Any B&M Owners On The Forums?
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Uh-oh, you hit a nerve with me. Prepare for my screed on the B&M subject.
Former B&M owner here. I owned the Village Smoke Shop in Scottsdale, AZ from 1995 to 2005. I decided to close down due to many factors, among them a lousy landlord, a struggling retail center w/ growing vacancies, encroaching competition, and rising rent. It was a great decade long run and I had a lot of fun, but the business just wasn't profitable any longer. And given the upcoming FDA regulations, I'm very glad I'm out of the business.
Here's a photo of my store. Ahh, memories:
I would strongly recommend to anyone pondering opening a B&M - DON'T DO IT! Invest your money in some other, more "government friendly" type of business venture, say a gift shop or pack & ship store. Anything but tobacco. The FDA is poised to severely crack down on the OTP (other tobacco products) segment of the industry very soon and the outcome will be devastating. No more walk-in humidors, no more sampling, everything hidden from view, etc. And sky high prices due to more taxation. No fun.
The industry is quite worried. The FDA regulations are a huge game changer. Your local B&M won't look the same, feel the same or be the same. I'm afraid the "Old Time Tobacconist" is going to be but a fond memory in the not too distant future. And sadly, there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. If you are fortunate enough to have a good B&M close by, by all means support and enjoy them as much as possible.
To anyone who is still in the business, I urge you to start planning your exit strategy right now. Personally, I would draw down inventory, focusing on only the best selling merchandise. Growth is not a wise choice right now. Put as much money in the bank as possible. Explore your options. If you own the building, you'll be in better shape when the end comes. You can open a different business, lease the space or sell it entirely. Those who lease are much more vulnerable. The bottom line is plan NOW. Don't wait until the final days and you have to claim bankruptcy.
I really hate to be the turd in the punchbowl, but this is reality. Just ask anyone in the industry. Am I bitter? Damn right I'm bitter! I was planning to open a new store in the town where I now reside, but the FDA regs put a stop to that. I'm just not going to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a business that could end with the stroke of a pen. The FDA's end goal is ZERO tobacco, and a whole new department within the FDA has been formed to do just that. But, we voted for change. And change is what we'll get, like it or not.
I wish every surviving B&M owner out there the best of luck in these trying times. Keep up the good fight!
No cheers. Screed over.
CACooper
Former B&M owner here. I owned the Village Smoke Shop in Scottsdale, AZ from 1995 to 2005. I decided to close down due to many factors, among them a lousy landlord, a struggling retail center w/ growing vacancies, encroaching competition, and rising rent. It was a great decade long run and I had a lot of fun, but the business just wasn't profitable any longer. And given the upcoming FDA regulations, I'm very glad I'm out of the business.
Here's a photo of my store. Ahh, memories:
I would strongly recommend to anyone pondering opening a B&M - DON'T DO IT! Invest your money in some other, more "government friendly" type of business venture, say a gift shop or pack & ship store. Anything but tobacco. The FDA is poised to severely crack down on the OTP (other tobacco products) segment of the industry very soon and the outcome will be devastating. No more walk-in humidors, no more sampling, everything hidden from view, etc. And sky high prices due to more taxation. No fun.
The industry is quite worried. The FDA regulations are a huge game changer. Your local B&M won't look the same, feel the same or be the same. I'm afraid the "Old Time Tobacconist" is going to be but a fond memory in the not too distant future. And sadly, there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. If you are fortunate enough to have a good B&M close by, by all means support and enjoy them as much as possible.
To anyone who is still in the business, I urge you to start planning your exit strategy right now. Personally, I would draw down inventory, focusing on only the best selling merchandise. Growth is not a wise choice right now. Put as much money in the bank as possible. Explore your options. If you own the building, you'll be in better shape when the end comes. You can open a different business, lease the space or sell it entirely. Those who lease are much more vulnerable. The bottom line is plan NOW. Don't wait until the final days and you have to claim bankruptcy.
I really hate to be the turd in the punchbowl, but this is reality. Just ask anyone in the industry. Am I bitter? Damn right I'm bitter! I was planning to open a new store in the town where I now reside, but the FDA regs put a stop to that. I'm just not going to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a business that could end with the stroke of a pen. The FDA's end goal is ZERO tobacco, and a whole new department within the FDA has been formed to do just that. But, we voted for change. And change is what we'll get, like it or not.
I wish every surviving B&M owner out there the best of luck in these trying times. Keep up the good fight!
No cheers. Screed over.
CACooper
Honestly, I don't think they'll ever completely ban tobacco. The government makes far too much money off the taxes for them to ban it entirely.
I used to think the same thing, now I realize that I was wrong.
The government (an the Obama administration in particular) doesn't give a rat's ass about revenue. In fact, they work as hard as they possibly can to maintain a negative revenue stream. Whether this is by nefarious design, benign neglect or ideological illogic, I will let you decide. But the fact remains that they have a credit card with no limit, and they are using it.
The tobacco tax means nothing to them. Expanding power and repressing freedom means everything.
There is a B&M for sale, not too far from me. It's an established store with a dedicated clientel in a good market, and not a bad location. I thought about it. Then I thought some more, and realized that the owner, a very nice and very smart guy, is getting out for a reason. Add to that the fact that CI/P&C World HQ is just a few miles away, and operates two (very nice) retail locations in the area, and, well...as George Costanza would say: Shrinkage.
Someday, in another life, I will own and operate the "Tobaccoland Saloondromat Diner and Shootin' Range"
This is probably not the thread for this, and I am not the first person to point this out, but ... isn't it odd that our government is slowly legalizing marijuana while simultaneously criminalizing tobacco? I must be missing something obvious or misunderstanding something.
That's right. All we can do is comply and obey... can anyone tell me when the citizens of the world transmogrified into Ostriches?
Yes, you're missing something. It's not our Government that is slowly legalizing Cannabis, and criminalizing Tobacco. Users of Cannabis have taken action, and are doing everything in their power to decriminalize the use and possession of the plant, while our government is fighting back tooth and nail. How many tobacco users do you know who are actively fighting for their rights?
It seems the push to legalize marijuana in the U.S. has a very wealthy and influential supporter, not just our own government.
Read and be enlightened:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2596471/George-Soros-spent-80million-pot-legalized-US-Uruguay.html
Soros is the embodiment of pure evil. He regularly visits the White House to discuss what exactly? We'll probably never know, but if you observe what's happening in this country it does explain a few things.
Here in Colorado, especially Denver, there are more pot shops than Starbucks. They're so prolific that several are right across the street from each other. Tobacconist shops? Not so much. They are few and far between and getting fewer every day.
Again, no cheers.
CACooper
Read and be enlightened:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2596471/George-Soros-spent-80million-pot-legalized-US-Uruguay.html
Soros is the embodiment of pure evil. He regularly visits the White House to discuss what exactly? We'll probably never know, but if you observe what's happening in this country it does explain a few things.
Here in Colorado, especially Denver, there are more pot shops than Starbucks. They're so prolific that several are right across the street from each other. Tobacconist shops? Not so much. They are few and far between and getting fewer every day.
Again, no cheers.
CACooper
Then you, my friend, have been co-opted.
It's OK, there are millions more just like you. Underinformed and overindulged. Read Cacooper's post, then dig deeper. Follow the money. Nothing happens in this country that isn't directly influenced by money, power, or a combination of the two. The pot movement didn't gain steam until 1) The Dems saw pot smokers as a natural voting bloc 2) The states, desperate for tax dollars, saw a new revenue stream (many states, by Constitutional law, can not run a deficit).
Now there you have a real point. Good observation. Once the public opinion polls are able to shift against an issue by a slim margin, the politicians get in there with the thin end of the wedge and balkanize the issue. Divide and conquer. Identity politics. Zero tolerance. "Hate speech". You are entitled.
Ack, it's too early in the morning for this, and I have to go make pretty pictures today.
One can't have power without the control of the moneys. Government taxing of tobacco has created a situation that was not anticipated even though smoking reduction was the stated aim. Tobacco usage is going down, ergo, revenue is shrinking. Now another income stream must be created as government is too big to fail, too many employees and others rely on the tax stream for their existence. So, yes it is all about the money. There is no nefarious scheme in place other than governments must have money to purchase more of our votes so they can raise taxes so to buy more votes which leads to . . . well you get the idea.
Redistribution of wealth simply means government will get more money and sparingly mete it out. Mete out enough to keep the general population quiet and content.
Redistribution of wealth simply means government will get more money and sparingly mete it out. Mete out enough to keep the general population quiet and content.
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