Getting Information on the State of Homebrew Sales in the UK

[Davemc]

Hi,

Does anybody know if there is a Trade Association for Homebrew Shops in the UK?

I would like to get some figures for Homebrew Sales figures and the general trends in the industry. I know that there are shops closing and a lot of businesses are online, however I think there is still a place for shops and am considering adding a homebrew section to my shop or opening a seperate shop but need to do plenty of research befor commiting to it.

 

[Clint]

We have a shop,and you probably already know this,regarding expanding or adding a line its difficult to judge and to get the right limited selection if space is tight. This is a double edged sword as you always get "have you got..or can you get me..??" and they don't come back for it or you're stuck with something you end up reducing.
Also depends if you have a like minded customer Base or enough foot fall past your door to play the % game or do you spend money on advertising?

 

[Dutto]

We have a shop.........

One of the better things I learned when I did my post-grad DMS was to do a Pareto Analysis of Sales and apply the resulting 80:20 rule to stock.

Briefly, "Eighty percent of your profits will come from twenty percent of your sales; and you must NEVER run out of any product in the 80% range!"

I worked for over 45 years and I can assure you that retirement is better! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I think its an excellent idea and would start small in your existing shop.

The only place we can buy ingredients locally is a health food shop they don't sell a great deal as its only a small shop but if they were not here we would be paying silly money for delivery, they do not seem to advertise the fact they sell home brew stuff and we only found out as SWMBO was in there one day and noticed it.

 

[Clint]

^^^^....he's right you know. .

 

[Slid]

Muntons make up a fair proportion of kit beer sales in the UK, so that could be a barometer of the overall market. They might field a question posted on the Forum section of their website. And it would make a change from "stuck Wherry" type queries!

 

[Davemc]

Muntons make up a fair proportion of kit beer sales in the UK, so that could be a barometer of the overall market. They might field a question posted on the Forum section of their website. And it would make a change from "stuck Wherry" type queries!

Thanks, I will give that a go.

 

[YourBrew]

Hi,

Does anybody know if there is a Trade Association for Homebrew Shops in the UK?

I would like to get some figures for Homebrew Sales figures and the general trends in the industry. I know that there are shops closing and a lot of businesses are online, however I think there is still a place for shops and am considering adding a homebrew section to my shop or opening a seperate shop but need to do plenty of research befor commiting to it.

I did a ***** of research before starting my website, its extremely difficult as there isn't much out there to go on. I ended up buying company reports for the larger homebrew sales companies that have been around for a few years as well as the producers of the kits (similar to muntons, etc).

The general consensus was that sales of homebrew kit and equipment was on the rise as company profits were rising year on year (this was about a year ago that i did this).

I did a range of other things to work out figures but as i was mainly looking at sales of custom caps, these will be skewed away from what you're looking at.

In terms of opening a physical store for homebrew as another stated it all depends on footfall through the area and the amount for people in the local area interested. One option may be to target your local area (where you're planning the store) with Facebook ads stating a new local store will be opening and if they "like" your facebook page or give you an email address you'll let them know when the store is opening. This will allow you to gauge general need in the area as well as build up the potential for a little opening party or something as you'll get a captive audience.

Hope this helps - anything to further the homebrew revolution!:thumb:

 

[chewie]

Join any local homebrew clubs to get the word out and offer them a small discount, run a monthly/weekly training school to pique peoples interest, find your nearest homebrew shop and check it out they are gonna be the competition from now on.

You would also need to consider exactly what you want to sell, stocking all grain equipment and supplies would be a huge investment in space compared to kits but then the chances of aquiring new customers with kits and then loosing them to all grain would be high if you don't maintain an all grain stock.

 

[Slid]

The local HB shop in Bolton now seems to have progressed into selling Craft Beers and Wines from around the world. So, it is basically an off-licence that sells a few Beer and Wine kits and the HB equipment on the side.

Possibly down to guys like me who buy all their real stuff from (for instance) the Worcester Hop Shop (I believe there are other outlets with wider offers).

That is the problem. The Internet changes where you buy your equipment, obtain your ingredients and most of all, where you get your information.

 

[Leon103]

I would gauge local interest, you can do this a number of ways. A different approach to this was to use social media. Join your local swap shops on Facebook under a different name and mention that you have found out x (name of your shop) is going to do homebrew, what are people thoughts on this? Sounds likes a good idea etc etc, gets you unbiased accounts from locals.

Many companies use this to test the water on new products by blogging under aliases etc

 

[BarnBrian]

One of the better things I learned when I did my post-grad DMS was to do a Pareto Analysis of Sales and apply the resulting 80:20 rule to stock.

Briefly, "Eighty percent of your profits will come from twenty percent of your sales; and you must NEVER run out of any product in the 80% range!"

I worked for over 45 years and I can assure you that retirement is better! :thumb: :thumb:

"Pareto analysis"? Isn't that something to do with a "Polly graph":whistle:

Brian

 

[foxy]

Hi,

Does anybody know if there is a Trade Association for Homebrew Shops in the UK?

I would like to get some figures for Homebrew Sales figures and the general trends in the industry. I know that there are shops closing and a lot of businesses are online, however I think there is still a place for shops and am considering adding a homebrew section to my shop or opening a seperate shop but need to do plenty of research befor commiting to it.

What is your shop now? I see you are a home brewer so don't let your heart rule your mind, online can be more competitive than an actual shop. Unless you have no competition stick to what you know.

 

[110ben]

I don't know much about shops but as a tester maybe you could trial either beer or wine and gauge the interest.
I have to say the nearest shop to me is 20 miles away and they are dearer on most things than i can get on line.
I wish you the best of luck though.

 

[terrym]

Be aware not all folks rely on social media to run their lives including dinosaurs like me. If I need info on anything I go to the internet.
My nearest LHBS is now at least 25 miles away and I have no intention of paying them a visit, it's just not worth it when I can buy stuff online, from a larger selection, delivered for nowt provided I buy enough, and at a discount.
In my view LHBSs are a diminishing resource given they are in competition with online prices, the customer base is limited, and customers only pay infrequent visits and probably don't spend much. My LHBS shut down 18 months and tbh I haven't really missed them
So fine if you have one, no big deal if you don't.

 

[Slid]

Be aware not all folks rely on social media to run their lives including dinosaurs like me. If I need info on anything I go to the internet.
My nearest LHBS is now at least 25 miles away and I have no intention of paying them a visit, it's just not worth it when I can buy stuff online, from a larger selection, delivered for nowt provided I buy enough, and at a discount.
In my view LHBSs are a diminishing resource given they are in competition with online prices, the customer base is limited, and customers only pay infrequent visits and probably don't spend much. My LHBS shut down 18 months and tbh I haven't really missed them
So fine if you have one, no big deal if you don't.

Yeah, my LHBS is now basically an off-licence that sells over-priced Craft Beers and Supermarket wines. The irony is horrible.

The actual HB stuff they sell, you can get so much cheaper from the Worcester Hop Shop or the HBC, GeB , Wilko or so on, hard to see a future.

Slight plug there for the WHS, as it is my choice of supplier for making essentially English beers.

 

[Robsparky99]

I personally would say that opening a shop alone with just HB products could be very tough going. I always scour the internet for bargains and hate to pay over the top in shops, the internet is king.... However..... What I have noticed is the rise of small, but well thought out, craft beer shops that always seem to be busy. One to look at near me which I love is called 'Beer Shop' - https://beershophq.uk/

Half the shop contains bottles/cans of all manner of pilsners/lagers, ales, Bitters, stouts, Wheat beer etc. Prices are a little higher than the supermarkets, but the choice is much better. The other half of the shop is a few benches and tables and a bar at the back with a selection of craft on tap which you can buy in sizes from 1/8 pint all the way up to a keg!

This kind of arrangement seems a brilliant idea and one which you could introduce HB into. It is located in the town centre (although not the dead centre of town).

 

[Thumper]

I have to admit that a shop selling HB equipment and ingredients as well as a decent selection of real ales and craft beer is something I find very appealing, and I think a lot of people would. You could buy a few tins of something interesting, get some ideas for future brews, and stock up on grain all in one shopping trip.

 

[marlon]

My nearest HB shop - Faversham Home Brew - is only 8 miles away, but I generally shop online. I do pop in the shop when I'm in Faversham and usually buy something, but I've been known to order online from them too, just because I can't be asked to drive that 8 miles. :-?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I like the idea of the shop in @Robsparky99 post, i can only find one porter in bargain booze (Black Wych 500m) and would like to try others if there was a shop like this here i would be able to fill my boots. :lol: