The intricacies of the Vape Studio franchise business

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While vapers are being caricatured, the vaporizer business is transforming from a hobby into a global industry. The store owners talked about how to open a franchise business, what is the difference between metropolitan and regional vapers, and whether it is possible to earn money on a pair.

Material prepared with the support of Vape Studio.

The success of a franchise network is highly dependent on the efficiency of the franchisor itself. ... It is all the more interesting to compare what problems the vaper franchise Vape Studio managed to solve.

Where to begin

Even in a well-promoted industry, franchisors often do not have serious assets, but only provide support on social networks and give advice of dubious quality. Vape Studio offers its partners something more tangible and meaningful: a promoted brand, a full set of instructions for setting up a point of sale and staff training, discounts from suppliers, marketing support - and, most importantly, connections.

Selling vaping products is a whole new area, which is why Vape Studio's tutorials are unique. Consultants explain to newbies what their stores and product should look like, how sellers communicate with customers, and which e-liquids to buy first.

Consultations on working with government agencies are held in a separate line. Vape Studio does not fit into the accounting department of partners, but it teaches how to register a point of sale so that the sanitary and epidemiological station and the fire inspector do not issue a fine, and also explains the peculiarities of the taxation system.

We opened recently, at the end of May. Vape Studio consultants came to us and told us how a business is built, how to make repairs, what to write on social networks and what is better to buy for sale. Rodion (with founder of Vape Studio and"Vape sommelier" - approx. site) came to the opening and trained the staff, told how to present oneself in the market.

Now the company is well known, everyone knows that we are a network. This inspires confidence, and sales are growing, many come to us because we have an interesting concept. Vape Studio negotiates with suppliers and knocks out discounts for us.

- Tatiana, owner of the Vape Studio store in Nizhny Novgorod

Business Entry Cost

If in some franchises the owner receives only a sign, and the rest is left to himself, then at Vape Studio expenses are broken down into points and the entry threshold is calculated. The cost of the franchise itself is 70 thousand rubles per city. Renovation of the premises and decoration in accordance with the corporate identity will cost another 350-500 thousand rubles, and the first purchase from suppliers - 600 thousand. Plus advertising costs. Although banners, sketches and print layouts are provided by the studio, the franchisee pays for placement.

On the advice of the co-owners of Vape Studio, when choosing a place, you need to focus on traffic, since the share of regular customers in this business is small. This is not a restaurant, people here prefer to buy consumables along the way. The one who stakes out the best place in the city will earn more.

“You don't have to be afraid of big expenses - you have to be afraid of small incomes,” they say in Vape Studio and argue that the monthly profit from one store can be about 200 thousand rubles at the very beginning of work. The market is just emerging, there are no established competitors, often there is one vape shop for the whole city or none at all. This determines the rules of the game: the marginality of commodity positions ranges from 100% to 400%.

However, money is not all that is needed to be successful in the industry. Vape business is a kind of retail trade, and without relevant experience, as the founders of the studio admit, it is very difficult in this area. Therefore, not everyone who leaves applications on the franchise landing page makes the way to a Vape Studio partner.

“If a person says:“ Dad gave one and a half million, and I want to open a vape shop! ” - we filter such people: they, as a rule, do not value their and our time and think that if you open a business, you can immediately fly to the Dominican Republic to smoke cigars, but this is not so.

A collective portrait of the owner of an electronic cigarette store - a young successful entrepreneur of 25 years old, who often develops a second line of business.

“For the first month, we have accurately recaptured the salaries of sellers and rent, and partially recaptured purchases. The accountant did not complain to me, - Tatiana continues to share her experience. "There is always enough for rent, salaries and purchases."

Feature of the model

There are now 15 stores in the Vape Studio network, four of them are managed by the owners themselves - that is, the franchisors are not divorced from the business, but work on a daily basis in an appropriate environment.

Vape Studio managers say their business is more like a consulting business than a classic franchise. Initially, a one-time fee is made for the right to use the sign, and the rest of the money from the franchisee comes in the form of payment for consultations.

We test vaping liquids and say in what proportions to buy them. For example, milk will run well, but strawberries will work worse. The most important thing is just the information that will be sold.

- Yuri, co-founder of Vape Studio

Liquids have to be tested thoroughly, since in Russia there is still no clear legislative framework and control over the creation of vaping liquids. That is why Yuri jokingly calls his partner "sommelier". Although all sorts of sanctions and counter-sanctions have not yet affected the industry in any way, the store owner can play import substitution. In Russia, the production of many brands of liquids has already been established, which successfully replace foreign ones in the budget segment.

Metropolitan vaping versus regional vapor

The difference between metropolitan vapers and regional e-cigarette lovers is striking. In Moscow, vape has become a part of urban culture and a means of self-expression that is often laughed at on the Internet.

In the regions, there is no strong relationship between electronic cigarettes and the subculture. On the contrary: the phenomenon covers the entire population. Many people see vape as an alternative to regular cigarettes, someone just wants to choose the taste of the smoke for themselves.

Different motivations strongly affect the culture of consumption and, accordingly, the average price tag. Whereas in Moscow expensive "liquids" with complex aromatic bouquets are valued at a price of 1000–1500 rubles, in the regions simpler liquids in the segment of 400–700 rubles are in more demand. Only age and social criteria more or less coincide: the average vaper is 25 years old or older, and his income level can be assessed as stable.

Vape Studio resolved the "children's question" proactively, without waiting for the State Duma to pass relevant laws. Already, the network sells e-cigarettes and consumables only to adults.