I hate to put a damper on your excitement. My family has been in retail for over 50 years. Not in the fishing industry, but I don't think it matters in this thread. Retail has changed so much in the last 10 years. Matter of fact it has completely changed for the bad for brick and motor retail. Customers are not loyal anymore, they don't need to be because of online shopping. They will find it cheaper, have it shipped to their door and order it from their Lazy boy while sitting in their underwear while drinking beer in the middle of the night. They will find the item they want in your store after picking your brain, then pull it up on there phone to check pricing. After they find it on some closeout price they will ask you to match price, if you can't many will walk.
They will buy it online and then ask if you will exchange, they might even tell you they got a great deal because they bought it for 5% less than you are selling it for and then ask if you want to buy from them. I have seen and heard most everything. I can't begin to tell you how much things have changed it just blows you mind. Most of the boxes are selling more online than in their big fantastic stores. Those stores we built to increase their brand awareness.
Overhead costs are higher than they have ever been by a large margin. Save you money you will need it for retirement, retail is a bad investment. Just read this thread carefully. Your future customers have said you need the best price, best selection, best and longest hours, best location they don't want you to specialize they want you to have everything, they want you to have unique items(slow sellers) and on and on. By the way you sure won't have time to fish yourself if you are successful in your venture. It used to be rewarding but now is just frustrating.
If you ever make some one mad( it will happen to the best of us) you will be crucified on the internet in full public view. You will be berated worse than someone running for political office over a two dollar sale just because they can and it makes them feel big( examples of this often crop up right on this sight). They don't care that this is your lively hood just that they think you wronged them some way or another. Wish I had time to go fishing, and to think we are having a good day.
Sorry unload but the world, she is a changing. My father who started our business just turned 90 years thinks it is time for me to sell out and get a life. You know the older you get the smarter you get.
Good Luck and profitability in all you ventures.

Well said, and sadly, the truth.

I�m moving my wholesale bait buissness along with it and retail helps me stay organized I think being able to take care of both would be the only way a guy could make it and we have an online store we are in the process of launching

Retail stores now are for quick pickups that you can�t wait 2 days for it to come from Amazon delivered to your front porch.

I don�t know about DFW but what we need in San Antonio are some live bait locations. A town of over a million people with NO places to buy live bait except for night crawlers at WalMart or Academy. Nuts !

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I hate to put a damper on your excitement. My family has been in retail for over 50 years. Not in the fishing industry, but I don't think it matters in this thread. Retail has changed so much in the last 10 years. Matter of fact it has completely changed for the bad for brick and motor retail. Customers are not loyal anymore, they don't need to be because of online shopping. They will find it cheaper, have it shipped to their door and order it from their Lazy boy while sitting in their underwear while drinking beer in the middle of the night. They will find the item they want in your store after picking your brain, then pull it up on there phone to check pricing. After they find it on some closeout price they will ask you to match price, if you can't many will walk.
They will buy it online and then ask if you will exchange, they might even tell you they got a great deal because they bought it for 5% less than you are selling it for and then ask if you want to buy from them. I have seen and heard most everything. I can't begin to tell you how much things have changed it just blows you mind. Most of the boxes are selling more online than in their big fantastic stores. Those stores we built to increase their brand awareness.
Overhead costs are higher than they have ever been by a large margin. Save you money you will need it for retirement, retail is a bad investment. Just read this thread carefully. Your future customers have said you need the best price, best selection, best and longest hours, best location they don't want you to specialize they want you to have everything, they want you to have unique items(slow sellers) and on and on. By the way you sure won't have time to fish yourself if you are successful in your venture. It used to be rewarding but now is just frustrating.
If you ever make some one mad( it will happen to the best of us) you will be crucified on the internet in full public view. You will be berated worse than someone running for political office over a two dollar sale just because they can and it makes them feel big( examples of this often crop up right on this sight). They don't care that this is your lively hood just that they think you wronged them some way or another. Wish I had time to go fishing, and to think we are having a good day.
Sorry unload but the world, she is a changing. My father who started our business just turned 90 years thinks it is time for me to sell out and get a life. You know the older you get the smarter you get.
Good Luck and profitability in all you ventures.

Thats why I'm willing to give it a shot because there in nowhere down there with a very big selection a lot of the hard to find stuff

The south side of Lewisville, I35E/121 area would catch traffic going up 35 to Lake Lewisville and Ray Roberts and 121 traffic going to east side of Lake Lewisville and west to Grapevine. Competition would be Academy in Lewisville (not stocked very well for fishing) and Bass Pro (Grapevine), neither of which have much in the way of live bait. There used to be a gas station in Grapevine that sold minnows but I don't know if they are still there. Bass Pro stopped doing bulk line winding, only wind line if you buy the regular spools of line there or buy a reel.