When a category suddenly takes off in the explosive way that vapes have, it can be something of a double edged sword. Of course the increased sales are welcome, but maintaining standards and ensuring a strong display can be tricky when turnover is high and there are a wealth of products on the market, with new lines being introduced constantly.
At the 1,000sq ft Linktown Local store in Kirkcaldy, Fife, owner Faraz Iqbal was feeling the pressure. Having taken home The Convenience Awards’ Best Small Store title in 2020, Faraz knows a good opportunity when he sees it. But keeping up with demand was proving to be a challenge. “I used to keep vape stock behind the counter and I was topping it up every night and it was quite hard work to manage it,” he says.
There are plenty of vape units to choose from, but Faraz decided to opt for a bespoke cabinet to make displaying, selling, storing and managing vapes as efficient as possible. So he sourced a local kitchen maker - Creative Homes - to make a custom solution. The firm created a smaller 500cm wide unit, which sits neatly on the store’s ATM, and a neighbouring larger unit measuring around 900cm wide and 2.4m high, which stands alongside the counter. “The cabinet is three outers deep,” says Faraz. “The height is maximising the space I’ve got - it’s floor to ceiling almost.”
Building a deeper cabinet has saved him a wealth of time on stock replenishment, and it also means that he has quick access to additional stock if a customer wants to buy in bulk. “I often get people in buying a box or two; some of the older people who’ve switched over from cigarettes,” he explains.
“A normal vape stand would have fitted the space ok, but I wouldn’t have got the depth so I’d have had to keep all my vape stock elsewhere.”
Now, he can keep more of his bestsellers within easy reach. “Watermelon is one of my top-selling Elfbars,” he says. “At the moment, I can go three deep [in the cabinet] and I might have two lines of that, so six cases, and then I can go two deep on the shelf behind the counter, so actually I’ve got eight cases available to buy straight away if a customer comes in, so I don’t need to replenish that as much as I used to.”
Having a dedicated sales area has also enabled Faraz to broaden his range. Before, he mainly focused on Elfbar and Geek Bar, but since introducing the cabinet, he has been able to give more attention to additional brands, including Crystal, Elux, Vuse and Ultimate Bar.
The cabinet also creates a focal point in store, with colour-changing LEDs controlled by an app. “I’ve got coloured lighting on the outside to attract people in and then lighting behind the doors to light up the products,” says Faraz.
While the large cabinet is home to disposables, the smaller unit houses other tobacco alternatives. “With pouches like Nordic Spirit and Velo - I noticed a couple of people come in for it so I put them in the extra display above the cash machine, whereas before we didn’t really have a place for it and it was just kept behind the counter and when people asked for it we gave them it,” he says. “That small cabinet alone is helping me because it’s freed up the other cabinet because we’ve taken out pods, liquid and pouches.”
The vape cabinet certainly wasn’t cheap, costing a hefty £3,000, plus VAT. “People said it’s a waste of money to spend that amount on a cabinet for vapes when you’re already selling a decent amount, but I wanted to do it properly,” he says.
However, he claims that it has already proved its worth.“It paid for itself in two weeks,” says Faraz, who sells between £2-3,000 a week. “And half of that’s profit. It’s a key point in the store now.”
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