Are Local Diaper Stores/services Profitable?

[jessm5]

It's really not much more than a pipe-dream of mine, but every now and then I play with the idea of owning a diaper store / running a diaper service. (A good piece of advice that someone once told me is that the key to success is combining two things that you enjoy/are good at. I enjoy diapers, and I enjoy business)

The store as I imagine it would sell a whole bunch of different diaper and incontinence related products for adults and children. In addition to selling products, I figure that I could offer a cloth diaper service where once or twice a week we pick up dirty diapers from people's homes, take them back to the shop to be thoroughly cleaned and then deliver them back to people.

It's actually not a bad gig, I'm just don't know if it would be profitable. The biggest problem is attracting 'mainstream' diaper consumers to my store when they can easily go to any super market or medical supply store, especially when disposable diapers are so convenient. This means, I have to target special consumers, and my diaper service has to be cheaper and as convenient as disposables. Is this possible?

[Pipsqueak]

While I don't have a crystal ball in which to see the future of this business ... I can't see why there wouldn't be a market for it. The reason you can buy disposables at any supermarket or medical supply store is that they SELL. If they didn't fly off the shelves, supermarkets, drugstores, and Walmart-type places would not carry them. People who have incontinence problems are much more picky about their diapers than most AB/DL's because they're buying for practical reasons. They need a diaper that won't leak after one soaking, etc. It's necessity not choice. As for the diaper service, I have often read on other boards that many people lament the fact that there is no adult diaper service available. A number of people prefer cloth to disposable but don't want the chore of endless laundry loads.

I would think that offering a large selection of quality diapers and being open to product suggestions from customers would encourage people to come to your store rather than a Walmart. The very fact that it would be a diaper store would make it easier for some people because they'd know that everyone shopping in there was buying the same thing. None of this worrying about what the cashier or the person in the line-up behind you is going to think about your purchase. Not to mention ... all the ab/dl's in town will love you!

Follow your dreams!

[travis]

We have a diaper store over here........

Its called "The Diaper House" lol.

Besides selling adult diapers, they also sell childrens diapers, and do a lot of wholesale business as well. They also sell other misc. medical supply products.

Don't do any advertising, and the store is rather small, but it is located on a very busy street and they have several street signs advertising what they do. They have 2 large windows, one full of adult diapers and the other with childrens diapers.

I've driven buy a few times and they have had Adult Diaper display pyramids right outside there front door.

To be honest, I never see any people there.......

But, they have been open for almost a year now, so I guess they are making money.

If you want the telephone number, i'll be happy to find it for you...maybe you can give them a call and talk to the owner more about the business.

Im sure you've seen pictures of TheDiaperSuperStore.com's store.

From what i've seen and heard, thats a really nice diaper store. I like how they have a few diapers on display. I've never been there, but it sure would be a neat experience. Maybe you can pay them a visit if you get serious...just to see how its done.

The Diaper Store here doesn't have any diapers on display. They just have bags sitting on 2 shelves like they have at the grocery store. They also have a large table with a catalog. They have all sorts of brands and just don't have all of it out since the store is kinda small.

[iowaincon]

I have thought about opening a diaper store as well. I have looked into it, and the profit margin is not that great. Even wholesale and in bulk the products are expensive to buy, and you don't have much of a profit margin to get to retail price. Most business experts will tell you that you should only sell a product that you can make 30% on, and adult diapers seem to average only 15%. That is why I haven't done it. Not to destroy your dream or anything, just tellin' you the facts that I have found.

Iowaincon