Buying a specialty retail shop in Treasure Coast

• A clear reason to come in that a big online seller can't copy: expert advice, fitting, a carefully chosen selection, repairs or events.
• Brands the shop is authorized to carry in its area, under vendor agreements that can pass to a buyer.
• Inventory that sells at full price, with few markdowns and little old stock.
• A good location at a rent sales can support, with enough time and renewal options left on the lease.
• A customer list and loyalty program the shop is allowed to keep using after a sale.
• An online store or social following that adds sales without depending on the owner's personal profile.
• Staff who know the products and the regulars by name.

• Inventory value. Count it at closing and value it at cost, discounting or leaving out anything more than a season or two old. Find out what's on consignment and belongs to someone else.
• Gift cards and store credit. Customers will expect you to honor what's outstanding, so agree with the seller on who bears that cost.
• The lease. Rent as a share of sales, years left, renewal options, any planned redevelopment, and whether the landlord will agree to transfer the lease to you.
• Vendor terms. Confirm key brands will keep selling to a new owner, and ask about open orders already placed for next season.
• The seasons. Look at sales month by month for several years, including a slow summer and any hurricane closures.
• The seller's unpaid taxes. Buying more than half of a business, its assets or its inventory can make you liable for the seller's unpaid state taxes, up to the price or the value, whichever is greater (section 213.758). Get a certificate of compliance from the Department of Revenue before closing, and ask your attorney about holding back part of the price.

• Which brands or categories bring in the most profit, and which are fading?
• How do you decide what to buy each season, and who helps you?
• What share of sales comes from regulars, tourists and online?
• How did the shop do last summer compared with the winter?
• Which vendors would need to approve a new owner, and have you asked them?
• Why do customers tell you they shop here instead of online?
• How many hours a week do you spend on the floor, and who runs things when you're away?

This region covers Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.

The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.

The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.

Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.