Vending Franchise Opportunities

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The vending machine industry has been a proven growth business for over a century. Retail vending machines are typically not a franchise operation but a business opportunity where the buyer owns the machines outright and keeps all the revenue generated by the machines. The owner most often pays a “rental fee” for the location, and any other expenses associated with owning the equipment.

1. As with all retail merchandising, location is everything in the vending machine business. The more foot traffic that passes by the machines, the higher the sales potential. Having the right product at the right place is the key to a successful vending operation.

2. There are many advantages to owning a vending machine business. Vending machine operations typically have a low start-up cost, low working capital requirements, and low overhead. Vending machines make money around the clock without the owner present. Automatic merchandising is more resistant to recession than traditional retail stores.

3. VENDING TIMES, an industry publication for the vending industry, reports continuing growth in vending sales, with a robust growth rate of about 43 percent in the early part of this decade.

4. The most striking trend in the vending business over the past few years is the diversification of merchandise offered. With Americans becoming more aware about junk food and obesity, machines that offer healthy snacks and drinks are proving popular and profitable. DVD kiosks are another new development in the business as are massage chairs, which are placed in high traffic areas like airport terminals and shopping malls. Because these machines are premium offerings, they can charge more that the standard “gumball” machines. Before buying a vending machine, you must consider the time and costs involved in servicing the machines.

Some machines require minimal effort to run, and can be restocked quickly with bulk merchandise, like candy, and less often. These usually sell lower cost items in larger volume. Others machines require more time to refill and sell higher priced merchandise, like different food stuffs at different prices. Before you buy, your first priority is finding a good location and understanding what products will sell best there.