One order, one invoice, on the boat this week
Rice, flour, sugar, tinned goods, oil, soap, detergent and the household lines a shop sells every day. Priced by the sack and the carton, loaded to your island boat by us.
Four things a shopkeeper actually needs
One price list, kept honest
Every shop pays the same figure at the same quantity. We send the list on the first of the month and we hold it until the next one.
Stock on the floor, not on order
Eleven hundred lines in the warehouse. If it is on the list it is in the building, and we mark the two or three lines that are short.
Loaded to your boat by us
We take the order to the harbour, get it on the right sailing and send you the loading note. You do not need anybody in Male.
Thirty day accounts
For shops that have bought from us for three months. One statement at the end of the month instead of paying for every load.
Six departments, one delivery
Provisions, tinned and packet goods, beverages, cleaning lines, household plastics and paper goods.
Rice, flour and sugar
By the sack and by the pallet, in the grades island shops actually sell, with the price held for the month.
Tinned and packet foods
Tuna, milk powder, biscuits, noodles, pasta, pulses and the tinned lines that move every day.
Cooking oil, tea and beverages
Oil in the tin and the bottle, tea, coffee, powdered drinks and bottled water by the shrink pack.
Soap, detergent and cleaning lines
Bar soap, washing powder, dish liquid, bleach and cleaning tools, by the carton and the drum.
Household plastics and kitchenware
Buckets, basins, jugs, storage boxes, plates, pans, thermos flasks and the plastic a shop always needs.
Paper goods and shop supplies
Tissue, kitchen roll, carrier bags, receipt rolls, price labels and the things a shop forgets to order.
Where we are up to
Some of the last two years
A new shop from empty shelves, a Ramadan order for three islands, and a shop that was losing money on the lines it sold most.
A new shop stocked from empty shelves
Three hundred lines chosen for an island of nine hundred people, delivered as two loads a fortnight apart.
A Ramadan order across three islands
Three shops, one order, two sailings, and a stock plan that did not leave anybody holding flour in June.
Why a busy shop was making no money
A shop selling well and earning nothing. The freight on two departments was eating the whole margin.
What shopkeepers say
They talked me out of filling the shop in one go. The second load was decided by what had actually sold, and seven lines from my first order never came back. That advice was worth more than the discount.
Three shops, one order, two sailings. For the first Ramadan in three years we did not end up in June with a store room full of flour.
They went through a year of my own orders and told me to buy water from somebody else. I order more from them now than I did before they said it.
The questions we are asked every week
Is there a minimum order?
Yes, and it is set by the freight rather than by us. A load under about fifteen cartons costs so much per carton to ship that it is rarely worth sending.
For most islands the sensible minimum is twenty five cartons or one pallet. If your shop is smaller than that, order every six weeks instead of every month and we will hold the earlier part of the order here.
How do I place an order?
By message, by email or by telephone, using the price list we send on the first of the month.
Most of our shops send a photograph of a marked up list, which is faster than typing it out and leaves no argument about what was ordered. We confirm every order back to you in writing before it is packed.
When do I need to order to catch the boat?
Confirmed by Tuesday morning for the midweek sailings on most routes. We will tell you the day for yours when you open the account.
Anything later goes on the following sailing. We say so at the time rather than letting you assume it went.
Can you help me decide what to stock?
Yes, and we would rather do that than sell you a long list.
Send last month's order or a photograph of your shelves. We will price it against our list, show you where you are paying too much, and tell you which lines are tying up money without earning it.
Send us your shelf list
Photograph your shelves or send last month's order. We will price it against our list and tell you where you are paying too much.
Tell us your island and what you sell
We will send the wholesale list, the minimum order and the sailing day for your route.
-
Where we are
Warehouse 4, Industrial Village
Male 20025
Maldives - Call us +960 332 6015
- WhatsApp 9607736015
- Email us orders@raalhutrading.mv
- Opening hours Sunday to Thursday, 7:30am to 5pm Saturday, 8am to 1pm Closed Friday