Competition in Business

I'm a great believer in niches. There's space for everyone and everything, you just need to find out who, what, where, and why. When I decided that I wanted to open my own store I looked at similar stores in the area. There are the typical fabric stores like fabricland and a few independents. I haven't actually been to any of them and hope to make a visit in the next few weeks. I don't want to carry the same things as they do, I'd like to be complimentary, if I can. One thing to think about is demographics. When I worked for "BIGNAMERETAILER" they actually hired a consultant who looked at population, growth, spending habits etc. Obviously I can't do this, but I can look at the populations surrounding me currently, and what they will grow to in the next ten years. I can look at the stores currently in town, and see if I can figure out what makes one successful over another. Location? Quantity of product? Customer Service? I see locations in town that have had retailer after retailer open and close in the same location, so obviously that is a big clue. I guess it's true what they say, LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!