LHBS closing down :(

[honeymonster]

I'm more than a little bit gutted to see a message on facebook that my LHBS is having a closing down sale

It's only been open about a year and a half but it's where I've been buying all my brew kits/WOW supplies since I started brewing.

If I'm totally honest it has gone a bit down hill in the 2 or 3 months, shelves becoming emptier and emptier and existing stock spreading out rather than new stuff appearing, which is why this doesn't really come as a surprise. I did have quite a long conversation with my wife a few days ago, after we'd last been in, about the place, the way it was starting to look and a few of the things I reckoned they could do to drum up a bit more business. Things like trying to get a homebrew club going, bottle swaps or even brewing demos might have helped get some more folk interested. Still sad to see it go though.

I'm just gonna have to start planning my brews a bit further in advance so I can order in bulk and cut down on the postage.

 

[Frogbrew]

That's a shame, must be really hard to compete with the online sellers and make a profit these days...I think the hobby is growing though but we all try for the best price don't we??

 

[honeymonster]

That's a shame, must be really hard to compete with the online sellers and make a profit these days...I think the hobby is growing though but we all try for the best price don't we??

Yeah, it must have been a nightmare to try and compete on price alone.

I did a bunch of coopers kits when I started and I did always try to buy them from there even though they were a little more expensive than my local Tesco but it seems even they have have stopped doing the homebrew stuff now.

It is a shame, I thought that with the Brewdog bar that opened a few months ago round the corner from the shop that the craft beer and homebrew scene was going to really take off. Maybe they were just too early into the business!

 

[Just]

I think LHBS' can still compete if they are clever. They won't be able to compete on larger orders from online suppliers (when free delivery kicks in) but I would use a local one for small adhoc stuff or kits if they were close enough to online (when delivery is factored in).

The nearest one to me I use to get Festival kits and small bits and bobs plus they do a clever local free delivery option so I don't have to even park (I guess that you could do that with staff on their way home etc).

LHBS' should do demo evenings and even taster or bottled sales to get people into it. Homebrew from kits is pretty simple once you've got a basic set of kit and even more so if you've seen it done.

 

[honeymonster]

The nearest one to me I use to get Festival kits and small bits and bobs plus they do a clever local free delivery option so I don't have to even park (I guess that you could do that with staff on their way home etc).

That is one of the things I said to my mrs I do different if it was mine:) I mustn't be as daft as I look!

 

[MyQul]

My LHBS' core business is actually doing homebrew workshops. They have a rather diverse 'home brew portfolio' they do the workshops, sell home brew supplies, in particular AG hops and grains, but only seem to have very limited kit stock but have various DME as well as lots of general HB kit. They also have a bottle shop, selling various local (London wide) micro brewery beers and the last time I went round there to buy ingredients they told me they were having a floor laid at another premises which they are opening, which will be a micro brewery

 

[MyQul]

My LHBS' core business is actually doing homebrew workshops. They have a rather diverse 'home brew portfolio' they do the workshops, sell home brew supplies, in particular AG hops and grains, but only seem to have very limited kit stock but have various DME as well as lots of general HB kit. They also have a bottle shop, selling various local (London wide) micro brewery beers and the last time I went round there to buy ingredients they told me they were having a floor laid at another premises which they are opening, which will be a micro brewery. They also have a homebrew club once per month