- Use your website to share information about products and new merchandise
- Use email as part of your regular email communication with students about new arrivals and products, DO NOT spam your students.
- To “SALE” or “NOT TO SALE”
Keep the Perceived Value High by Never Discounting
Here are some options to- Run a special, giving slow-moving items away with sign-up for a class
- Create contests: for class attendance, Google or Facebook Reviews, friend referral who joins your gym
- Use unsold or slow-moving merchandise as awards to outstanding students. For example, most improved, most rounds sparring, or most classes in a month
- Donate it to a student who may not be able to afford it.