I was recently working in California and spent a day looking at retailing in the old town of Temecula in the hinterland between Los Angeles and San Diego.

On my walk I discovered Hundred Mile Market.  This store was a retailer of fruit, vegetables and added value food items.  I was intrigued enough to venture in and talk to the owner.

The store was in its eighth week of operation.  But, it is a store with a difference.

The owner sells space to the local farmers and producers.

The store has been designed so that shelving units can be rented by the linear foot.  Producers rent the footage they require and pay a monthly rent.

Every month the producer gets a cheque for what they have sold less the cost of the rental space.  This means the retailer makes money from renting space rather than selling product.

I have come across this concept before when large retailers in supermarkets and hardware stores sell space to suppliers.  My concern has always been that the “little” guy often misses out on the opportunity to “show off” their product to the consumer.

This store is offering the same retail model to the little guy.  The rules of the game are that they must be the producer and they must be located within a one hundred mile radius of the store.

An interesting concept for farm retailing.  Will it work? Time will tell.

John Stanley, M.Sc. (Horticulture) has a background teaching perishable retailing in the UK.  He works with the farm market and farm shop industry, the author of “27 Ways to Grow your Farm Market” and “Know Your Produce” Fact Sheets, he was awarded WA Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 and WA Small Business Champion – Education 2009. www.johnstanley.com.au or  info@johnstanley.com.au

View John Stanley's Profile      Subscribe via RSS