How to start a grocery store in South Africa

This is a guide on how to start a grocery store in South Africa

Grocery stores have been the backbone of our economies for years, it’s where we get most of our household items. Starting a grocery store is not as difficult as people might think, it just requires a lot of capital investment.

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Requirements

Here is what you need to start a grocery store in South Africa.

1. Operating premises

Unlike online stores, you need to have operating premises to run your grocery store. Your premises should be in an area that is easily accessible by most people, this area could be a town, mall or any busy area. It’s not wise to isolate your grocery store unless you are planning on opening a supermarket. You will have to rent out these premises.

2. Renovations

You might rent an area that used to be a bakery or restaurant, you will have to renovate it to fit the theme of a grocery store. Renovations will include buying all the required equipment, including things like air conditioners. You might also have to repaint your store, basically everything needed to make it feel like a grocery store.

This is the most expensive part, it’s more expensive than getting the operating premises or even buying inventory. A huge chunk of your budget will be used for renovations. You might be lucky if you rent out an area that was previously used by a grocery store.

3. Inventory

You will need to buy everything that you will sell to customers, the tricky part is that most grocery items have an expiry date. You will have to sell them before they expire, this means you have to attract enough people to your store. This should be no problem if you are located in a prime location and have conducted proper marketing.

Make sure that you are getting the best deals with your suppliers, try to negotiate with them because you will likely be in a long partnership with them.

4. Insurance

You will need to have insurance, insurance that will protect you in case of burglary or theft.

5. Licenses

You need specific licenses and permits to sell food to people. These licenses are not that expensive.

6. POS software

You will need to invest money in a point of sales software system, it will make it easier to track your inventory and accept payments from your customers.

7. Labour

You can’t run a grocery store alone, unless it’s a spaza shop, you will need to hire people to help you out. You can start off by three people minimum, others will have to work on the till while others assist customers and others working on keeping the store clean and hygienic. This will be one of your biggest operating expenses.

Marketing

You will have to do a lot of marketing in order to attract people to your store, unlike other businesses, this marketing should be done upfront. You can achieve this by doing a grand opening. This will attract a lot of people to your store, keep prices very low for this day. You can advertise your grand opening in your local newspaper and by using flyers and pamphlets.

Digital marketing often doesn’t work that well when it comes to advertising a hyper local grocery store. Your best bet is going with traditional forms of marketing like billboards, local newspapers and local radio stations.

Conclusion

This was a guide on how to start a grocery store in South Africa. Do you have any thoughts or questions? Comment below.

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This Post Has 3 Comments

Tumelo
13 Sep 2021 Reply

Thanks for the information,i now have some knowledge
1. sibabalwe
  14 Sep 2021 Reply
  
  I am glad you found it useful Tumelo 🙂
Richard
22 Oct 2021 Reply

Thanks for the information, where can one get the license or permit