How do LHBS survive without online sales?

My local homebrew store survives because, I suspect, the overhead is really low: it is located in a very small town, has small square footage, and the proprietor is the sole employee. In fact, his prices are really good. For example, I recently bought a 15 gallon Megapot (with two welded fittings and a valve) for $185 (before taxes). The only downside to my shop is that the turnover is kind of slow. I rarely buy yeast there because it is hard to find something reasonably fresh. For yeast I always try to pick some up at a homebrew shop in SLC that does much more business. Unfortunately it is about 90 miles away.

 

The best ones I've seen are associated with breweries. They can buy in bulk to get lower prices and with the added value of having a tap room for beer sampling and growler fills, they can bring in new customers on a regular basis.

 

Because it feels awkward to go in to ask questions and not buy anything? The better LHBS tend to hold classes, get in grapes/juice for the winemakers, bulk honey for meadmakers, unpastuerized cider for the cider makers, cheese kits, I've seen mushrooms growing kits, organize group buys, etc. The owners also tend to show their faces at homebrew club meetings and beer events, are judges in competitions, so that you remember that you support a big part of the local homebrewing community when you buy from them.

 

This and...

The three local shops I frequent have great inventories, good locations, bulk pricing, knowledgeable staff, and a strong association with local brew clubs. They all seem to get a ton of business, as every time I'm in the shop there are at least 3-5 other people buying stuff (This includes the weird off hours I go).

 

As soon as they start taxing on-line sales...LHBSs should get a bump...the one I go to is 125 miles R/T from me, has been around for awhile, and seems to be doing fine.

 

The one closest to me has a very simple business plan:

1.) Have a grand total of two employees.
2.) Contract with all the area nanos.
3.) Cram as much quality stuff into a 700-sq. ft. retail space as is humanly possible
4.) Let people taste the beer made from the kits they're buying before they buy them. (Always 3-4 beers on tap, made from the same BIAB's that are on the shelves.)

Oh, and 5.) be the only homebrew shop within 25 miles.

 

My LHBS will always get my business for ingredients. I only go online to buy stuff like kettles and literature for the most part. They always keep the hard to get hops in stock like Citra, Simcoe, Galaxy, Falconers, Zythos etc. Sometimes I wonder how he gets access to them haha. I also get 10% off anything I buy because I am in the homebrew club. They have pretty much any grain you will ever need too. Super wide selection for such a moderately sized store. Hopmans in Waterford MI, I live 9 minutes from the place. I wouldn't go anywhere else for world class customer service and selection. I am lucky to be where I am located. They dont sell anything online, and are doing very well. They sponsor every single homebrew competition in the state too as far as I know.

 

My LHBS has good people working there, a reasonable selection, not as great as an online retailer though. it's purported to be the oldest operating LHBS in the united states (since 1978). I really try to buy through them as much as possible; I can usually get the right selection of hops and yeast, grains can be trickier, I always get the little equipment like bottle caps and such as well as carboys from them too.

 

I've ordered equipment on line (kettle, etc), but ingredients and books have always been in the LHBS. There are two near me, one about 25-30 and one about 20 min away. I didn't know about the latter until a year ago, so the former got me started in the hobby. The latter is closer to work and other things that I do for errands. I try to split my business between the two. The former store knows I could go on line and always gives me discounts. The latter doesn't do that for me yet, but may over time.

I think LHBSs stay in business because the savings from on-line purchasing isn't significant enough for many brewers to go without the camaraderie that occurs in the LHBS. I can NEVER count on just running in to grab something. Too many times I've told my wife or son "I'll be right back, just listen to the radio". Only to have them come in 10+ min later. There's always fun chit-chat, and I almost always pick up a new tip or something.

And yes, they tend to try to keep overhead at a minimum. And yes, the proprietors seem to have a lot of "extras" (wine, cheese kits, etc).

I like the idea of the shop allowing tastes of some of their BIAB kits. I should tell my local places about that. Though they insist they've made everything they sell.

 

I have 2 shops near me that are markedly different, but both are successful. I guess is that one of them is a semi-retirement hobby for the owner, but he has been a great resource on technique. The other is run by a couple of younger guys who do great by keeping inventory fresh and competitively priced.

 

just started Homebrewing in Oct and am at hopmans like once a week for stuff. Great establishment.

 

There's a few here in CA that were established earlier. Oakbarrel, for instance, was founded in 1957. My local Shop - Home Beer Wine Cheesemaking Shop - was founded in 1972 - same owner. Granted, both started with an initial focus on winemaking, but HBWC was at least deep enough into beer making to support the founding of the Falcons in 1974.

Barf and I wander between the same shops I suspect and I agree with him. I know with HBWC they also went and upgraded their customer service side of the house after quite a few years of gaining a reputation for grumpiness. But each shop has a club associated with it. HWBC has the Maltose Falcons, CCHBS has Pacific Gravity and Eagle Rock has the Yeastsiders. Despite the fact that HWBC is now about 35 miles away from me across LA, I still target most of my business there because of the support they give my club.

 

online sales are actually harder than you may think. A store needs to reach a certain criteria before decent shipping prices are available to them. Considering the current online competition on ad search terms, you're looking at a sizable cost per customer to even get them to your site...then factor in shipping, cost to maintain a nice online store (programming & maintenance time) and its a highly unfavorable environment. I think if anything, most mid-size hbs are going in the other direction and ditching their online business in favor of focusing on the local homebrewers. If the local homebrew community can't or isn't in favor of supporting having a local store...then they're not going to make it. Simple as that.

 

My LHBS also sells gardening stuff, along the lines of hydroponic kits, garden decorations, etc.

 

I suspect it is a combination of a labor of love, be the only HB store within 50 miles, maintain low overhead, and having some sidelines. My former LBHS was easily 40 minutes away. I visited about once per year when I was in the neighborhood, but otherwise, I rarely stopped in. It was a great place but wasn't accesible to me. They ran a BOP as well as a homebrew; had a room dedicated to winemaking; and were located in a low-rent neighborhood. However, as the neighborhood improved, they moved farther out of town. My new LBHS is now located between work and home and is located in a local brewery. They're open on Thursday and Friday evenings and on Saturdays. On Saturdays, they also sell growlers to the public.

 

Mine survives because of wine. They know a lot about beer but every time I go in there someone is buying at least a couple hundred dollars worth of juice to make wine.

 

There are one or two local shops that do little to no online sales. One sells a diverse line of home/yard/farm stuff and doesn't rely on the homebrew sales for business. They seem to sell more wine than beer making ingredients and it seems like the prices on wine equipment and kits is much higher than brewing. The other shop is the only shop in the area for a large part of the Dallas area so they do really well with the local customer base.

The store that associates with the club I belong to does some online sales but largely is supported by our club. Personally I find the prices so expensive it's cheaper to drive across town and forego the club discount than shop there unless I only need a few pounds of grain. They also set prices about 10-15% cheaper online than what they sell it for in the store (which I think creates some FCC problems) and they do not recognize the club discount for online sales because the prices are already discounted. I find that really shady. which does not encourage me to shop there. I have no idea whether they do a lot of business with online sales.

 

Like many mentioned mine survives by doing wine, micro distilling, cheese making, and home canning supply. The prices on things are not that great, even when shipping is figured, except for grain in bulk, which no online can beat. And it is always fresh grain with the turnover he gets. Folks naturally buy other supplies when coming in for grain. I believe, like others mentioned, that he does better business for wine ingredients when they are in season.