Sourcing Locally

Tips & Tricks to Source from Store Closures

The rise of online sales has been taking its toll on brick and mortar stores, with 2017 seeing retailers filing bankruptcy at a record rate. When these stores close in your market, you can score a lot of merchandise at a deep discount.

From the time a store announces its closing, and the sales begin, the store has around 5-7 weeks until their doors are closed for good. To use the stores closing as a way to source inventory, there are a few critical steps you should take:

BEFRIEND THE OWNER/MANAGER: Find out who is in charge of the store closing and build up a good rapport. Remember, they are losing their job with the closure so be nice! Make the store closing be a bit easier on them by being a supportive role. It’ll go a long way to help secure a good price on the final stock of inventory.

TAKE EVERYTHING: When negotiating a deal with the owner/manager, tell them you’ll take everything – and we mean everything. From the merchandise to the shelving to the store closing signs – everything they no longer want or need you’ll take. This eliminates any final worry they may have to get rid of items within the store itself.

OFFER TO CLEAN UP: The last thing the employees want to do with the store is cleanup as they may be looking for another job. To seal the deal with your financial offer on the merchandise, sweeten it by offering to clean up the store from sweeping to wiping the windows to anything else that’s needed.

A retailer doesn’t need to be going out of business in order for you to source inventory at a low price. Using the tactics listed above, you can build many relationships with retailers in your area and purchase bulk merchandise at the end of every season to supplement your inventory needs.