Long story short, I’ve been a customer of this local appliance store for the last five years. It sells mostly ovens/stovetops, washer and dryers, fridges, etc. I buy mainly for my rentals and I imagine a portion of his customers are RE investors, new home owners, and people who need updated or used appliances.
It’s ran by a solo-owner in his late 60’s and recently expressed interest in selling and moving to Florida (the business is in STL). He wants $50K for the whole building plus inventory.
I know nothing about the appliance industry or how this would scale but I am open to keeping my investment options open. The owner is older and not privy to new age marketing, website optimization, etc. so maybe that’s an avenue to explore as well.
Does anyone have experience in this field? Also, I’m interested in diversifying and having hard assets on a balance sheet.
I think the margins in appliances are really small, so you have to have the volume to make a go of it. That being said, we prefer getting our appliances from our local appliance dealer, rather than the big box stores. We can ask questions and get advice from salespeople who have been doing it for decades. We may pay a little more there, but we’ve always been happy with the service.
Agreed, big box retailers are the main reason I wouldn’t want to continue running the business but look to liquidate and see if I can make out with a profit.