With a growing prevalence in medium to large cities, food trucks are quickly becoming the latest trend in consumer culture. Nathan Fleischmann of Columbia, Missouri hopes to broaden this trend to retail sales with the launch of Stadium Shoes, a casual footwear store…on wheels.
A recent story in Columbia Missourian’s Vox Magazine chronicles Fleishmann’s inspiration and aspirations and tells the story of a Kickstarter campaign he created to help with the purchase and conversion of a truck as well as his initial inventory.
Mobile Shoe Store Makes Big Profit
“The Shoe Truck: A Mobile Shoe Store” raised $7,286 on Kickstarter, providing Fleishmann the means to purchase and convert the truck that will soon become his mobile sales floor. The plan is for the truck to take the form of a step-van, allowing customers to enter a boutique featuring wood laminate floors, upbeat music and a choice from 250 different pairs of shoes, with wooden benches and knee-high mirrors to help make trying on shoes more convenient.
Fleischmann has been renting a Columbia storage unit to house his truck while he makes the changes necessary for his mobile shoe store to become reality. Self storage can be an excellent tool for small businesses. 24-hour accessibility and perimeter fencing, PIN-controlled gate access and video surveillance provide the convenience business owners need to keep expenses down without suffering a loss in productivity.
Self storage can also help a business owner like Fleischmann on the bottom line. Retail store owners can take advantage of wholesale or offseason pricing to save money on the purchase of inventory. This inventory can then be kept out of the way in a storage unit until it’s ready to be moved to the sales floor.
High Hopes
Fleischmann has high expectations for himself and Stadium Shoes, already looking ahead to a time where he might have to hire assistants. If that expansion means buying more trucks, he’ll no doubt turn to StorageMart self storage to help facilitate that expansion.
*Image courtesy of Vox Magazine