New location profile strategy

[Lucero]

Hey all, some more newb question for you:

I presume that after you've been in the biz for a while you have a decent intuition for what sort of product will sell at a location.  I don't have the benefit of this, so I'm curious about how I might go about finding the right product for a location.  For instance:

Should I place a dual head with product X & Y, and then if product X does well and Y does not, switch that to a single head with just X? 

How can I tell whether the product is a stinker there, or if it's the location?

How long do you wait to make that determination?

I've heard that a good mix to start out with is DB Gumballs(profit margin is the best) and Runts(Variety of shape/flavors).

Thanks for any insight.

-Lucero

[pusherman]

i would just start with gumballs and not worry about another selection. some you can go back later and add another head if it turns out to be a good location, if you choose to carry several different products.

[Bravo Duck]

I have some locations that do well with other products and next to nothing in GB, you'd never find one like that if you only tried GBs.   Tom

[pusherman]

I have some locations that do well with other products and next to nothing in GB, you'd never find one like that if you only tried GBs.   Tom

never find one like what?

[Bravo Duck]

A location that does $24 a month in skittles and $2.25 a month in gumballs. I've found that with a double head machine at least one head does an acceptable business. If both heads are above your minimums, then you've got a good location. If only one head is above your minimums, then over the next two or three cycles you can try different products and try to get revenue up in that location. If a second product that sells well isn't found, then you replace the double with a single containing the good selling product.

Every bulk vendor would like to sell only gumballs with their high margins and low inventory costs, but we're in a service business and we should provide what the customer is willing to buy.

There are locations out there where gumballs dont sell well, but other things do.With locating costs  so high it makes sense to me to try and make every location perform well.  Tom