rachal1084

Hi, me, my husband and 2 year old are moving to Almeria and hoping to open a little gift shop, but we are not sure of areas, obviously we are looking for somewhere with a thriving tourist trade but also somewhere to settle with a young child so a nice school is essential, if anyone can give us any suggestions regarding this we would be most grateful. Thank you

mikelincs

I admire your spirit of adventure, but I do hope you have a shed load of money available. Given the fact that the tourist trade is really only for around 6 months of the year you will have to make enough money in those months to cover the other 6, AND, you will be competeing with all the Chinese run gift shops that sell everything at extremely low prices. Have you visited the area and seen what the competition is like?.
Almost all the gift shops in tourist areas are now chinese owned and able to undercut the locals.

Remember that there is now benefit system to help you if times get hard, and that you will have to pay around €260 a month to be registered with social security as an Autonomo in order to get into the Spanish health system.

Sorry this sounds so negative, but I'm afraid that's what it's like at the moment. Shops open for 6 months, and then close down, just like bars.

Your Spanish will have to be very good to deal with all the beaurocracy involved as well.

missile

With no disrespect to those who choose to live there, Almeria is not an affluent region and is quite sparsely populated. If your business is to be successful, only Almeria city would seem to have sufficient passing trade. .

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

I visited Valencia yesterday and it was full of tourists because it is a very popular place with loads to see and do but I noticed that the gift shops were not doing much trade. Your Spanish will need to be fluent in order to deal with the paperwork involved and for buying your stock and of course for your customers.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

rachal1084

Thank you all for your messages, maybe I am looking in the wrong region then
although I think most of Spain is the same regarding The Tourist Industry, I am just looking for a better life in the sun, which I realise its what most people go looking for, I have enough money fir a deposit on a Small Villa, my stock is already sourced from the UK and is more directed at children and really sells itself, but to sell it needs trade so I think I need to get my thinking cap back on then. It's proving quite difficult to find the right place, there were many reasons I liked Almeria as have lived on both the Costa Blanca and the Costa Del Sol. If anyone has any suggestions on other recommended areas please feel free to advice me thank you for your time

mikelincs

Have you visited and seen the prices that the chinese shops are charging, I would suspect they are likely to be below the wholesale price you are paying. The Chinese shops sell for all ages, andd everything you can imagine. I would suggest a visit to really look at the opposition, and their shops are huge, so carry a vast variety of stock, which is what pulls the custom in.

rachal1084

Hi, I do know the type of shops you mean they are all over Tourists spots in Spain, I would be looking at a different clientele hopefully but I know that the Tourist Industry doesn't always allow that, I think I maybe need to broaden my search and look at other areas, I am sure there are some still thriving, any suggestions would be gravely received

Regards

Thank you for your reply

andyrich666

Have you done anything similar in the UK i.e. run a shop like this ?

missile

That is a common misconception among Brits. Spain is a huge country and regions are very different. Almeria is nothing like Benalmadena or Bennidorm. I am sure there are opportunities but it will not be easy and you should choose your stock to suit the clientele who visit the region. Good luck.

rachal1084

Hi

Yes I have and it proved very successful, the product itself sells very well and I am not to concerned in that area, just looking for somewhere that has an all year round tourist trade but also somewhere I can bring up my baby.

Thank you for your reply

rachal1084

Hi

I totally understand what your saying, I live in a similar tourist area in the UK (Skegness) also filled with pound shops, my product was on a well known market known for cheap stuff but people paid my prices because of its uniqueness and quirkiness there is a market for my product it really does sell itself

Thank you for your reply

Regards

Leper

Spain has dreadful unemployment figures and it appears that these will continue for at least 20 more years. Every year we have people coming to Costa Almeria and of course will do thing differently to previous unsuccessful people.

You will need to speak perfect Spanish, have a backup of of loads of money, be prudent and have access to a good escape route if necessary. Spain is unforgiving (and you are probably thinking that with people like me nobody would make the move) and now is not the time. I see people retreating hastily every month some leaving debts and not good reputations behind.

Domino

sorry to add to the negativity but....
living 100km inland in Granada we have gift shops come and gift shops go. They sell many things including watches and also have jewellery themes for the many religious festivals that spain engjoys, so there are many variables here that are not always the same as back home.
for example, many people open up their garage and sell from there - so no rent to pay.
the business may be family run or run to give the wife an income whilst looking after the children.
I know a bakers that has a shop front, a living room and the back room is given over to bread baking. the family of 5 lives on the 1st floor.

I have not seen so many watch sellers since I was in Singapore, but rarely see people buying them.

hope this helps to stop

things out here are not so clear cut as they are back home with rented shops etc so you could start up with a financial disadvantage

rachal1084

Ok I will take your advise on board, thank you for you reply

rachal1084

After reading all the advise on here I am rethinking my plans, but I still think there are places in Spain that can prove successful, I have live in a few myself, but I will take your advise and thank you for taking the time to reply to my post