What Comes Next: Six Paths for the Store
I’ve got two years left on my lease, and I’m beginning discussions with property management about the future. My challenges with expansion are the same ones many established stores face.
One Store or Two?
Opening a second store is tempting. It solves the problem of expanding without tampering with a successful formula. But it introduces new problems—management complexity, operational drag, and the unknown. I tell people I only know how to start a store wrong. Could I do it right this time? Sure, in the sense of “do as I say, not as I did.” But do I have the interest and energy to launch something truly new in the same space? Not really.
The Case for Bigger
A larger store has always been my ideal. Bigger stores leverage systems: policies, procedures, staff expertise. I can keep everything in one store in my head. Two stores? They give me literal bad dreams. But a larger single location? That’s manageable at almost any size.
Still, expansion is risky. I run a profitable business. I’m heading toward retirement. Why would I jeopardize that with a high-stakes expansion? I’m not going back to IT after 20 years out of the game. I can’t live on a “game trade adjacent” salary.
I’m wearing golden handcuffs—both the paycheck and the business model. My salary can’t be replicated. My current space includes a self-financed mezzanine that effectively saves us $3,300 a month in rent. If you had a stock portfolio paying $3,300/month in dividends, you’d think twice about touching it.
Still, the need is real: we don’t need more game space. We need more retail.
Scenario 1: Elevation and Separation
We could turn our downstairs event space into retail. Our upstairs space would remain game space, and we’d expand into a third unit for events. But the catch is we’d need to install an elevator. The unique setup makes this possible—but not cheap or easy. We could do this now.
Scenario 2: Wait Out a Neighbor
One neighboring tenant isn’t going anywhere—too much invested in their buildout. But the other’s lease is up in 2029 and may be negotiable. If so, we’d add 3,000 square feet of retail space, with rent increasing by about $12,000 a month.
The goal? Use the next two years to build sales and optimize inventory, testing whether our current customer base can support that much additional space. Can a suburban game store double its retail footprint and remain viable? I need some time to find out and 2029 might be too tight.
Scenario 3: Moving
I have a spreadsheet for moving to a larger space. Originally, it was a “sometime in 2033” idea. But with a 25% sales increase this year, that move feels closer. I’m 57. I imagine one major move before retiring sometime after 70. By then, I project the store to be doing over $5 million annually. I’d rather not move, but long-term survival may demand it.
Scenario 4: Buying a Building
Buying sounds like the smart move. But have you looked at commercial property lately? In my city, there are two available: one in the middle of nowhere for $2.6 million, and one prime location for $4.5 million. They're both between 7,500 and 8,500 square feet. A 10% down payment means needing $260,000 to $450,000 upfront. The first is plausible, just barely. The second is fantasy. And that's the entire market right now. Owning a building seems like a great retirement asset, if you can buy one.
Scenario 5: Stay and Optimize
Use every inch of vertical space. Dramatically increase inventory. Ride the sales trajectory until growth forces us to move. It’s a rational plan. But something in me resists. It feels like saying “enough.” It assumes growth has limits. Maybe that’s true. But maybe it’s just fear in disguise.
Scenario 6: Sell
I have a number. What’s yours? Not necessarily a dollar amount, but a concept—maybe five times net? A year of gross? Everyone in this business should have a number. And with each year that passes, mine becomes more interesting. Maybe I'll head a company that buys up successful game stores. Wouldn't that be a surprising scenario.
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