Shoe store

guids · #1 10-24-2006, 01:11 PM

I had a friend approach me today, he is part owner of a shoe chain in St. Louis, he has 220k worth of inventory, and a storefront in a mall, he is looking to sell it quick to invest in something else, and said I could have it for 70k. I know nothing about the shoe business, and Id bet that the 220k worth of inventory is a bit inflated as not all the shoes will be able to be moved becuase they are probably 1+ years old. What are people thoughts?

farang0 · #2 10-24-2006, 01:16 PM

So are you thinking about buying the inventory and slinging it yourself online or taking over his store?

guids · #3 10-24-2006, 01:24 PM

The lease is 6500$ month, which is ridiculous, but it is in a highly trafficed mall, but I dont want to be chained to a store honestly enough. Im thinking my ideal would be to try and middle it for him, if I can find him a buyer for 100k, pocket 30k myself. I dont knwo what the logistics involved in setting up a website would be, and it seems that there would be tons of competition, ecspecialyl for Steve Madden-type stuff that is 0-1.5 years old.

guids · #4 10-24-2006, 01:39 PM

Aye, he just called me, he has an inventory of a little over 3500 pairs of shoes, if I can middle this and find a buyer of for 100k, they could possibly profit 40k on the deal. If anyone is interested pm me.

farang0 · #5 10-24-2006, 01:47 PM

Being the middleman and makeing a quick 30k is prolly your best bet. You ont want to get stuck with that inventory yourself.

Shoe · #6 10-24-2006, 01:48 PM

Buy them and sell on ebay? At $70,000 that is only $20 per pair of shoes. Are these top name brands like Nike?

guids · #7 10-24-2006, 01:51 PM

Less athletic, and more dressy, Steve Madden etc, uh, girl shoes that I know nothing about

farang0 · #8 10-24-2006, 09:04 PM

You dont want to get stuck with all those shoes.

Chicks are picky about their shoes and if your friend hasnt sold them then maybe you wont either

Dan R · #9 10-24-2006, 09:51 PM

He is part-owner, what is the other owner doing? You get the full inventory for the 70K, or just your friend's rights. Not knowing anything about shoes, I would say it would be difficult to assess their value. Especially because like you say since many are 1+ years they may not be in styles valued in full by potential customers.

elus2 · #10 10-24-2006, 10:04 PM

take a sample of 2k worth of product and see how well you can sell them on ebay to give you an idea wrt demand