Taking your retail business to the next level requires executing some core projects. A lack of funds can make this seem impossible, but a retail business loan can change things.
Every business owner understands the importance of money. After all, you need money for the smooth running of your daily activities. You also need it to grow and develop your business.
If funds are always available, you’ll be able to execute projects that will contribute to the growth and expansion of your business.
But for most retail businesses, money is hard to come by.
That’s because retailers often experience fluctuations in their cash flow. Sometimes, you have abundant funds to do whatever you want to do. And at other times, you won’t have enough money to take care of your business.
A line of credit takes care of this problem.
This is a form of retail business loan. It’s a fixed sum of money that a financial body agrees to lend you. You can draw from this lump sum whenever you want to so you can take care of your needs. However, you can only draw up to the maximum amount specified when setting it up.
This loan makes funds available to you whenever you need them. Ultimately, this makes it easier to take the necessary actions to grow your retail business.
And in this article, I’m going to show you 8 ways a line of credit can help you do that.
The 8 Ways
Way #1 – Strengthening Your Working Capital
A smooth operation is a basic requirement to grow any business. If there are no hitches in your operation, you won’t disappoint your customers. This will make them trust and always patronise you, which will lead to growth.
However, having a smooth operation requires large working capital. After all, you need to be able to pay rent, wages and other fixed costs on a regular basis even when sales volume is low.
With a retail store business loan, you can bolster your working capital in those weak moments. This keeps your operation running smoothly, ensuring the constant growth of your business.
Way #2 – Acquiring Your Competitors
The quickest way to grow your retail business is to acquire your competitors. And the best way to do this is to first acquire the little ones around you. Then, as your business gets bigger, you can go for the bigger competitors.
Acquisition gives you a bigger market share and grows your numbers.
However, acquiring the competition is easier said than done. The time has to be right and there are a few hurdles to overcome.
The biggest of those obstacles is your financial capacity. If you don’t have enough funds, that piece of business could go to another competitor. However, taking business loans for retail stores can help you avoid that.
Way #3 – Transitioning Online
According to research conducted by Deloitte, the Australian online retail market is worth $22 billion. That’s because more than 88% of Australians are connected to the internet. Also, small retailers are leading corporate bodies in terms of growth in online sales.
What does this mean?
It means that going online can foster the growth of your retail business. In fact, the internet helped many retailers sustain and boost their businesses during the COVID pandemic.
A retail business loan will come in handy if you want to leverage the internet for your business’s growth. It can help you bridge the gap until you generate enough funds to cover the expenses of transitioning online. This includes:
- Building and designing a website that’s also optimised for mobile devices
- Integrating an e-commerce system into your website
- Installing a chatbot on your website
- Getting professional advice on building the online aspect of your business
Way #4 – Opening Up New Outlets
The most common way to grow a retail business is to open up branches in new locations. This gets you new customers and boosts your market share. And it’s a sure way to expand your operations and generate more revenue.
However, opening up new branches requires a substantial investment in real estate. There are other costs that you need to put into consideration, too.
Without a line of credit, you may not have the finances to pull it off.
Way #5 – Expanding Your Operations
Expanding your operations isn’t limited to opening up branches in new locations. It can also involve simply increasing the capacity of your current store. This may require you to blow up some walls so as to extend sections of your store, for example.
The cost of such a project could be significant. And a line of credit could be the best way to make it happen.
Way #6 – Refurbishing Your Premises
It always pays to carry out periodic renovations on your premises.
Upgrading to ensure an all-new look and feel will always attract old and new customers to your stores. That’s because people get bored of the same thing easily. We gravitate towards places that give us a new experience and feeling.
If your stores promise new exciting things, you’ll get more people coming through the door. This can then increase your customer base and contribute to your growth.
And a line of credit can help you cover the costs of this project.
Way #7 – Stocking Up for a Busy Season
Easter, Christmas, Halloween and other holidays are busy seasons for retail businesses. After all, these are the periods when you’ll record your highest sales volumes for the year.
As a result, it’s always wise to prepare well for these seasons.
One of the main ways to do this is by stocking up on inventory. The bigger your inventory is, the bigger your sales will be. And the bigger your profit, too.
So, boosting your purchasing power with a line of credit is key. This way, you can make the most of the peak seasons.
Way #8 – Making The Most of Golden Opportunities
There will come a point where a golden opportunity to grow your retail business will present itself. This could be any of the following:
- A chance to buy a scarce commodity in bulk
- Getting a generous discount on bulk purchases
- Acquiring highly sought-after premises in prime locations
- Acquiring a competitor in distress
You may not have cash on hand to quickly snap up these deals. And applying for a loan could take too long, making you miss the opportunity.
Fortunately, a line of credit can provide the cash you need to take these offers up.
Grow Bigger With a Line of Credit
The principal ingredient to growing your retail business is the availability of funds. This allows you to refurbish your premises, acquire the competition, and take advantage of golden opportunities, among many others.
A business loan in the form of a credit line can make this happen for you. It can take the stress out of executing these projects and make what looked impossible possible.
If you need further assistance, Unsecured Finance Australia is here to help. Apply online and you can receive your approval within 24 hours.
Find out more by taking a look at our unsecured business loans.
