Product is in your store, but the presentation, organization and clutter are getting in the way of consumers finding what they need. They suffer from visual overload and shut down as a shopper. What can you, as a space-challenged retailer, do to remedy this type of situation? Read on for some tips with retail space and commercial real estate.
EVALUATE YOUR INVENTORY
A visual floor audit of your products and a ledger pad will be a good start. Walk each department and take a survey of what products are in each department that are actually current. Identify by the fact that if the customer cannot self-shop an item without staff help, then it doesn’t need to be on the showroom floor and can go to a space in the backroom or behind the counter. You can also make a list of parts and accessories that are out of season. Remember, you are trying to free up space and rid your store of clutter for items that need to sell right now.
Your floor space fills up quickly in the ATV department. If ATV is a year-round hot pick for you but if you are still working to find space for the summer riding season (which you need to stock and sell in about 120 days), my suggestion is to cut the ATV area down in size by displaying one of each item. You might load up a unit with lots of goodies and show the items that way. That will save space and be a great selling aid. If you happen to sell that one, accessorize another one. I am sure the vendors will be happy to sell you more ATV stuff. When ATV is in-season (fall in most parts of the U.S.) expand the department again to offer multiples and self-shopping of accessories.
SCRUTINIZE YOUR FIXTURES
Most of the time, space is not the only issue. It is the fixture choice which is not the most efficient for the product type. For example, every store needs staple goods like oils, lubes, chemicals and cleaners. Are they placed where they need to be, or are they housed on some fixture that cannot be relocated? Consider moving them onto one of my favorite fixtures in the industry: the “LiL Joe” by Rock Eagle. This little workhorse not only holds 1,200 lbs. of weight, but its retail footprint is only 36″ and it is round and low. You can see over this fixture, and it offers 360 degrees of self-shopping. Fill the shelves and back stock the rest. You can restock as needed. Your consumers do not have to see that you house 1,000 bottles of oil; they just need to find one.
Another space saver is to acquire small “H-Unit” fixtures for apparel and parts and accessories. This type of fixture allows four-sided shopping in a footprint that generally is about 5′ long and 3′ wide. By incorporating shelves along with your slat pegs for packaged items, you can display some of the boxed items that may look awkward on your walls. For apparel, using hangrails and straight outs, and adding topper shelves on each side, gives a home to add on sale accessories like folded casual wear, ball caps, and other small items. You can show a helmet to match the riding gear in the same color way presentation being shown. This helps package related items and offer “good product adjacency.” This is a consumer desired expectation.
LIMIT YOUR SELECTIONS
One game plan in a small retail floor plan is to exercise some restraint in your product offerings. No one has enough space to carry all vendor and label brands, in all styles. Buyers have to make choices on the number of style selections, colors and sizes they can purchase. Another consideration is, will the product be open for reoccurring orders, or is it a special or limited run? You certainly need to offer today’s savvy consumers some choices. Even the motorcycle riding community entails many personalities and body types. To better use your space, clean house on your style offerings. Decide what is core and what stays, and select the styles that you need to get rid of through creative marketing, markdowns, clearance, Internet sales, etc.
You can accomplish a clean, organized, uncluttered and professional retail image and by doing so, increase your inventory turns at the same time — even in a smaller retail environment.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regarding commercial real estateor retail space, visit Royal Commercial
Archive for November, 2009
How Much Space Do You Need for Your Business to Function Efficiently?
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009Plan Ahead for Expansion When Your Business Becomes a Success
Thursday, November 19th, 2009Businesses move around a lot. Whether for expansion or downsizing, businesses can move a whole floor up in a building due to remodeling or take over an entire block of a downtown street. Besides your bottom line, have you considered the outcome of where you decide to relocate or the results regarding your remodeling decisions? There are several issues that will come up and should come up along the way regarding an office move or remodel.
Whether you are looking to lease or remodel one office space, a large piece of corporate real estate, or just a small retail space, you might want to consider a few things. The decisions you make today, will no doubt affect your business tomorrow.
5 Things Your Business Should Remember When Moving to a New Space
• Does your new office location leave room for expansion?
• Do you plan to hire or let go employees in the future? Depending on what your long term goals are, could affect the space you will need in the future.
• Is location really important for your business? Otherwise, you could pay less for office space in a less obvious location.
• Could you save money by merely getting new cubicles and desks and a fresh coat of paint and carpet inside of signing a new lease elsewhere?
• Never underestimate parking spaces. Whether for employees or for customers, besides great location, without parking, how can people come to your business?
Know that what ever big or small plans you decide to make, an office move is time consuming, disruptive and sometimes expensive. Do your research and you may find that a corporate real estate agent you are looking into also knows movers and possibly a good deal on used office furniture. Looking for the right agencies out there that are experienced and fast at moving offices and have remodeling connections will save you and your company money as well as headache in the long run.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regarding corporate real estate, or office space, go to Royal Commercial
Find Out Where You Need to Setup Your Retail Store
Thursday, November 12th, 2009You have designed a great product, you have a business license and all your ducks are in a row. Besides your online store, you need to get a retail space to store inventory as well as sell your product. Before you make that move to rent a retail space, there is a lot to know. Commercial real estate will help you find the location that will best sell your products and make you a greater profit.
Before You Open up Your Retail Space- Do Your Homework
Before you sign the dotted line on just any retail space, make sure you do your homework or better yet, hire someone to do the homework for you! Think realistically, if you over-commit, you could be in over your head before you even open the doors.
• Make a list. What size space do you think you will need to start with currently?
• How much space will you need in the future? What is your business’s projected growth?
Think About Retail Space Location
Many people say that location is everything. Before you settle on one particular location make sure you research each retail space you are thinking about. Here are a few things to look for:
• What is amount of car and foot traffic in front of each retail space?
• Find out who the previous renter was, did they do any unseen damage to the place? Why did they leave?
• Does the rent match up with other retail spaces in the area?
• Where is your closest competitor? If they are going to be a neighbor, perhaps it’s not the ideal location
Think About Your Audience- Where are They Located?
• Does your location get local area traffic or just tourists or both? Depending on your product, you may want to be in a neighborhood or near a busy tourist destination.
Depending on Your Product, Could Your Share Space?
• If you have large furniture to sell, you won’t likely want to share your space with anyone else, but if you are looking to sell your handmade scarves, you may want to look into a smaller retail space, like a kiosk or a shared space with someone else who is looking to share.
Research Restrictions Before it’s Too Late
Some retail spaces say what you can and cannot do in regards to signs, flower boxes and other décor. Be sure and find out what types of restrictions come with the retail space. Other things to consider:
• Is there ample parking? Or bus service near your business?
• Are you allowed to have a large sign above your business?
• What is the maximum occupancy?
If all this seems like way to much to think about, while you are trying to work on other aspects of your business, you can hire a commercial real estate agent who helps small businesses find what they are looking for in regards to retail space. Hiring a professional to help you find a retail space could save you money in the long run- they know where to look, what to avoid and how to talk terms. Plus, with someone who knows about commercial property, once you have decided on a place, you’ll have a connection to painters, movers and handy men once you close on a deal- and what is not to like about that?
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regardingretail space or commercial real estatego to Royal Commercial
Building a Steady Flow for Your Business
Thursday, November 5th, 2009As we search for the right spot for our business, we must take into consideration how that space will affect the usability of your customers. The variants are between office space and retail space. As we look into it we notice that the ability to find the right amount of space is what makes a business succeed or fail.
Retail space needs the most attention when it comes to the amount of space that you’ll need for your business. Thing of yourself as a customer walking through a retail store; would you hate it if there wasn’t enough space for two or three people to walk comfortably side by side? A wave of claustrophobia can come over anyone which will cause them to leave your store immediately.
The amount of shelf space you need is something you also need to take into consideration. With every retail store there is overflow if an item isn’t selling well, or is selling very well. Where do you intend to put this product if there isn’t enough space to hold it all? You’re building up this business to be a working machine, and clutter becomes a lose cog blocking the workings.
Office space is a little bit different. Space is still something you need to take into consideration for guests and the eventual expansion of employees. Leaving room for expansion means that you don’t have to move again when you need to hire on more employees.
In terms of office space we also need to take into consideration the personal spaces of our employees. A happy employee is one that is able to express themselves in every aspect of their life. The desks that employees are given will more often then not contain photos family, posters, and anything else that means something to them. Remember that they are with you for 8 hours out of their day.
The differences between office and retail space are vast. We need to make sure we know the right amount of space needed for our business to keep our customers happy and coming back, as well as our employees. After all, the employees are what make your company run smoothly and the ability to give them the freedom that they need is what keeps a business running.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regarding office space or retail space, visit Royal Commercial
Looking For New Office Space Leaves 5 Key Ideas to Consider
Monday, November 2nd, 2009As we start a business, looking for an office that has the amount of space we need to be productive is crucial. We must be cautious, looking for only the amount of space we need to function properly. There is no reason to pay more for what you aren’t going to use.
• Finding an Office: If you are a starting business, note how much office space you’ll need now and eventually. You will need space to put any files that will acquire for your business. You will need file cabinets where your files will be store. Plenty of desks for current and new employees that are soon to come. Will you have a waiting room where clients can sit? What type of furniture will you have?
• Visualization: It’s important that your business has plenty of exposure to people driving by your office. What kind of marketing will you use to catch their eye? How will you design your office so people who visit will think that you are professional and someone they want to do business with?
• Corporate Offices: When your company reaches a point where it can have a corporate office, corporate real estate will become a key factor in finding corporate headquarters. Do you want these offices to be near your current office? When looking in corporate real estate, be sure that we take the first two steps into account. They apply to any office you plan to open; corporate or commercial.
• Leave Room to Expand: Moving your offices is costly. Make sure that the first office you have leaves plenty of room to expand. As you become more successful, more people will want your services. Make sure you have enough office space for new employees to help with your newly acquired work load. The same goes for your corporate real estate. The employees you already retain know your business in and out. They will be the ones training your new employees.
• Relax: Moving into a new office or upgrading to a bigger office is stressful. Not only are you trying to manage the time and money into movie, you are also trying to keep the business running. Stress in this situation is inevitable, but there are ways to prevent. There are plenty of companies out there whose focus is helping you with these kinds of decision. Unnecessary stress is just that.
Remember all of these elements when moving your new business. Knowing how much office space you’ll need for your furniture and employees is important. Your offices and corporate real estate need to look and feel professional. Leave room to expand your business. Having to move your business because you do not have enough space for the two employees you just hired isn’t worth it. The business you could lose during the movie on top of what it already costs to move is just silly.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regarding office space or corporate real estate, look to Royal Commercial
A Look Into the World of Commercial Real Estate
Monday, November 2nd, 2009While the current economic climate might not make many run to the real estate market for their top career choice, for some, it can be a lucrative business. If you’ve decided to enter the real estate business consider the varying specialties that might help you to succeed. You may want to start as a comemrcial real estate agent, someone who specializes in selling commercial real estate. You may also consider becoming an appraiser, the person who determines the value of the home being bought or sold; a broker, who assists buyers with the actual transaction; developer, a person who improves land by adding or replacing or fixing up buildings; property management, someone who manages the property for an owner. With all these choices when becoming a real estate agent you are bound to find something that will be the perfect fit.
When deciding whether or not you’d like to do commercial or residential real estate consider these major differences. Obviously, commercial real estate agent will focus around office space or other types of commercial properties that are mostly income producing. Most homes will simply be by their owners. Commercial real estate can encompass leasing office space, owning an apartment complex or selling real property to name a few of the areas that you might be working in.
It’s also important to note that the paperwork involved is very different between the two areas of real estate. Residential deals are given much more consumer protection than commercial deals. Disclosures common to residential are not necessarily required. Commercial real estate buyers are going to need to ask about zoning laws, whether or not the area is suitable for their business, among other business decisions. As a real estate agent you’re going to need to have the skills necessary to meet different needs for the consumer.
No matter the type of real estate you decide to specialize in, each requires a different level of skill and a different level of knowledge. The type of person you are going to be dealing with in residential real estate is going to be quite different than the person you might deal with in a commercial transaction. Consider the types of customers you would most like to work with when comparing the two. Consider the types of goals you have and the types of needs you like to meet for others. It can be exciting helping the first time homebuyer discover and purchase the home of their dreams. Does this get you more passionate than helping the savvy business owner find the perfect space for leasing, a space that can help them meet their business needs. While there are two different goals, helping people meet those goals can be very rewarding.
Committing to becoming a residential real estate agent or a commercial real estate agent can be a big step. Determining that you want to go into real estate can be a difficult decision, especially when the current real estate climate is shaky. However, in the end, it can be a very rewarding career choice and a very lucrative one, depending on the type of real estate agent you become and the area in which you live. If you don’t think commercial or residential real estate is the right move then consider the other types of specialties that might be just the right fit. You have to spend a lot of time in your career so make sure that you are making a choice that is going to be in your best interest for the long term.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regardingcomemrcial real estate agent or comemrcial real estate go to Royal Commercial