I have just completed a business plan of a Woodcraft Franchise for the
Central NJ Market and I am seeking a partner that can assist in the up
front investment and running of the operation.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact me at
[email protected].
On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:14:09 -0800, Ray wrote:
> I have just completed a business plan of a Woodcraft Franchise for the
> Central NJ Market and I am seeking a partner that can assist in the up
> front investment and running of the operation.
>
> If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact me at
> [email protected].
You might want to talk to the ex-owner of the now defunct Phoenix
franchise. He might be able to help you analyze some of the possible
outcomes and why they occurred.
-Doug
Doug Winterburn <[email protected]> writes:
>An unbelievable amount of product "walked out the door". You really need
>a ton of theft prevention equipment as well as being staffed sufficiently
>to keep an eye on all corners. We had "rings" come in 'en mass and spread
>out through the store to outnumber the staff. We knew it was happening,
>but not much could be done about it without risking the lawyers finishing
What is there to steal at Woodcraft that has any street value? Small
power tools are about the only thing I could think of.
It would be a lot smarter to steal from a computer store or an electronics
stores.
Brian Elfert
Brian Elfert writes:
>Doug Winterburn <[email protected]> writes:
>
>>An unbelievable amount of product "walked out the door". You really need
>>a ton of theft prevention equipment as well as being staffed sufficiently
>>to keep an eye on all corners. We had "rings" come in 'en mass and spread
>>out through the store to outnumber the staff. We knew it was happening,
>>but not much could be done about it without risking the lawyers finishing
>
>What is there to steal at Woodcraft that has any street value? Small
>power tools are about the only thing I could think of.
>
>It would be a lot smarter to steal from a computer store or an electronics
>stores.
They are usually under lock, but a couple smaller LN planes might work for a
thief, make the stop worthwhile. I'm sure there's other stuff open to the
light-fingered brigade's lifting exercises.
Charlie Self
"Character is much easier kept than recovered." Thomas Paine
http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/myhomepage/business.html
On 20 Jan 2004 18:46:44 GMT, Brian Elfert <[email protected]> wrote:
>What is there to steal at Woodcraft that has any street value?
Street? eBay! <G>
Barry
Doug Winterburn <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:14:09 -0800, Ray wrote:
>
> > I have just completed a business plan of a Woodcraft Franchise for the
> > Central NJ Market and I am seeking a partner that can assist in the up
> > front investment and running of the operation.
> >
> > If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact me at
> > [email protected].
>
> You might want to talk to the ex-owner of the now defunct Phoenix
> franchise. He might be able to help you analyze some of the possible
> outcomes and why they occurred.
>
> -Doug
I actually did this about 6 months ago and I also spoke with the other
franchees to corroborate his allegations. The statements that I heard
from about 6 other owners were consistent. The reason why the store
did poorly was basically due to owner management. Apparently the
owner never went to the WV headquarters to participate in the
franchise meetings. He also never particpated in the independant
franchisee organization to address concerns with WC management.
Apparently this person was very combative with HC from the very
beginning. However like any franchise one needs to be careful with
the legal langauge and understand what they are getting into.
That's sad to hear Doug. I lived in Phx from 84 to 99 and visited that =
store several times. I did not know it had shut down.
Puff
"Doug Winterburn" <[email protected]> wrote in message =
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 18:38:34 -0800, Ray wrote:
>=20
> > I actually did this about 6 months ago and I also spoke with the =
other
> > franchees to corroborate his allegations. The statements that I =
heard
> > from about 6 other owners were consistent. The reason why the store
> > did poorly was basically due to owner management. Apparently the
> > owner never went to the WV headquarters to participate in the
> > franchise meetings. He also never particpated in the independant
> > franchisee organization to address concerns with WC management.
> > Apparently this person was very combative with HC from the very
> > beginning. However like any franchise one needs to be careful with
> > the legal langauge and understand what they are getting into.
>=20
> Sounds like you are going in with eyes wide open. Just some of the =
points
> (which may be exagerated) that I heard while an employee.
>=20
> Ultra slim margins on the heavy 'arn - especially when prorated out
> against other expenses.
>=20
> Sale items being shipped to you in "quota" volumes without your =
approval
> and with almost zero margin before considering overhead.
>=20
> No apparent consideration for overhead of different areas utilities,
> shipping, rent, etc.
>=20
> An unbelievable amount of product "walked out the door". You really =
need
> a ton of theft prevention equipment as well as being staffed =
sufficiently
> to keep an eye on all corners. We had "rings" come in 'en mass and =
spread
> out through the store to outnumber the staff. We knew it was =
happening,
> but not much could be done about it without risking the lawyers =
finishing
> you off before the normal business considerations. This ain't all
> necessarily all from the patrons :-( We had one week (roughly) of =
theft
> losses that wiped out 1 months (roughly) profit.
>=20
> ...and much more that CRS erases.
>=20
> ---
>=20
> On the plus side;
>=20
> Most of the folks who want to work in such a store are knowledgable =
and
> enjoy it for much less pay than the going rate.
>=20
> The small stuff is where the margins are.
>=20
> Most of the customers are a joy to deal with. It's probably about =
like
> anything else - 20% are great, 70% are along for the ride, and 10% =
cause
> all the problems.
>=20
> Much more positive that's not available because of CRS
>=20
> -Doug
>
are you going to list rec.woodworking as a reference in your prospectus?
;-)
seriously, if I had a few hundred thousand dollars laying around, I might
consider it. Too bad I'm a poor schlep that wastes every spare penny on
wood or tools.
"Ray" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have just completed a business plan of a Woodcraft Franchise for the
> Central NJ Market and I am seeking a partner that can assist in the up
> front investment and running of the operation.
>
> If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact me at
> [email protected].
On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 18:38:34 -0800, Ray wrote:
> I actually did this about 6 months ago and I also spoke with the other
> franchees to corroborate his allegations. The statements that I heard
> from about 6 other owners were consistent. The reason why the store
> did poorly was basically due to owner management. Apparently the
> owner never went to the WV headquarters to participate in the
> franchise meetings. He also never particpated in the independant
> franchisee organization to address concerns with WC management.
> Apparently this person was very combative with HC from the very
> beginning. However like any franchise one needs to be careful with
> the legal langauge and understand what they are getting into.
Sounds like you are going in with eyes wide open. Just some of the points
(which may be exagerated) that I heard while an employee.
Ultra slim margins on the heavy 'arn - especially when prorated out
against other expenses.
Sale items being shipped to you in "quota" volumes without your approval
and with almost zero margin before considering overhead.
No apparent consideration for overhead of different areas utilities,
shipping, rent, etc.
An unbelievable amount of product "walked out the door". You really need
a ton of theft prevention equipment as well as being staffed sufficiently
to keep an eye on all corners. We had "rings" come in 'en mass and spread
out through the store to outnumber the staff. We knew it was happening,
but not much could be done about it without risking the lawyers finishing
you off before the normal business considerations. This ain't all
necessarily all from the patrons :-( We had one week (roughly) of theft
losses that wiped out 1 months (roughly) profit.
...and much more that CRS erases.
---
On the plus side;
Most of the folks who want to work in such a store are knowledgable and
enjoy it for much less pay than the going rate.
The small stuff is where the margins are.
Most of the customers are a joy to deal with. It's probably about like
anything else - 20% are great, 70% are along for the ride, and 10% cause
all the problems.
Much more positive that's not available because of CRS
-Doug
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 18:46:44 +0000, Brian Elfert wrote:
> What is there to steal at Woodcraft that has any street value? Small
> power tools are about the only thing I could think of.
>
> It would be a lot smarter to steal from a computer store or an electronics
> stores.
About anything that isn't nailed down and will fit under baggy clothes.
One guy even pulled up in front of the store last summer,
opened the back door of his car, walked just inside the front door,
grabbed the gumball machine, ran back out the door throwing the gumball
machine in the back seat and peeled out of the parking lot. Happened so
fast, no one was even able to get a license plate number.
-Doug
Doug Winterburn writes:
>> It would be a lot smarter to steal from a computer store or an electronics
>> stores.
>
>About anything that isn't nailed down and will fit under baggy clothes.
>One guy even pulled up in front of the store last summer,
>opened the back door of his car, walked just inside the front door,
>grabbed the gumball machine, ran back out the door throwing the gumball
>machine in the back seat and peeled out of the parking lot. Happened so
>fast, no one was even able to get a license plate number.
Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he goes
armed everywhere.
Charlie Self
"Character is much easier kept than recovered." Thomas Paine
http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/myhomepage/business.html
I understand the Tucson franchisee has acquired the rights to the PHX area
and intends to open at least one Woodcraft in the Phoenix market rather
soon.
DexAZ
"Herbert E Robinson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:bmwPb.28572$Xq2.15675@fed1read07...
> The Woodcraft store in Tempe went under -- it's now an Ace hardware store.
> "Doug Winterburn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
> >
> > > Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he
> goes
> > > armed everywhere.
> >
> > The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town - home
of
> > ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it seems
to
> > be thriving.
> >
> > -Doug
>
>
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 04:37:18 GMT, Mark & Juanita
<[email protected]> wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
>says...
>> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:36:55 GMT, Mark & Juanita
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >In article <[email protected]>,
>> >[email protected] says...
>> >> On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he goes
>> >> > armed everywhere.
>> >>
>> >> The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town - home of
>> >> ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it seems to
>> >> be thriving.
>> >
>> > Yep, better prices, cleaner and more organized than Woodworkers
>> >Source, the "other" woodworking specialty store here in town. It's
>> >still quite high though compared to mail order from other sources.
>>
>>
>> yabut woodworker's source is a lot closer to where I live. I end up
>> there more....
>> Bridger
>>
>
> I can see that. Sometimes your time is worth more than other
>considerations.
'specially when you're in the middle of a project and you need a 1/8"
roundover bit. WS only carries amana, and that bit was $35, but I was
back and cutting wood in 20 minutes.
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
>
> > Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he goes
> > armed everywhere.
>
> The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town - home of
> ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it seems to
> be thriving.
Yep, better prices, cleaner and more organized than Woodworkers
Source, the "other" woodworking specialty store here in town. It's
still quite high though compared to mail order from other sources.
What a rip off, I think the 1/8" RO from Amana cost me about 15.00 and that
is with the 1/2" shank
"Bridger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 04:37:18 GMT, Mark & Juanita
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
> >says...
> >> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:36:55 GMT, Mark & Juanita
> >> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >> >In article <[email protected]>,
> >> >[email protected] says...
> >> >> On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> > Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder
he goes
> >> >> > armed everywhere.
> >> >>
> >> >> The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town -
home of
> >> >> ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it
seems to
> >> >> be thriving.
> >> >
> >> > Yep, better prices, cleaner and more organized than Woodworkers
> >> >Source, the "other" woodworking specialty store here in town. It's
> >> >still quite high though compared to mail order from other sources.
> >>
> >>
> >> yabut woodworker's source is a lot closer to where I live. I end up
> >> there more....
> >> Bridger
> >>
> >
> > I can see that. Sometimes your time is worth more than other
> >considerations.
>
>
> 'specially when you're in the middle of a project and you need a 1/8"
> roundover bit. WS only carries amana, and that bit was $35, but I was
> back and cutting wood in 20 minutes.
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:36:55 GMT, Mark & Juanita
<[email protected]> wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] says...
>> On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
>>
>> > Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he goes
>> > armed everywhere.
>>
>> The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town - home of
>> ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it seems to
>> be thriving.
>
> Yep, better prices, cleaner and more organized than Woodworkers
>Source, the "other" woodworking specialty store here in town. It's
>still quite high though compared to mail order from other sources.
yabut woodworker's source is a lot closer to where I live. I end up
there more....
Bridger
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
> Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he goes
> armed everywhere.
The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town - home of
ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it seems to
be thriving.
-Doug
The Woodcraft store in Tempe went under -- it's now an Ace hardware store.
"Doug Winterburn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
>
> > Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he
goes
> > armed everywhere.
>
> The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town - home of
> ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it seems to
> be thriving.
>
> -Doug
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:36:55 GMT, Mark & Juanita
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >In article <[email protected]>,
> >[email protected] says...
> >> On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 +0000, Charlie Self wrote:
> >>
> >> > Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he goes
> >> > armed everywhere.
> >>
> >> The store was located in Tempe, a nice quiet little college town - home of
> >> ASU. Tucson also has a franchise. Only been in it once, but it seems to
> >> be thriving.
> >
> > Yep, better prices, cleaner and more organized than Woodworkers
> >Source, the "other" woodworking specialty store here in town. It's
> >still quite high though compared to mail order from other sources.
>
>
> yabut woodworker's source is a lot closer to where I live. I end up
> there more....
> Bridger
>
I can see that. Sometimes your time is worth more than other
considerations.
On 20 Jan 2004 23:48:24 GMT, [email protected] (Charlie Self)
wrote:
>Doug Winterburn writes:
>
>>> It would be a lot smarter to steal from a computer store or an electronics
>>> stores.
>>
>>About anything that isn't nailed down and will fit under baggy clothes.
>>One guy even pulled up in front of the store last summer,
>>opened the back door of his car, walked just inside the front door,
>>grabbed the gumball machine, ran back out the door throwing the gumball
>>machine in the back seat and peeled out of the parking lot. Happened so
>>fast, no one was even able to get a license plate number.
>
>Nice town. I got an old college buddy lives near Tucson: no wonder he goes
>armed everywhere.
I live in what some would consider a "bad" neighborhood in Tucson.
it's pretty tame compared to some of the places I lived in in San
Diego....
Bridger
"Mike in Mystic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> are you going to list rec.woodworking as a reference in your prospectus?
>
> ;-)
>
> seriously, if I had a few hundred thousand dollars laying around, I might
> consider it. Too bad I'm a poor schlep that wastes every spare penny on
> wood or tools.
Wouldn't that be a lot like an alchoholic owning a bar?
DexAZ