Retail environments can be tough to maintain, both physically and financially. The shiny new store that you started years ago unfortunately may not resemble what is shiny and new in today’s retailers, which is why you may lean toward the investment of remodeling your store. A new layout and design direction from your store can keep it looking fresh and interesting to new customers, and keeping with similar motifs can maintain frequent, valued ones. Here’s a few tips and guidelines on how to plan and follow through with a new, exciting direction for your store’s future in your community.
Planning
The primary concern when dealing with full or even partial remodeling of a retail space is the timeline. Remodeling takes a significant amount of time that must be committed to, and all time spent in construction is taken directly out of operating hours. When selecting a contractor to perform the work, you should establish a relatively rigid time frame of when your store will close for remodeling and when it will subsequently reopen. Don’t leave verbal open ends like “when the work is done,” as it can encourage your contractor to take a leisurely pace and take a toll on your store’s reopening date. While discussing your plans with the contractor, try to negotiate incentives or bonuses for early completion, which may speed up the ability to reopen and return to normal business.
Don’t skimp out on research. Research successful store in your store’s industry and establish commonalities in their floor plans to establish how it can be used during your store’s remodeling. Use this to identify the strengths of your current store layout, and take the time to gather information from your customer base on what they do and don’t like about it. Your employees are equally a source of insight regarding how the store layout functions on a day-to-day basis. Research also extends into choosing a contractor for the work. Find third party testimonials about each prospective contractor regarding the quality and speed of their work, and compare rates. Extensive research on the company you will be working with for an extended period can greatly save you from poor workmanship.
While also in the planning stages, work hands-on with your contractor. Actively engage by creating mock-ups or supervising their creation. The key to getting the remodel you dream of is actively seeing the remodel happen. Don’t domineer or micromanage the contractor’s work or workers, as they’re better equipped and experienced to handle the actual labor, however. Take their input into account with your plans, as remodeling is a multi-faceted operation and you may be unaware of how the wiring, plumbing, and other utilities in your store necessitate a particular floor plan. Use your previous floor plan to help inform you and your chosen contractor about new designs. You can use this remodeling to improve on old issues with the store layout, leading to a brand new, more inviting rebranding.
Action
A key part to any remodeling and rebranding is getting rid of the old. Clearing out the out-of-date shelves or other furnishings of your store is a job within itself, and contract work doesn’t always include clearing the workspace for remodeling. Give yourself and your employees some time from when the store closes for remodeling to when the store actually begins the remodel to clear junk and really begin the fresh start. Commercial junk removal services can be a great help in this part of the workload, and can be accessed easily to clear out only what you know you need to get rid of. Keep that same service in mind for after the contract work is complete, to clean up and remove trash or debris created during the mess.
When returning the shelves, furnishings, and other merchandise displays post-remodeling, consider how your store looks to the casual customer. Account for wide aisles to allow multiple people to access adjacent products. Lighting should also be on the mind, as poor placement can lead to “dark corners” of the store that customers are less likely to peruse. Using inviting colors that match the scheme presented by your brand. You know your clientele better than anyone else, so use that to your advantage when catering to their specific expectations and exceeding them.
Remodeling your store sends a message to your customers and the community that you are heavily invested in upkeep of both your image and your competitiveness. That brief period where your store is closed might direct them temporarily to other spaces, but assure them new and improved version of your store is for the betterment of their shopping experience. While it can get pricey to do so, stores that update for the changing times and social climate are the ones that succeed in whatever volatile markets they work in.
