Hello All… I am new to PMQ (I typically used another pizza forum, which is about dead now) but I wanted to get some feedback for a second store.
I wanted to ask, is there a location preference you have for your stores? My first store is located on a main street that runs through the town in a one story shopping center. It has its own parking lot and gets about 35k cars down the road a day. However, I can not find similar patterns of where pizza shops seem to go but I assume there is a prime location for some of them.
I wonder, is it best to place a second store within 5 miles of the original to share in marketing but cutting into some of the sales from the first store? Is it best to go next to a grocery store or a Walmart type place so people see you each week? What about being next to a school so kids will see you each day?
We are a local hometown pizza shop that markets and gets mostly residential customers in the evenings and weekends. What demographics are best? Any tricks to finding a location?
There is not an exact number in miles to be apart as some areas are denser than others. Sometimes second locations can be closer than you would think because of barriers like freeways, water, traffic or other obstacles that deter people. Being close enough to take advantage of the same marketing efforts is huge. By your second store being close you increase the time it will take to be successful as well. Its tough educating people about a place when you are new to the area. A second store in close proximity can take advantage of the goodwill already built up.
Going from one to two stores is the biggest jump as that’s where you really need to develop your system/skills to handle running separate locations. Mush easier to do than when they are in completely separate areas.