At the corner in virtually every street, there is always a small supermarket where we purchase each and every of our daily needs, such as: toiletries like; soap, toothpaste, sanitary pads, food items and drinks, like sugar, salt, canned foods, snacks and sometimes packaged rice, beans, etc.
Unlike a large supermarket, a mini supermarket is not fully equipped and operates on a self service format. Also, consumer goods are the kinds of goods mostly sold in a mini supermarket. This is why it is regarded as the lifeline of every community in a small area or town. Many people also prefer starting a mini supermarket to a large supermarket due to the small capital requirement.
Owning a mini supermarket is a guaranteed way of making unending income stream that won’t go out anytime. The best part part about owning a mini supermarket as opposed to the standard supermarket is that you probably don’t need to break the bank in order to start running your mini supermart. If you wish to start your own mini supermarket, this article will educate you on all you need to know. You might also want to see our article on how to start a supermarket business in Nigeria.
How To Start a Mini Supermarket In Nigeria
Naturally, people purchase household commodities every day, this is one of the reasons why the business of mini supermarket or mini mart as it is called is very lucrative although the profit margin might be low. As the owner of a mini supermarket, you would be a retailer of household commodities, which is needed by people everyday.
Here are the things to look out for when starting a mini supermarket:
1. Location
Location determines the profit margin for every business. You can decide to open your mini supermarket in a residential or commercial area. You might make much profit especially if your goods have cheaper prices. You can also chose a road side, probably near a junction, hostel, school or hospital. All these places will bring in more sales for you.
2. Capital
Starting a mini supermarket doesn’t really require much capital. With the economic situation in Nigeria, you might need between 200,000 to 500,000 to stock up the shop. You would also need to pay for rent, generator and freezer as having one will enable you to sell cold drinks and give your shop a homely look.
Listed below is a breakdown of the amount needed to start a mini supermarket in Nigeria.
- Shop rent: Depending on location, you can spend around 5,000 to 20,000 naira per month on rent in some rural parts of Ibadan, Abeokuta, Yenagoa and many others, while you would need around 20,000 naira to 100,000 naira to rent a shop in urban areas.
- Shelves: Depending on the size of your shop and style of shelves to be used, you can spend roughly 30,000 naira on shelves.
- Generator: Generator is very important in every business in Nigeria. You would need around 100,00 to 150,000 to purchase a generator that can power a freezer.
- Freezer: A freezer can cost you around 60,000 to 200,000 depending on the size.
- Goods stocking: This is the final and most important aspect of running a mini supermarket. You should earmark between 200,000 – 500,000 to stock goods for your supermart, depending on what you intend to sell.
Steps In Starting a Mini Supermarket
Now that you’ve known about all that it would take you to start a mini super market, the next thing is starting up the business.
1. Rent a Shop in a Good Location
Since you’ve decided on where your shop would be located, you can then search for a good shop to rent. You also need to be careful when making payment so that you won’t be swindled by faked agents. Also check that there are no task forces or shop grabbers/land grabbers that will keep disturbing you for miscellaneous payments.
2. Get a God Carpenter to Construct Your Shelf For You
This is the next stage after renting the shop. Ensure to use good wood that will last long and won’t get destroyed thereby incurring losses for you.
3. Decorate Your Shop
People love shop that makes them feel homely. This is why you would need to paint and decorate your shop with good lighting so that more customers would be attracted to your shop.
4. Purchase Your Stocks
Now that your shop is ready, the next thing is to purchase your shop. Ensure you buy directly from producers/manufacturers and not from wholesalers to prevent hoarding and eventually having to increase the prices on goods, as people love buying from shops with cheaper prices.
5. Stock Your Goods and Start Selling
After purchasing your goods, the next thing is to arrange them neatly in your shop and start selling. If you feel you won’t be able to handle the shop alone, you can employ a sales representative to help you with the sales.