Opening a Mini Market Store in Poland. Starting cost / Expected monthly income?

Hi Everyone,

We are thinking of moving to Rzeszow and open a small mini market store to sell everyday goods. my questions are: #1 Can anyone tell me the cost of starting the business including price of renting a commercial space about 50 square #2 what will be the monthly gross income " average" that I can expect to produce.

#3 how much I need to deduct from gross income to calculate my monthly net profit?

Thank you for your advice.
rzusa

Merged: OPENING A SMALL MINI MARKET IN RZESZOW

Hi Everyone,

Hope everyone is doing fine. We are thinking of moving to Rzeszow and open a small mini market store to sell everyday goods. my questions are: #1 Can anyone tell me the cost of starting the business including price of renting a commercial space about 50 square #2 what will be the monthly gross income " average" that I can expect to produce.

#3 how much I need to deduct from gross income to calculate my monthly net profit?

Thank you for your advice.
rzusa

Hi,

1. You should allow about 40,000zl to fit the shop out and stock it. I don't know the town yoblyu are talking about but i guess somewhere about 50sqm will be about 3000zl per month (depending on location i.e town centre ) You will probably need to pay a two month deposit and if you rent through an agency their fee will probably be one months rent.

2. No one can tell you this it depends on what you sell, location and a million other factors.

3. If you are selling everyday items such as food you will be working with very small margins in terms of profit I would guess about 25% gross profit margin.

I would give you this advice, unless you have a very very good location I wouldn't bother. This is a very saturated market in Poland, for example within a two minute walk of where I live there are four small shops selling everyday items and a bakers.

Your total start up costs would be well over 50,000zl and I can think of a hundred better investments for this kind of money.

Hi, so you think that a mini market is not a good small business to start in Poland bc of to much competition and not a good profit?

what tipe of small business you think it will be a good one to open and be able to earn about $10,000.00 zl monthly after expenses, having a about $20,000.00 us dollars to invest.

PLS advice.
Thanks.

If you find a good answer to that question, please pm me.

@rzusa
You may want to contact Robert Barr...

I think that market is dominated by stores like Biedronka, Żabka, Intermarche, Netto - all part of large network, which gives them huge competitive advantage. Those articles are very grim:

I did see an interview with guys that succeeded nonetheless, they gave some hints, but can't find it now ;)

honestly, there are better options. mini markets are finicky. Your location is so important. And lets say you are successful- what happens when the mini tesco or biedronka sets up shop in a year next door to you. typically mini market prices are inflated but the hours are longer than a grocery store. we have a mini market very close to us and it is busy from all the construction workers. they also sell really great fresh breads and a good selection of beer. the other stuff is standard- coke, yoghurt, pasztet- not worth it.

Yes you can if you do it the right way....I have done that business for 22 years in USA,In poland basic concept of the business is still developing and is being used by the gas stations convenience stores for example add,lottery machine and Bankomat(Bankomat machines can be bought from 4000Pln and up),they itself can sometimes pay for rent etc then again depending on situation and get alcohol license,if you cant then settle for beer/wine licenses,there is lots of money in this business...only if you keep a strict eye on theft...and that theft is by employees not customers.

Franchising is an option but honestly in that you are nothing but a high priced manager.In Poland carrfour rexpress,and jaba is the only one I know(buy a franchising magazine available on most book shops or visit there site.

Any help you need feel free to email me at PolciaQQ@aol.com.

Hello everyone, i am totally new to this forum but i have been reading questions and feedback or possible answers. my wife is polish she would help and my polish is average but we leave in the London.i intend to startup a retail store in warsaw, dealing in shirts and accessories alike (it is a well known U.K brand). But, do you think this kind of business can succeed in Poland. or would you advise that i do it just online instead of having a store and paying rent? thank you guys in advance for your responses.

You have minute chance of survival. There are numerous well established shops doing the same. Save your money and find a niche market.,

Agree with terri. One of the things that most struck me about Poland was the overabundance of retail shops of all kinds. You will have a very hard time finding an underserved market, especially in Warsaw. It will take some ingenuity, lots of research, lots of hard work and even more luck to find a niche market. Sorry, but retail stores selling clothing of any type are as common as cockroaches in Poland. It would be wiser to invest you money in an already existing business. You could try your luck with internet sales, but there are already thousands of sites fighting for a limited amount of potential customers, by far the bulk of which are losing money.

The "Polish wife wants to move back home to be closer to her family in spite of the fact that the non-Polish husband she's dragging along doesn't have a snowball's chance of earning anything substantial" story is a very common one, as is the "Polish wife wants to start her own business even though she knows fcuk all about business" story. I've never seen either story have a happy ending in all my twelve years of living in Poland. Might as well invest in lottery tickets. The chances are better.

the thing about starting a small shop or cafe is that there are just so many of them. there has to be something different.

IN this town, for example the only small coffee shops that have managed to hold out against Starbucks et al, are those that offer something a little different.

Eg a dog friendly cafe where doggy treats are also for sale, and the waitress asks if your dog would like a drink. That is genius.

Another one that has survived very cleverly does not have any tables, just stools and a narrow bar, so that people can drink an espresso and pretend they are in Italy.

Any more bog standard cafes just go to the wall.

A shop might last if it had, say, longer opening hours or a selection of quite different stuff. But then you are going to run into trouble with the local businesses.

Hello , I am from India and I want to start a small fashionable clothing store at warsaw at affordable rate. Shirt Ranging form $3 ?. Can it go well with Polish consumer?

Yes it might but you will need to sell a lot to cover Warsaw rents - minimum is around 60 zloty per sqm

There's been a lot of that since years in Poland. Often sold of the stalls at the "markets" as the rents would ruin this "business model".

Often straight from Asia, sold by Vietnam folks. So it's a good business but thousands of people figured it out before you.

Don't bother with that. The real money is in convincing your fellow Indians to deliver food for 50% of the payment they'd get if they signed up by themselves.

Hello.
I live in Iran and I want to immigrate to Poland through investment.
My capital is about 500,000 zloty.
Can this amount continue to survive in that country?
Do you offer me the right job?

Hello mehdi,
You have absolutely no chance.
1. I assume that you do not speak Polish sufficiently to be able to communicate with anyone and to handle officials in government departments..
2. This is hardly enough to start anything - you would be competing with well established companies.
3. You could survive, but you would have to have paperwork to even stay for longer. The paperwork would kill you.

Hello.
Thank you for guiding me.
If I learn a bit in your language in Iran and
I will do the work of registering a company, renting a house and renting a shop through a lawyer, and obtaining a residence permit in Poland. What kind of business do you offer me with this investment?

In Iran, I have been working on a carpentry workshop for 17 years and producing wooden work and I know that my job is from late work in your country, so with a new job like

Creating a paint shop and tools in Warsaw, Gdansk or Karakov? And is there a customer?
If this is not the case, then what is the job in Poland?

Hi Guys,

I am thinking to open Indian Grocery store (Poznan, Poland).

What do you think guys is it worth and how much investment would require?

To fit it out about 1200 zloty per sqm plus whatever the cost of fridges is.

Rent obviously depends where it is - can vary wildly but should be some good deals at the moment.

I admire people who can create, develop and run a good business out of thin air with nobody`s help, only their own determination, hard work and a bank loan, of course.