Is being an Ice cream man a licence to print money????
Discussion
No, seriously.....
Last year I bought my family some assorted Ice creams from a Mr Whippy van parked outside Whitby Abbey, there was a small queue of six or seven in front of me, and I reckon he took around £45 in less than ten minutes...
Last Sunday in Headingley, Leeds, a van came down the street and stopped, I bought one, there were several people behind me, again probably another fifteen pounds in five minutes.......
Unlike a shop, if trade is a bit slack you can just up sticks and move to a better location....hours to suit yourself and I bet the mark up is ridiculous.
Also a "cash" business like taxi driving, window cleaning....
Thoughts please...........
Last year I bought my family some assorted Ice creams from a Mr Whippy van parked outside Whitby Abbey, there was a small queue of six or seven in front of me, and I reckon he took around £45 in less than ten minutes...
Last Sunday in Headingley, Leeds, a van came down the street and stopped, I bought one, there were several people behind me, again probably another fifteen pounds in five minutes.......
Unlike a shop, if trade is a bit slack you can just up sticks and move to a better location....hours to suit yourself and I bet the mark up is ridiculous.
Also a "cash" business like taxi driving, window cleaning....
Thoughts please...........
The Londoner said:
I believe that the territories that go with these vans are very jealously guarded. Try to muscle in as a new boy on the block and you'll probably end up making the acquaintance of the type of people you'd rather not meet.
I have read about "Ice cream wars" in places like Glasgow 
I must admit..........
Wacky Racer said:
The Londoner said:
I believe that the territories that go with these vans are very jealously guarded. Try to muscle in as a new boy on the block and you'll probably end up making the acquaintance of the type of people you'd rather not meet.
I have read about "Ice cream wars" in places like Glasgow I must admit..........Shaw Tarse said:
Wacky Racer said:
The Londoner said:
I believe that the territories that go with these vans are very jealously guarded. Try to muscle in as a new boy on the block and you'll probably end up making the acquaintance of the type of people you'd rather not meet.
I have read about "Ice cream wars" in places like Glasgow I must admit..........Shaw Tarse said:
Wacky Racer said:
The Londoner said:
I believe that the territories that go with these vans are very jealously guarded. Try to muscle in as a new boy on the block and you'll probably end up making the acquaintance of the type of people you'd rather not meet.
I have read about "Ice cream wars" in places like Glasgow I must admit..........funk odyssey said:
'The conflicts generated widespread public outrage, and earned the Strathclyde Police the nickname the "serious chimes squad"'
Steamer said:
High suicide rate too....
....lots of Icecream men top themselves apparently.
Suicide.....lots of Icecream men top themselves apparently.
Edited by Steamer on Wednesday 15th October 19:49
Set up shop in the wrong part of town? Suicide.
Sell one of your rivals' specialty yourself? Suicide.
It's a dangerous world in the Ice Cream business.
Reminds me of the 'how does Mr Whippy do a sWacky Racer said:
The Londoner said:
I believe that the territories that go with these vans are very jealously guarded. Try to muscle in as a new boy on the block and you'll probably end up making the acquaintance of the type of people you'd rather not meet.
I have read about "Ice cream wars" in places like Glasgow I must admit..........The "real goods" are in "the back".
I dont do icecream vans but I used to work for a company with mobile food vans.
We started a new van in leicester and we had a few guys drive up and threaten us, we told them where to go.
A couple of weeks later they came back with baseball bats and smashed the van up a bit and threatened to shoot us if we went back.
Its mainly the static vans that have a reputation for being violent around here, the guys who attacked us were associates of a guy who owned static vans.
I wouldnt mind buying a few ice cream vans, profit margins are good but the seasonality would be a problem.
We started a new van in leicester and we had a few guys drive up and threaten us, we told them where to go.
A couple of weeks later they came back with baseball bats and smashed the van up a bit and threatened to shoot us if we went back.
Its mainly the static vans that have a reputation for being violent around here, the guys who attacked us were associates of a guy who owned static vans.
I wouldnt mind buying a few ice cream vans, profit margins are good but the seasonality would be a problem.
With the right pitch you are made ( I avoided thee lyons maid gag on purpose !)
A guy who used to drink in my local has a pitch on Epsom Downs and works 4 - 5 months of the year - albeit seven days a week and then goes to his villa in Spain for the rest of the time.
Neither his sizable house here ( and he moved 6 months ago to an even bigger, better house and paid cash) nor the one in Spain have mortgages and he has several nice motors too.
Can't be bad, but its all down to location, location, location I guess. He inherited the pitch from his uncle and it has a peppercorn rent too. b
d 
A guy who used to drink in my local has a pitch on Epsom Downs and works 4 - 5 months of the year - albeit seven days a week and then goes to his villa in Spain for the rest of the time.
Neither his sizable house here ( and he moved 6 months ago to an even bigger, better house and paid cash) nor the one in Spain have mortgages and he has several nice motors too.
Can't be bad, but its all down to location, location, location I guess. He inherited the pitch from his uncle and it has a peppercorn rent too. b
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