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Ain't it amazing how many experts there are prepared to tell you how to run your business when they don't have a red cent invested in it.
Yes agreed.... its called "Business Advisor" or "Consultant"....and they make a fortune !
....because its also amazing how many businesses fail due to the enthusiastic owners not having a true understanding of either the market they are selling into, how to expand their customer base, or how to run a business at all.
On a very similar note:... have you noticed how many cafe's these days also sell packs of roast beans ( EG GJ's !),.. as a side trade for their usual "food & drink" table trade . ?
!0 -15 years ago that was a uncommon situation !
Sounds like a business opportunity for you Yabba. You lost me at the first sentence when you asserted that 'green and brown are non competing items'. They may not be perfect substitutes....but they are substitutes (for some people at least....e.g. me).
Green and Brown are non competing items. A person that roasts generally has a supply of green but may consider the local provider for a variety of reasons such as face to face contact, cost savings etc etc. IMO it is naive to think that a person that roasts their own will buy roasted beans from the local roaster if they wont sell them green, they just wont buy anything. So, every item has its costs at every stage of production. Very simply COGS + overheads. With green there is very little additional costs other than purchase price + shipping. When they roast they increase their costs and they will sell the beans with a set profit margin. Selling green has minimal labor costs and they can be sold with the same margin as if they had roasted them. Essentially they will increase revenue while maintaining a healthy margin.
So the disadvantages of not selling Green
Lost profit
Lost secondary sales - Coffee while waiting and other items such as glasses etc etc
So the advantages of selling Green
Increased profit and revenue
Increased volume (potential bulk discounts from suppliers) and offsetting of costs
Increased patronage = Increased marketing benefit from word of mouth & reduced risk from a broader customer base.
Maybe the baker should sell flour, its an obvious easy increase in revenue and profits.
Do you go to your local bakery expecting to be able to buy a bag of flour or to your local levis outlet expecting to buy a bolt of denim to make your own? Of course not! So why is it any more reasonable to expect your local roaster to sell you green beans?
A sale with a lower margin is better than no sale at all. ...isn't it ?
Yep (certainly in the short run). But they have to make a judgement regarding the extent to which selling green beans (to which they add no value other than providing a local retail outlet) will erode their sales of brown beans (on which they hopefully earn a margin sufficient to cover their investment in plant / rent / fixed wages etc). I'm sure that in some markets your point is perfectly valid, but in others I fully understand why a roaster would think it in their interest to sell brown beans only.
..just suggesting that they may have very sound reasons for not doing so.
Im sure some do Barry, ..but if a retailer thinks that by not offering greens he will sell more roast instead , he is not understanding that they are different products with a different customer base.
A sale with a lower margin is better than no sale at all. ...isn't it ?
I'm not sure it is quite so simple. To the extent that they have excess roasting capacity, and to the extent that they believe that selling greens will cannibalise their sales of roasted beans, it is not necessarily a lack of vision that has led them to not offer greens for sale. Businesses have different cost structures, different amounts of rent to cover, different wage structures. Not saying that the roasters shouldn't consider selling greens...just suggesting that they may have very sound reasons for not doing so.
not just poorly managed, but no vision either !
I have 5 "commercial" roasters within walking distance , 3 of them have a retail frontage / cafe with many SO's & blends of excellent beans etc for sale. ..
..But, none of them have an inclination to offer greens (most staff look lost when i ask ?) .. its just not on their radar to offer them at any price !
..A missed sales opportunity ? ..but a gain for Bean Bay !
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