What should I ask about a workwear store’s trade and safety-boot customer base?
Ask who the regular trade and safety-boot customers are, how often they buy, whether they pay on account or at the till, and why they choose this shop. Then ask what keeps them coming back and which ones could leave.
Workwear customers come in two broad groups: individual tradespeople who buy for themselves, and employers who buy for a crew. The two behave differently. Ask the owner to show sales split between walk-in customers and account customers, and how both have changed over recent years.
For account customers, ask which companies are the largest, how long each has bought from the shop and who places the orders. Find out whether they have preferred suppliers or pricing arrangements and whether those continue. For individuals, ask about repeat visits and referrals within trades.
Ask what draws them. Is it fit and fitting advice, stock on hand when a new hire starts, a good range of boots in odd sizes, or simply location? Customers who buy for convenience may leave when something else is closer. Customers who value expertise are likely to stay, if the expertise stays too. Ask about product safety. How does the shop deal with a supplier notice about a defective item? Ask your lawyer about your responsibilities. Finally, ask for payment histories on accounts. Ask also about seasonal swings in trade demand. Ask what the owner would change.
Key takeaways
- Split sales between walk-in tradespeople and account customers and see how each has moved.
- Ask what brings customers back, whether service, stock on hand or location.
- Find out how the shop responds when a supplier warns about a defective product.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentAccounts receivable
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
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