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If you are looking for an idea to start your own business, you should pay attention to a furniture sales business. Many entrepreneurs do not consider this option because they consider the furniture sector to be too expensive, complex, long to pay off and, most importantly, highly competitive. However, in practice the opposite is true.

Russian furniture market

Despite the unfavorable economic situation, the domestic furniture market (primarily upholstered furniture) is growing steadily. Over the past four years, its annual growth rate has averaged 5%. Although literally ten to fifteen years ago the situation was completely different. Then new furniture was purchased only after the old one failed. Now our compatriots are looking for a new sofa or armchair because the existing furniture is out of fashion or out of style. Favorable trends in the furniture segment are due to two main reasons - the growing welfare of the population and the presence of international furniture companies.

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According to researchers, the share of imported furniture on the Russian market is increasing every year by 45%. The increase is achieved through the supply of components, since importing finished furniture is too expensive. Logistics costs directly affect the cost of production and, therefore, its market value too. However, domestic producers do not feel disadvantaged. There are a large number of Russian companies whose furniture is in great demand in a certain price category (mainly the low and medium price segment). Again, if we look at the 90s, the situation then was exactly the opposite. After the Iron Curtain was removed, the domestic market was flooded with foreign-made products. Russian furniture companies were helped, oddly enough, by the economic crisis of 1998, when consumers simply could not afford to buy foreign furniture and preferred cheaper Russian ones.

The second economic crisis, which occurred exactly ten years later, again played into the hands of domestic companies, which were able to offer their clients not only the optimal combination of affordable prices and good quality products, but also a uniform standard of service and, no less important, walking distance to furniture showrooms .

Now the economic situation in the country is close to the situation in 2008. Furniture manufacturers and sellers are already noticing a sharp decline in demand for expensive products and an increase in interest in domestically produced furniture. On the other hand, there is still a construction boom, which significantly increases the demand for furniture. Therefore, experts advise entrepreneurs who are just entering this market to rely primarily on domestic manufacturers, choosing proven brands, good quality (even without designer delights) and affordable prices.

Furniture store formats

First of all, you need to decide on the format of your future store. The classification of such outlets is rather arbitrary. However, within its framework the following formats can be distinguished:

Standard furniture store. Its assortment includes an average of 200-250 product items, and its area ranges from 300 to 1000 sq. m. meters. The furniture products presented there cover all major product groups (furniture for the bedroom, kitchen, office, upholstered furniture, office furniture).

Showroom. This store format is suitable for expensive exclusive furniture, often made or imported to order. Each trading position in such a room is usually presented in five to six different variations.

Furniture hypermarket. The area of ​​such a store is from 1 sq. km, and the assortment includes over 1000 trade items. The widest selection of furniture is presented here (usually in the middle price category): hallways, walls, office furniture, kitchen furniture, bedrooms, etc.

Special shop. Stores of this type sell furniture of one specific product group (usually in sets): office, bedroom, upholstered, kitchen, etc.

The format of the furniture store you choose directly depends on the starting capital and the characteristics of the regional market. Assess the level of competition in your city, identify direct and indirect competitors, paying special attention to the largest chain stores. The mid-price segment is considered the most profitable, but here the life of individual retail outlets is significantly complicated by such “monsters” of furniture retail as Ikea, Hoff, etc. We do not consider a furniture hypermarket in this article, since organizing such a business requires large investments. This segment includes international and federal networks. A showroom is not the best option in a looming economic crisis. The cost of renting a room for it may be too high with a relatively small selection and high prices for furniture. The standard format is represented mostly by regional networks, although federal players are gradually beginning to oppress them. A highly specialized store also has some disadvantages if we consider it as a business, but they can be leveled out by finding your niche and correctly forming the assortment.

Until recently, the main part of the Russian furniture market was upholstered furniture. However, now the situation has changed significantly. As manufacturers and sellers themselves note, in the home segment the share of bedroom and children's furniture, stationary beds, and living room furniture is increasing due to a decrease in the upholstered furniture segment. This is explained by changes in the way of life of our compatriots. If before this furniture was more of an aesthetic nature and served as interior decoration, now the consumer gives preference to simplicity and functionality. But in the office segment and HoReCa (restaurant and hotel industry), on the contrary, upholstered furniture is becoming more and more in demand: the number of people who prefer to spend their free time outside the home is increasing, and accordingly, the number of establishments where a person can relax and have a good time is growing .

We are drawing up a business plan for a furniture store

After you have chosen the format of your future store, you need to conduct several marketing studies, determining the market capacity and target audience. When determining the capacity of the furniture market, keep in mind that the turnover in this segment is comparable to the turnover of building materials. It is estimated at 300 billion rubles (data for 2013). Knowing the capacity of the regional market, you can determine the level of competition in your region.

The next step is to determine how much money it will take to open a furniture store. The main expenses include repairs to the retail premises, lighting, and production of signs. In the total budget, this expense item accounts for up to 45%. Exactly how much money you need depends on the location of the premises, its area, condition, selected building materials, store design, etc. The next significant expense item is inventory. Its share in the total budget is also estimated at 40-45%. The amount of expenses depends on the price category, the number of product groups that you will have, and the positions within each group. The remaining part of the budget (15-20%) is working capital, which includes rent for two months, as well as the monthly wage fund for your employees.

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To open a small specialized furniture store you will need from 3 million rubles. The payback period for such a project is estimated by experts to be at least two years.

Documents for opening a furniture store

In order to open a furniture store, you first need to choose a suitable organizational and legal form for running your own business. This is the name of the legal status of a business entity and its choice of method of using property. For small businesses, the best forms of ownership are individual entrepreneurs and LLCs. We will not dwell in detail on the advantages and disadvantages of one form or another. Let's just say that for a small furniture store it is quite enough to register as an individual entrepreneur with the INFS. In this case, you will need to choose a form of taxation. In addition, please note that to carry out your activities you must select OKVED codes. There may be several of them, but there is only one main one! The activities we are considering include the following codes:

52.12 - Other retail trade in non-specialized stores;

52.44 - Retail trade of furniture and household goods;

52.44.1 - Retail trade in furniture;

52.48.1 - Specialized retail trade of office furniture, office equipment;

52.48.11 - Retail trade of office furniture.

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When choosing OKVED codes, focus not only on those types of activities that you plan to engage in immediately at the very beginning of your work, but also those that may be relevant to you in the future. These may include, for example, the following:

36.11 - Production of chairs and other seating furniture;

36.12 - Production of furniture for offices and trade enterprises;

36.13 - Production of kitchen furniture;

36.14 - Production of other furniture;

51.15 - Activities of agents in the wholesale trade of furniture, household goods, hardware, cutlery and other metal products;

51.15.1 - Activities of agents in the wholesale trade of household furniture;

51.47.1 - Wholesale trade of household furniture, floor coverings and other non-electrical appliances;

51.47.11 - Wholesale trade of household furniture;

51.64.3 - Wholesale trade of office furniture.

If some codes are missing from this list, this may subsequently cause difficulties when expanding the scope of your activity. You will have to make changes to the registration documents, which involves additional inconvenience and loss of time.

The list of documents that are submitted to the registration authority (INFS, located at the location of the individual entrepreneur being opened) includes: an application for state registration of an individual as an individual entrepreneur in form P21001, a receipt for payment of the state fee for registration of individual entrepreneurs, an application for transition to a simplified tax system according to form No. 26.2-1 (optional), copy of the applicant’s passport. Registration documents can be submitted either personally or through a representative by proxy. In addition, you can send all the necessary documents through the “Electronic Services” service or by mail in a valuable letter with a list of all enclosed documents. If all documents meet the requirements, then within five days after submitting them you will receive documents on individual entrepreneur registration.

In addition, you will need to prepare a number of documents necessary to conduct such business activities:

permission from Rospotrebnadzor employees to locate (this document provides the right to start the operation of the facility);

program for industrial and sanitary control (opening a furniture store is possible only if you have this document, which is designed to optimize the process of compliance with sanitary rules and regulations at the enterprise);

a sanitary and epidemiological conclusion, issued for a specific period by employees of Rospotrebnadzor, determines the compliance of the premises of the facility with the current norms and rules that apply for this type of enterprise;

agreements on the removal of solid household waste and other garbage;

drawing up contracts for deratization, pest control, and disinfection work, which involves the execution of sanitary work to exterminate pathogens, rodents, and insects;

regulatory documentation for a furniture store;

drawing up an agreement for the provision of laundry and dry cleaning services for washing work clothes;

drawing up a contract for disinfection work for vehicles;

an agreement for regular disinfection and cleaning of ventilation and air conditioning systems;

official agreement for the disposal of fluorescent (mercury-containing) lamps.

Depending on the region and the specifics of the business, other documentation may be required to open a furniture store.

Furniture store premises

Even at the time of registration documents, start looking for premises for a store. It should be located on the first line and under no circumstances in the courtyards between houses. As for the region, the choice here is not so important. For good and high-quality furniture, people are ready to travel to the other end of the city. And in any case, they will need delivery of purchased furniture to their home, even if the store is located in the same area where they live. When inspecting suitable premises, take into account the requirements and standards defined by law. Thus, industrial goods stores can be located in residential, public or separate buildings, in shopping centers and complexes. If the store is located in a residential building, then the entrance to the premises must be isolated from residential apartments. Norms for the area and height of premises are not regulated, and it is not recommended to use premises with a ceiling height of less than 2.5–2.7 m, with the exception of utility rooms.

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If you find a room on the ground floor, then take into account that according to the standards, it is allowed to place stores in premises without natural light, but the requirements of SanPiN 2.2.1./2.1.1.1278-03 “Hygienic requirements for natural, artificial and combined lighting of residential and public buildings" (approved by the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation on 04/06/2003), where Table No. 2 shows the standardized indicators of natural, artificial and combined lighting depending on the purpose of the premises. For example, for the sales floors of furniture and sports stores, the minimum level of artificial illumination is 200 lux.

After the premises have been found and a lease agreement has been concluded, you need to obtain the conclusions of the fire inspection and sanitary inspection. The presence of a conclusion from the sanitary and epidemiological service is the main condition for obtaining permission to operate a store by local governments and executive authorities. To obtain a fire safety certificate, an entrepreneur must install fire safety systems in the store premises, provide a sufficient number of fire extinguishers, as well as an emergency exit.

An ordinary furniture store does not require any design delights. It is enough to have fresh renovations and maintain cleanliness in the sales area. An additional advantage of furniture stores is that there is no need to buy additional commercial equipment. It will be enough to have a counter for the seller and a cash register. The latter, by the way, must be registered. In addition, if you plan to hang a sign on the facade of the building where your store is located (and you cannot do without it), you will need to obtain permission from the landlord. Please note: a sign on the facade of a building containing the name of the company and its type of activity is not advertising, and therefore it can be placed without any permits or contracts. But if your sign is located at a different address, then its placement must be agreed upon with the authorized body.

Choosing a furniture supplier for a store

When searching for suppliers of goods for your point, consider several basic requirements for future partners and the products they offer. First of all, the furniture you purchase should be of good quality and affordable prices. Pay attention to reviews about the company you have chosen and its working conditions. Reviews can be found on various websites and forums on the Internet. Of course, you shouldn’t trust them blindly, since many of them are custom-made (that is, they are advertising in nature), but they can still give a certain idea about the supplier. Try to work only with trusted suppliers who have been in the market for a long time. You should not get involved with new companies, even if they offer extremely favorable working conditions. Due to currency fluctuations and consumer preferences, it is best to work with domestically produced furniture. Goods can be taken from suppliers for further sale or purchased at wholesale prices. Don't forget to ask the supplier for certificates for the products they provide.

If you prefer a specialized store, then you will have more suppliers, because you will need to ensure a variety of assortments, despite the limited number of product groups. Of course, in the middle price segment it is difficult to find original furniture options in design and execution. But there are Russian manufacturers who produce transformable furniture in small quantities, as well as various designer models. The prices for such furniture are slightly higher than average, but you can offer those who wish to choose the option they are interested in from the catalog and bring it to order. Such a service will be in demand, since original and, most importantly, compact furniture (transformable and built-in) is in high demand.

Take time to plan the arrangement of furniture in the sales area. Try to ensure that all models are clearly visible and that price tags are readable from any distance. At first glance, these are small things. But cluttered furniture makes it difficult for people to move around the store and causes them irritation. As studies show, when store visitors do not find what they are looking for, in most cases they immediately leave the store without turning to a sales consultant for help.

Furniture store staff

By the way, since we’re talking about sales consultants, let’s say a few words about the furniture store staff. The success of your business and your profits directly depend on it. Preference should be given to people who have experience in this field, but newcomers should not be neglected. After a little training, which you can do yourself, as well as a careful study of the store's assortment, many of them are in no way inferior to experienced sellers. Many furniture chains conduct entire exams for newly recruited workers, asking them questions about the assortment, selection of furniture for a specific interior, materials used in production, colors, etc. Small stores do not have the means to hire trainers, but you can control it yourself work as sales consultants, visiting the sales floor from time to time. As a rule, a salesperson's salary consists of a salary and a percentage of sales, the amount of which depends on the fulfillment of the established sales plan. This is the best option for financial incentives for employees.

Expenses and profits of a furniture store

The total cost of opening a specialized furniture store is from 3.5 million rubles. Don’t forget to budget for advertising costs – your profits directly depend on them. Print media (specialized publications), radio, television and outdoor advertising are suitable for promoting a furniture store.

The revenue of a furniture store in a small town with a population of up to 500 thousand people, according to various sources, ranges from 2.5-3 million rubles per month. The average markup in the furniture business on products sold is 30-40%, and net profitability is estimated by experts at 7%. Accordingly, it is possible to recoup all expenses in 2-2.5 years.

It is widely believed that the furniture business is not subject to factors such as seasonality. In fact, it is not true. According to the sales results of individual furniture stores and retail chains, peak sales occur in the period from September to December. Then there is an increase in consumer interest in furniture between March and June. Summer is a “low season” both for the furniture segment and for other stores in general.

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From this article you will learn how to open a furniture business. With proper organization of the business, a person without specialized skills can achieve success!

There are two areas of activity - assembly from ready-made components, which requires virtually no investment, and the creation of a workshop for the production of modules. The latter will not require investment when you have carpentry skills and space.

Furniture assembly as a business

All you need to get started is a computer with a printer, a hand drill, small tools (screwdrivers, hammer). It's important to know the process.

In order for woodworking to be waste-free, it is opened for solid fuel boilers.

For entrepreneurs, one of the pleasant moments is starting a business without global investments. – from 60%.

It is possible to organize it so that clients are investors.

Example

Let's look at this expensive kitchen.

Made from modern materials. The cost without hood and oven is 48,000 rubles. In the store the price will increase by 15,000 rubles. Total - 63,000 thousand. The facade is made of framed MDF. There are built-in household appliances, roof rails, deep drawers, long handles. The box is made from German chipboard. Accessories from the company Hettich.

Let's see how to make such a custom-made kitchen without equipment, without investing your own money.

Imagine that they gave it to you disassembled. The cost of furniture is 40–50%. To understand the process, watch a video on the Internet.

Assembly to order

The main thing is to find the necessary materials, fittings, and fasteners. It is necessary to make documentation with the dimensions of the workpieces and a list of components. With this, you go to stores or warehouses, where they will cut it according to the drawing.

Facades, countertops, and other parts are made in factories. Now in all cities there are their representative offices where you can buy or order everything. Glass is cut to size in workshops.

As a result, we get a constructor.

Let's start from scratch

Entrepreneurs working to order do not produce furniture at their own expense. Be sure to take an advance payment for the cost of materials and their transportation to the workshop. That's .

They do the assembly. Then they disassemble, hire a car, and deliver the furniture set to the client. This is done by 2-3 people who collect and receive the final payment. The client is satisfied.

You can really start a business with minimal investment, and then develop it into an assembly shop with your own professional equipment.

Self-made furniture

The first step is to find a premises. A garage is a good place to start. But for a serious event you will need a workshop with machines.

The next step is purchasing equipment. The minimum set of tools will be inexpensive - up to 20 thousand rubles. It is possible to buy a used version, which will be cheaper. The presence of a sawing machine will reduce the time and cost of finished products. A set of equipment for the work of 1-3 people with wide functionality - 100-500 thousand rubles, which will allow you to create interior items and produce other wooden products. This will provide additional income.

The only thing left to do is purchase materials and find clients. The presence of production and official registration increase the chances of successful promotion.

What does a furniture entrepreneur need?

When developing products, it is necessary to have not only appropriate equipment, a customer base, work space, established supply channels, but also the ability to demonstrate the product. Nowadays it is not necessary to have an exhibition hall - modern computer technologies make it possible to create furniture in three-dimensional mode, and programs simplify calculations of materials and fasteners, as well as ensure rapid production on computerized machines.

The main thing is to find a specialist, a designer who can work with such programs, or have personal skills. Proper presentation of the material will ensure the success of the activity.

The success of any enterprise is related to certain circumstances. What is important is how interesting the company’s products are for consumers and how competitive they are.

At the same time, when starting a business from scratch, the main thing is to make the right choice in favor of one direction or another.

There are many options for starting a new business. Each of them is attractive in its own way and has certain advantages.

Advantages of the furniture business

In terms of development prospects and profitability levels, the furniture business from scratch occupies one of the first places. According to studies of consumer activity, the volume of furniture purchases over the past two years has not only not decreased, but also increased.

There is a decline in sales of luxury furniture. And even then, this decrease is very insignificant. And sales of mid-range and economy-level furniture have increased. This trend continues and is likely to continue in the coming years.

The fact is that buying furniture is perceived as a serious purchase, along with a car. However, unlike a car. Buying furniture is more affordable. Therefore, investments in the furniture business seem correct and economically justified.

Why starting a furniture business is profitable

Starting your own business is always a responsible decision. Therefore, every entrepreneur wants to insure themselves. In the case of this business, some of its features serve as such insurance:

Sales stability

Furniture sales do not fall depending on the time of year. They do not depend on foreign exchange rates and the cost of natural resources. Along with clothes, furniture is an item that will always be needed. Therefore, she is a sales leader.

A market snapshot taken at any time of the year will show that the level of furniture sales remains stable.

At the same time, an important point is the availability of offers. Furniture prices have increased, but not critically. It is still accessible to the public, unlike cars. This is also due to the fact that most of these products are produced in Russia.

But this circumstance also has a negative connotation for a newcomer to the furniture business. It's highly competitive.

However, it is surmountable. There are hundreds of furniture options. Therefore, you can always find your niche and work within it, receiving stable decent money;

Possibility of small investments

Furniture production requires completely different levels of investment. There are several market segments in which you can work. If we talk about low-budget investments, then such a business is available to everyone. At the same time, the good thing about own production is that it can be gradually developed. You can introduce new technologies, purchase equipment and obtain more interesting and varied products;

Lack of a large number of documents

To start a furniture business, you don’t need to complete a lot of paperwork. An individual entrepreneur can also organize his own enterprise. At the same time, there are no special requirements for production premises. It is enough to comply with general fire safety and sanitary standards;

Selection of suppliers

Thanks to a large number of suppliers of upholstery materials, various fillings, accessories and other things, everyone can choose the most profitable options.

What you need to open a furniture business

Of course, starting a new business from scratch requires investment. However, the volume of these investments depends on the capabilities of each businessman. Therefore, it makes sense to talk about the general conditions for organizing such a business:

First of all, you need to register as an individual entrepreneur. The costs of this procedure are small and limited to several thousand rubles. At the same time, using the services of various companies is completely optional;

You will need to choose a tax system. The most acceptable is the imputed income tax system. Thus, the entrepreneur will pay a fixed amount annually. Nothing more will be required from him.

Everything is done with the help of multifunctional centers that prepare all the necessary documents. To do this, you only need an application and a receipt for payment of the state fee.

You will need a production facility. In order to save money, it can be rented on the outskirts. After all, this is not a place of sales. Therefore, such premises should not be located in the city center or in close proximity to it.

We must not forget that such a room must meet fire safety requirements. Otherwise, this is fraught with large fines and suspension of the enterprise.

It is necessary to provide methods for removing waste and delivering products to retail outlets. Thus, the location of the production facility should be convenient, and the room itself should be spacious.

A competent choice of suppliers of fittings and upholstery materials will save you good money. Each of these suppliers strives to find a new client and cooperate with him indefinitely. Therefore, it always makes sense to negotiate the terms of discounts and other privileges.

Also, it will be necessary to hire assemblers and other personnel. In order to reduce the cost of paying them, a minimum wage should be established. Its level is established by law and the salary cannot be less than it. And the rest of the income, the employees will have to earn.

The point is to tie the level of earnings of employees of an enterprise that is opened from scratch to the level of productivity of their labor.

The more an employee completes in a day, the more money he will receive at the end of the month. This approach seems to be the most justified. Subject to good faith, the employees themselves will be interested in it, first of all.

Thus, it will be possible to seriously stimulate them. Ultimately, this will lead to increased productivity and, consequently, increased sales. In addition, performance discipline will increase, and interest in the results of work on the part of the team will also increase. These circumstances will create exactly the conditions that are necessary for the sustainable development of a new business.

In general, it should be noted that the furniture business is a promising industry. This market segment is constantly evolving, new models and new developments are appearing.

The quality of services and final products improves. Therefore, being inside and understanding the ongoing processes and following them means creating a full-fledged, effective and profitable business.

At the same time, the level of investment is determined by each investor independently. However, in order to reduce risks, it is not advisable to use all your capabilities at once. It makes sense to let the business and the conditions in which it will develop prove itself.

The idea of ​​a cabinet furniture production business is interesting because it is suitable for entrepreneurs with any income level. If there is no money, we look for clients and organize the assembly of furniture from ready-made elements. If you are ready to invest several million rubles, we open our own production workshop. Our business plan considers both options.

The technological process of manufacturing cabinet furniture can be divided into three groups:

1. Full technological process, starting with the production of materials (MDF, chipboard, furniture board) and ending with the assembly of the product. This option is suitable for mass production, allows you to minimize the cost of materials, but requires the greatest investment and quality.

2. Medium– manufacturing of furniture using ready-made fiberboard, chipboard, MDF sheets (cutting and assembling elements).

3. Short– the entrepreneur is engaged in assembly using chipboard, laminated chipboard and MDF. This is the most suitable option for starting your business from scratch. No cutting equipment required. After developing a sufficient customer base, you can buy cutting and edge banding machines to expand your business.

Market analysis in Russia

Data from the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Industry Enterprises regarding the volume of furniture production in Russia:

• cabinet (hallways, sets, furniture) – 25%;
• soft – 17%;
• office – 23%;
• kitchens – 22%;
• bedrooms – 13%.

The domestic furniture range can be divided into groups according to the following parameters:

• by functional purpose: for storage (cabinets, cabinets, chests of drawers, shelves), for sitting and lying (armchairs, chairs, beds, sofas), for eating (tables);
• by design: universally prefabricated, non-dismountable, sectional, built-in, transformable;
• by materials: wood or wood materials, plastics, metal.

A furniture company must offer customers the entire range according to their functional purpose. Our business plan is designed for the production of furniture from chipboard.

Use of ready-made components

Necessary equipment and cost (prices are in rubles):

• – 2000;
• – 2200;
• – 2500;
• – 2000;
• – 7000;
• – 2500;
• – 2500;
• – 2200;
• – 1600;
• cutting tools (drills, knives, cutters and crowns) – 3000;
• classic set of hand tools for a home craftsman – 1000;
• clamps – 1000;
• miter box – 800.

Total - approx. 35,000 rub. When purchasing more expensive equipment, the investment is 70,000 rub.

Other expenses

A room is required for furniture assembly. You can open it. Area – from 25 sq.m. The main requirements are that it must be dry and light. You also need at least one assistant. We include in expenses wages (10,000 rubles) or a percentage of production.

With proper organization of sales, investments will pay off in 3-4 months. An excellent option for starting a business from scratch.

Opening of a full-fledged production workshop

To open a large production, you can buy the following equipment (prices in rubles):

• 1500 (cutting blanks for cabinet furniture) – 294,000;
• HighPoint R 600 milling and copying machine (making shaped parts and grooves) – 220,000;
• edge banding machine HighPoint BT-T (removal of excess glued edge) – 130,000;
• HighPoint BR 21 drilling and attachment machine (drilling holes for fasteners) – 360,000;
• cordless drill-driver Makita 6271DWAE (assembly of elements) – 7,000.

How are MDF facades made?

We select personnel:

• a designer who accepts orders, goes to the client’s home, draws designs, coordinates them and transfers them to the workers;
• workers of the production workshop - from 2 to 8 people, depending on the volume of production;
• driver – 1 person (this work can be performed by the entrepreneur himself);
• seller to the store (if the retail space is open).

Initial costs(in rubles):

• purchase of necessary equipment – ​​1,000,000;
• purchase of consumables – 150,000;
• LLC registration – 30-40,000.

To start a project for the production of custom-made cabinet furniture, you need 1,200,000 rubles. The money can be your own or borrowed. For the second option, you need to take into account interest costs. With an annual interest rate of 22-25%, production profitability should range from 30-35% . The payback period, profit after taxes, monthly costs and unforeseen expenses are also taken into account. This plan involves the use of your own funds.

Variable monthly costs(in rubles):

• raw materials and supplies – 150,000;
• workers' wages – 100,000.

Fixed monthly costs(in rubles):

• workshop rent – ​​50,000;
• salary for an office worker – 20,000;
• advertising costs – 10,000.

Make a product catalog of what the furniture looks like in the interior

A step-by-step plan on how to open a furniture store, supported by detailed calculations and analytical tables.

♦ Capital investments – 2,500,000 rubles
♦ Payback – 1–1.5 years

In Soviet times, the furniture that was managed to be obtained amid an atmosphere of total shortage was used for decades, passed on by inheritance.

The same situation was observed in the crisis 90s, when people were more interested in the problems of survival rather than updating the interior.

With the beginning of the 2000s, due to the growing prosperity of the population, the situation began to change: people went to a furniture store not only when a bed or table was out of order, but also with the goal of simply updating the furniture in the house, because the samples they had were out of order out of fashion or no longer satisfy the needs of their owners.

Many entrepreneurs do not want to think about it, believing that this business requires too much capital investment, which slowly pays off.

You should not pay attention to these misconceptions, because by thinking through the concept of your furniture store and finding good suppliers, you can build a profitable business from scratch.

Features of opening a furniture store

The furniture business has nuances unique to it, knowledge of which helps to quickly make your business profitable and recoup capital investments:

1. Consider the economic state of the country and the financial state of customers when forming the assortment of your furniture store.
   For example, now there is an economic downturn, so you should offer furniture to buyers at an average and low price.
2. Previously, when it came to high-quality furniture, only foreign brands came to mind, but today domestic manufacturers produce excellent products at an affordable price.
   If you are just getting into the furniture business, then equip your salon with domestic furniture samples.
3. The turnover of furniture products is hundreds of billions of dollars a year, second only to construction materials, which indicates the high profitability of this business.
4. When opening a furniture store, you cannot get by with small spaces.
   Some entrepreneurs think that it is not necessary to display all samples of the goods offered, a catalog is enough.
   This is a mistake; the client wants to see what the sofa or bed will look like in real life, not in a picture, before purchasing it.
5. The optimal price-quality ratio is the secret to the success of the furniture business, and for this you need to find a good supplier.
6. Monitor customer sentiment.
   For example, just a few years ago the sale of upholstered furniture brought the greatest profit to businessmen.
   Today the situation has changed: customers are increasingly buying beds, items for children's rooms and living rooms.
   At the same time, owners of restaurants, sports clubs and other establishments are actively buying sofas and armchairs, taking into account that their clients want to be seated comfortably.
7. Place furniture in your store so that the customer can examine each item from different angles.
   There is no need to try to squeeze as many samples as possible into a cramped room.
   Either expand the area of ​​the premises, or reduce the range of goods.

What kind of furniture store should you open?

If you are going to open a furniture store from scratch, then you should decide on its format.

There are several types of establishments in the furniture business:

1. Standard furniture store.
   The area of ​​such a salon is at least 300 square meters.
   Typically, such an establishment presents samples of furniture for all rooms of a living space, offices, etc.
2. Exhibition salon.
   This store presents exclusive samples, for example, designer furniture.
   The client cannot purchase the products displayed here right away; he must wait until they are made to order.
   The cost of production is high, so you need to focus on attracting wealthy customers.
3. Furniture hypermarket.
   The area of ​​such a store is at least 1 thousand square meters. m.
   It fully lives up to its name, because here the client can purchase everything that belongs to the “furniture” category: from a highchair to a designer bedroom set.
   Opening it requires huge capital investments.
4. Specialized furniture store.
   That is, you choose one direction: selling furniture for the office, or bathroom, or bedroom, etc.
   The advantage of such a business is that you do not need to have a large start-up capital; the disadvantage is the presence of a framework when forming a client base.

How to increase the profitability of a furniture store?

This can only be done in one way - by attracting as many clients as possible.

In order to have a good monthly profit immediately after opening a furniture store, you need to take care of its advertising campaign and competitive advantages.

Competitive advantages of a furniture store

Interesting fact:
The bed as an element of furniture appeared in Rus' only at the beginning of the 17th century. And they became widespread under Peter I. Before that, people slept on a bench or stove.

The level of competition in this industry is extremely high, so you need to make sure that your store stands out from other furniture stores.

You can stand out:

1. Rich assortment of goods.
   The more options you offer your client, the more likely he is to make a purchase from you.
2. Reasonable pricing policy.
   Of course, you can open a luxury furniture store and target only wealthy clients, but it is much wiser to stick to an average pricing policy, while offering high-quality goods.
3. Impeccable service.
   Your sales consultants must be extremely polite and competent, be able to find an approach to even the most problematic client and answer his, albeit not very smart, questions without nerves.
4. Discount program for regular customers.
   If a buyer has purchased many samples of furniture from you in order to completely furnish a home or office, then give him a discount.
   Yes, and discount cards are still popular with customers.
5. Promotions and sales.
   On the eve of the New Year holidays or other favorable periods for sales, it is wise to reduce prices on stale furniture in order to revive trade.
6. Pleasant bonuses.
   For example, free delivery or designer consultation at your expense if the client purchased furniture from you worth over 100,000 rubles.
7. A convenient location for your furniture store, so you don’t have to travel half a day to get there.

Advertising campaign for a furniture store

If you are opening a furniture store from scratch, then you should make sure that people know about it.

This can be done with the help of a well-executed advertising campaign on radio, television, print media, and online resources.

But this may not be enough, so it’s worth being on the safe side:

• distributing leaflets in crowded places;
• purchasing space on banners so that as many drivers and pedestrians as possible can see your advertising;
• creating your own website so that potential customers can learn about your store’s product range and pricing policy;
• creating a group for your furniture salon on social networks.

It is very important to think about opening your own store.

Decorate the entrance with balloons, invite a good host and DJ, and advertise that a new furniture store is opening soon. On the opening day, you can give a 20% discount on all products or interest-free installments for the purchase of furniture.

It is important that all the residents of your city who come to like not only the opening, but also your store. This way they can turn from onlookers into regular customers.

Stages of implementing a business plan for opening a furniture store

You will need to go through the standard procedure: registration, search for premises, its equipment, recruitment of personnel, search for suppliers.

You should start with the first two stages: the registration procedure and searching for premises, then everything else.

Registration

In order to open a furniture store, it is enough to register as an individual entrepreneur, although you can choose another form - LLC.

Then you register with the tax service, choosing the form of taxation; it is most reasonable to choose UTII.

When preparing documents, be sure to indicate OKVED codes that correspond to the type of your activity. If you are only going to sell furniture, then code 52.44 will do. If you plan to make furniture yourself, then also indicate codes 36.11–36.14. In case of interest in wholesale trade, this should also be indicated with a special code 51.15.

Immediately think about the direction in which your furniture business will move in order to indicate all possible OKVE codes. Otherwise it will be difficult to change the documentation.

In addition, you will need to obtain permission from Rospotrebnadzor, from the fire service that your premises are ready for use, a sanitary and epidemiological conclusion, and you will also need to conclude a number of agreements for:

• waste removal;
• disinfection and disinfestation work;
• destruction of lighting lamps;
• cleaning of climate control equipment and others.

As you can see, there are a lot of bureaucratic delays regarding opening a furniture store.

If you are new to business, then you should consider hiring a professional lawyer to help with the registration procedure and documentation.

Premises for a furniture store

It is better to rent/buy such premises not in the center, but somewhere in a residential area, in order to make loading/unloading furniture easier.

And the cost of renting one square meter in the center can be quite high for a business that is just getting on its feet.

The premises you find for a furniture store must meet the following requirements:

• have high ceilings;
• be equipped with a service entrance through which loading can be carried out without fear of disturbing customers;
• have parking;
• be away from other furniture stores;
• be located in a densely populated area that can be easily reached by residents of other residential areas in your city.

Furniture store equipment

To open a salon for selling furniture, the selected premises need to be renovated if its condition is not very good.

The interior of your store does not require any special frills; it is enough to paint the walls in a discreet color, against which it is most advantageous to display the furniture. Make sure your salon has good lighting so that clients don't have to walk around in the dark.

If the area of ​​the store allows, then it is better to divide it into separate zones depending on the purpose of the furniture being sold.

There is no need to buy special equipment for a furniture store, with the exception of a cash register and office equipment for staff work.

Make sure that your employees have a service room where they can change clothes, have lunch and relax.

You will also need a truck to deliver furniture to clients, although you don’t have to buy one, but simply hire a driver with your own personal transport.

Expense item	Amount (in rub.)
Total:	150,000 rub.
Cash machine	10 000
Furniture for office space (table, chairs, lockers)	50 000
Microwave oven for staff	7 000
Service bathroom equipment	10 000
Laptops (one for salespeople, one for accountant)	35 000
Printer+scanner+copier	20 000
Telephone sets	3 000
Other	15 000

Furniture store staff

The number of employees in your furniture salon directly depends on its work schedule.

If you want it to work seven days a week, then you will need 2 shifts of sellers, loaders and cleaners.

If you imagine that your store will be open from 10.00–20.00 all days except Sunday and Monday, then you should hire the following employees:

Furniture suppliers

The profit of your furniture store directly depends on how reliable suppliers you find.

Here are some tips to help avoid the mistakes of novice entrepreneurs:

1. You need to look for furniture suppliers at specialized forums, exhibitions, and conferences.
2. Work only with trusted suppliers who have been in business for several years.
3. Research which furniture manufacturers customers prefer so you can give customers what they demand.
4. Do not work with suppliers whose reputation is already tarnished.
5. It is better to work with local furniture suppliers so as not to suffer losses due to the fluctuation of the dollar exchange rate.

Schedule plan for opening a furniture store

In addition to the fact that you need to have serious capital investments, you should prepare for the fact that opening a furniture store is not a quick process.

It will take at least six months to obtain all permits, find a premises, equip it and establish communication with suppliers.

Capital investment in a furniture store

The investment amount depends, first of all, on the area of ​​your premises and the cost of renting one square meter.

It is the costs of renting a premises, repairing it, installing lighting and a ventilation system that make up 40% of the capital investment of a furniture store, 50% is the purchase of the first batch of goods, the remaining 10% falls on the purchase of equipment and other expenses.

If we talk about the cost of renting premises for a furniture store, then it differs in different localities.

For one square meter, in some places they ask for 500 rubles, and in others 1,500 rubles.

Since you will be signing a long-term rental agreement, you will be able to ask for a discount and rental holidays for at least 1 month.

On average, renting a premises for a furniture showroom of 300 square meters will cost you 200,000–250,000 rubles per month.

How much can you earn by owning a furniture store?

The markup on 1 piece of furniture is 30–50%.

It is impossible to say definitively how much profit you will make from your furniture store. The more goods you sell, the higher your income will be.

According to 2014 data, owners of popular furniture stores in small cities (population 500–700 thousand people) have about 2,000,000 rubles per month.

Even if you subtract from this amount the costs of rent, staff salaries, taxes, advertising, purchases of goods and unplanned expenses, you still get at least 500,000 rubles of net profit.

This way you can return the capital investment of a furniture showroom in 1 year.

Download a ready-made business plan for a furniture store with quality guarantee.
Contents of the business plan:
1. Privacy
2. Summary
3. Project implementation stages
4. Characteristics of the object
5. Marketing plan
6. Technical and economic data of equipment
7. Financial plan
8. Risk assessment
9. Financial and economic justification for investments
10. Conclusions

We invite you to watch the video interview

with the owner of a large Russian furniture hypermarket:

Now you know everything about how to open a furniture store.

The main difficulty is to collect capital investments in the amount of 2–2.5 million rubles.

It may be worth considering bringing in a partner to get your startup up and running as quickly as possible.

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