STORE LOCATION/LAYOUT/DESIGN

Retail site selection is a very important decision. First, a location is usually one of the most
important elements customers use in choosing a store.

Response to the question of ‘What is the most important three things in retail is; location, location
and location. Location is very important element for customer to prefer a store. Location is also
competition advantage which is not easy to simulate.

For a retail enterprise, location may result as success or failure. But a good location is related with
target market, rivals and costs.

Lastly, the site may be in a shopping center. In such a case, the retailer can generally be sure that it
will have the suitable mix of neighbors, sufficient parking places, and fine traffic.

CHOOSING A RETAIL LOCATION

The choice of a store location has a profound effect on the entire business life of a retail operation.
A bad choice may all but guarantee failure, a good choice success. This aid takes up site selection
criteria, such as retail compatibility and zoning, which the small storeowner manager must consider
after making basic economic, demographic, and traffic analyses. It offers questions the retailer must
ask (and find answers to) before making the all important choice of store location.

The first step in choosing a retail business location takes place in your head. Before you do anything
else, define your type of business in the broadest terms and determine your long-term objectives.
Write them down. This exercise will help you later in choosing a retail location.

In picking a store site, many storeowners believe that it's enough to learn about the demographics
("people information" like age, income, family size, etc.) of the population, about the kind of
competition they'll be facing, and about traffic patterns in the area they're considering. Beyond a
doubt these factors are basic to all retail location analysis.
Once you've spotted a tentative location using these factors, however, you've only done half the
job. Before you make a commitment to moving in and setting up, you must carefully check
several more aspects of the location to help insure your satisfaction with -- and most importantly
your success at - the site you've chosen.

FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED
Three factors confront you as an owner-manager in choosing a location:
 selection of a city;
 choice of an area or type of location within a city; and
 Identification of a specific site.

If you are going to relocate in another city, naturally you consider the following factors:
 Size of the city's trading area.
 Population and population trends in the trading area.
 Total purchasing power and the distribution of the purchasing power.
 Total retail trade potential for different lines of trade.
 Number, size, and quality of competition.
 Progressiveness of competition.

In choosing an area or type of location within a city you evaluate factors such as:
 Customer attraction power of the particular store and the shopping district.
 Quantitative and qualitative nature of competitive stores.
 Availability of access routes to the stores.
 Direction of the area expansion.

Pinpointing the specific site is particularly important. In central and secondary business districts,
small stores depend upon the traffic created by large stores. Large stores in turn depend on
attracting customers from the existing flow of traffic. (However, where sales depend on nearby
residents, selecting the trading area is more important than picking the specific site.)
Obviously, you want to know about the following factors when choosing a specific site:

o Adequacy and potential of traffic passing the site.

o Ability of the site to intercept traffic en route from one place to another.
o Complementary nature of the adjacent stores.
o Adequacy of parking.
o Vulnerability of the site to unfriendly competition.
o Cost of the site.
TYPES OF CONSUMER GOODS
Another factor that affects site selection is the customers' view of the goods sold by a store.
Consumers tend to group products into three major categories:
 convenience,
 shopping, and
 specialty goods.
Convenience goods usually mean low unit price, purchased frequently, little selling effort, bought
by habit, and sold in numerous outlets. Examples: candy bars, cigarettes, and milk.

For stores handling convenience goods, the quantity of traffic is most important. The corner of an
intersection, which offers two distinct traffic streams and a large window display area, is usually a
better site than the middle of a block. Downtown convenience goods stores, such as low-priced,
ready-to-wear stores and drugstores, have a limited ability to generate their own traffic. In
merchandising convenience goods, it is easier to build the store within the traffic than the traffic
within the store. Convenience goods are often purchased on impulse in easily accessible stores.

In addition, the greater the automobile traffic, the greater the sales of convenience goods for
catering to the drive-in traffic. For the drive-in store selling low-priced convenience goods, the
volume of traffic passing the site is a most important factor in making a site decision. The consumer
purchases these goods frequently and wants them to be readily available. Consumers are reminded
when passing a convenience goods store that he or she needs a particular item.

If consumers must make a special trip to purchase such convenience staple goods as food and drug
items, they want the store to be close to home. One study of food store purchases in the central city
area revealed that nearly 70 percent of the women patronized stores within one to five blocks of
their homes. Another study of food stores indicated that for suburban locations the majority of
customers lived within three miles of the stores, while the maximum trading area was five miles.
For rural locations, the majority of consumers lived within a ten-minute drive to the store, with the
maximum trading area within a twenty-minute drive.

Shopping goods usually mean high unit price, purchased infrequently, more intensive selling effort
usually required on the part of the storeowner, price and features compared, and sold in selectively
franchised outlets. Examples: men's suits, automobiles, and furniture.

For stores handling shopping goods, the quality of the traffic is more important. While convenience
goods are purchased by nearly everyone, certain kinds of shopping goods are purchased by only
certain segments of shoppers. Moreover, it is sometimes the character of the retail establishment
rather than its type of goods that governs the selection of a site. For example, a conventional men's
wear store should be in a downtown location close to a traffic generator like a department store. On
the other hand, a discount store handling men's wear would prefer an accessible highway location.

In many cases, buyers of shopping goods like to compare the items in several stores by traveling
only a minimum distance. As a result stores offering complementary items tend to locate close to
one another. An excellent site for a shopping goods store is next to a department store or between
two large department stores where traffic flows between them. Another good site is one between a
major parking area and a department store.

A retailer dealing in shopping goods can have a much wider trading area. Without a heavily
trafficked location -- but with the help of adequate promotion -- this more expensive type of store
can generate its own traffic. In this case, a location with low traffic density but easy accessibility
from a residential area is a satisfactory site. The consumer buys these goods infrequently and
deliberately plans these purchases. Consumers are willing to travel some distance to make shopping
comparisons.

If you offer shopping goods, however, you should not locate too far away from your potential
customers. One study of a discount department store showed that 79.6 percent of the shoppers
lived within five miles of the store and another 16.1 percent lived within a ten-mile radius. A
customer survey, automobile license checks, sales slips, charge account records, store deliveries,
and the extent of local newspaper circulation can determine the magnitude of the trading area for a
shopping goods store.

Specialty goods usually mean high unit price, although price is not a purchase consideration,
bought infrequently, requires a special effort on the part of the customer to make the purchase, no
substitutes considered, and sold in exclusively franchised outlets. Examples: precious jewelry,
expensive perfume, fine furs, and so on, of specific brands or name labels. Consumers who are
already “sold” on the product, brand, or both often seek specialty goods. Stores catering to this type
of consumer may use isolated locations because they generate their own consumer traffic. Stores
carrying specialty goods that are complementary to certain other kinds of shopping goods may
desire to locate close to the shopping goods stores. In general, the specialty goods retailer should
locate in the type of neighborhood where the adjacent stores and other establishments are
compatible with his or her operation.

RETAIL COMPATIBILITY
How important is retail compatibility? For a small retail store in its first year of operation, with
limited funds for advertising and promoting, retail compatibility can be the most important factor
in the survival of the store.

Will you be located next to businesses that will generate traffic for your store?
Or will you be located near businesses that may clash with yours?
For example, if you offer shopping goods, the best location is near other stores carrying
shopping goods. Conversely, locating your shopping goods store in a convenience goods area
or center is not recommended.

Take a look at shopping centers in your area. Invariably, you'll find a clothing or shoe store -- in
trouble – in an otherwise convenience goods shopping center.

On the other hand, with the advent of the mall and regional shopping center, shopping goods and
convenience goods outlets may now be found co-existing easily under the same roof. In this
situation, it is still important to be located in a section of the shopping complex that is conducive to
what you're selling. For example, a pet store should not be located immediately adjacent to a
restaurant, dress shop, or salon. You would want to locate a gift shop near places like department
stores, theaters, restaurants -- in short, any place where lines of patrons may form, giving potential
customers several minutes to look in the gift shop's display windows.

MERCHANTS' ASSOCIATIONS
Most first time business owners have no idea how effective a strong merchant's association can be
in promoting and maintaining the business in a given area. Always find out about the merchant's
association. The presence of an effective merchants' association can strengthen your business and
save you money through group advertising programs, group insurance plans, and collective security
measures.

A strong merchants association can accomplish through group strength what an individual store
owner couldn't even dream of. Some associations have induced city planners to add highway exits
near their shopping center. Other have lobbied for -- and received -- funds from cities to remodel
their shopping centers, including extension of parking lots, refacing of buildings, and installation of
better lighting.

Merchants' associations can be particularly effective in promoting of stores using common themes
or events and during holiday seasons. The collective draw from these promotions is usually several
times that which a single retailer could have mustered.

How can you determine if the retail location you're considering has the benefit of an effective
merchants' association? Ask other storeowners in the area. Find out:
· How many members the association has
· Who the officers are;
· How often the group meets
· What the yearly dues are; and
· What specifically, it has accomplished in the last 12 months.
Ask to see a copy of the last meeting's minutes. Determine what percentage of the members was in
attendance. What if there is no merchants' association? Generally (though not always) a shopping
area or center with no merchants' association, or an ineffective one, is on the decline. You'll
probably see extensive litter or debris in the area, vacant stores, a parking lot in need of repair, and
similar symptoms. You should shun locations with these warning signs. With a little on-site
investigation, they're easy to avoid.

RESPONSIVENESS OF THE LANDLORD

Directly related to the appearance of a retail location is the responsiveness of the landlord to the
individual merchant's needs. Unfortunately, some landlords of retail business properties actually
hinder the operation of their tenants' businesses. They are often, in fact, responsible for the demise
of their properties.

By restricting the placement and size of signs, by foregoing or ignoring needed maintenance and
repairs, by renting adjacent retail spaces to incompatible -- or worse, directly competing --
businesses, landlords may cripple a retailer's attempts to increase business.

Sometimes landlords lack the funds to maintain their properties. Rather than continuing to "invest"
in their holdings by maintaining a proper appearance for their buildings and supporting their
tenants, they try to "squeeze" the property for whatever they can get.

To find out if a landlord is responsive to the needs of the retail tenants talk to the tenants before
you commit to moving in yourself. Ask them:
1) Does the landlord return calls in a reasonable period and send service people quickly?
2) Is it necessary to nag the landlord just to get routine maintenance taken care of?
3) Does the landlord just collect the rent and disappear, or is he or she sympathetic to the
needs of the tenants?
4) Does the landlord have any policies that hamper marketing innovations?
In addition to speaking with current tenants, talk to previous tenants of the location you have in
mind. You'll probably come up with a lot of helpful information. Find out what businesses they
were in and why they left. Did they fail or just move? What support or hindrances did the landlord
provide? If the opportunity presented itself, would they be retail tenants of this landlord again?

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
A host of other considerations have varying importance in choosing a retail location, depending
on your line of business. The following questions, while they certainly don't exhaust all
possibilities, may help you decide on a retail location:
· How much retail, office, storage, or workroom space do you need?
· Is parking space available and adequate?
· Do you require special lighting, heating or cooling, or other installations?
· Will your advertising expenses be much higher if you choose a relatively remote location?
· Is the area served by public transportation?
· Can the area serve as a source of supply of employees?
· Is there adequate fire and police protection?
· Will sanitation or utility supply be a problem?
· Is exterior lighting in the area adequate to attract evening shoppers and make them feel safe?
· Are customer restroom facilities available?
· Is the store easily accessible?
· Does the store have awnings or decks to provide shelter during bad weather?
· Will crime insurance be prohibitively expensive?
· Do you plan to provide pick up or delivery?
· Is the trade area heavily dependent on seasonal business?
· Is the location convenient to where you live?
· Do the people you want for customers live nearby?
· Is the population density of the area sufficient?
STORE LAYOUT/DESIGN

A good store design should like as good story. Every story has a beginning, middle and end. As
like, entrance set up the story. It create certain expectations and contains promises. A good entrance
should entice, hint and tease. There should be a mystery.

Retail design is a creative and commercial discipline that combines several different areas of
expertise together in the design and construction of retail space. Retail design is primarily a
specialized practice of architecture and interior design, however it also incorporates elements of
interior decoration, industrial design, graphic design, ergonomics, and advertising

Retail design is a very specialized discipline due to the heavy demands placed on retail space.
Because the primary purpose of retail space is to stock and sell product to consumers, the spaces
must be designed in a way that promotes an enjoyable and hassle-free shopping experience for the
consumer. For example, research shows that male and female shoppers who were accidentally
touched from behind by other shoppers left a store earlier than people who had not been touched
and evaluated brands more negatively. The space must be specially-tailored to the kind of product
being sold in that space; for example, a bookstore requires many large shelving units to
accommodate small products that can be arranged categorically while a clothing store requires more
open space to fully display product.

Retail spaces, especially when they form part of a retail chain, must also be designed to draw people
into the space to shop. The storefront must act as a billboard for the store, often employing large
display windows that allow shoppers to see into the space and the product inside. In the case of a
retail chain, the individual spaces must be unified in their design

History

Retail design first began to grow in the middle of the 19th century, with stores such as Bon Marche
and Printemps in Paris, "followed by Marshall Fields in Chicago, Selfridges in London and Macy's
in New York." These early retail design stores were swiftly continued with an innovation called the
chain store. The first chain store was opened in the early 20th century by Frank Winfield
Woolworth, which quickly became a franchise across the US. Other chain stores began growing in
places like the UK a decade or so later, with stores like Boots. After World War II, a new type of
retail design building known as the shopping centre came into being. This type of building took two
different paths in comparison between the US and Europe. Shopping centres began being built out
of town within the United States to benefit the suburban family, while Europe began putting
shopping centres in the middle of town. The first shopping centre in the Netherlands was built in the
1950s, as retail design ideas began spreading east.

The next evolution of retail design was the creation of the boutique in the 1960s, which emphasized
retail design run by individuals. Some of the earliest examples of boutiques are the Biba boutique
created by Barbara Hulanicki and the Habitat line of stores made by Terence Conran. The rise of the
boutique was followed, in the next two decades, with an overall increase in consumer spending
across the developed world. This rise made retail design shift to compensate for increased
customers and alternative focuses. Many retail design stores redesigned themselves over the period
to keep up with changing consumer tastes. These changes resulted on one side with the creation of
multiple "expensive, one-off designer shops" catering to specific fashion designers and retailers.

The rise of the internet and internet retailing in the latter part of the 20th century and into the 21st
century saw another change in retail design to compensate. Many different sectors not related to the
internet reached out to retail design and its practices to lure online shoppers back to physical shops,
where retail design can be properly utilized.

“Shopper found dead in local store; cause of death – boredom”

Objectives of Good Store Design

 Design should:

 be consistent with image and strategy

 positively influence consumer behavior
 consider costs versus value
 be flexible
STORE LAYOUT:

To develop a good store layout, store designers must balance many objectives the often conflict.

Store Layout (and Traffic Flow)

 Conflicting objectives:

 Ease of finding merchandise versus varied and interesting layout

 Giving customers adequate space to shop versus use expensive space productively

Types of Floor Space in Store

 Back Room – receiving area, stockroom

 Department stores (50%)

 Small specialty and convenience stores (10%)

 General merchandise stores (15-20%)

 Offices and Other Functional Space – employee break room, store offices, cash office,
restrooms

 Aisles, Service Areas and Other Non-Selling Areas

 Moving shoppers through the store, dressing rooms, layaway areas, service desks,
customer service facilities

 Merchandise Space

 Floor

 Wall
Type of Design

Grid (Straight) Design

• Best used in retail environments in which majority of customers shop the entire store

• Can be confusing and frustrating because it is difficult to see over the fixtures to other
merchandise

• Should be employed carefully; forcing customers to back of large store may frustrate and
cause them to look elsewhere

• Most familiar examples for supermarkets and drugstores

Curving/Loop (Racetrack) Design

• Major customer aisle(s) begins at entrance, loops through the store (usually in shape of
circle, square or rectangle) and returns customer to front of store

• Exposes shoppers to the greatest possible amount of merchandise by encouraging browsing

and cross-shopping
Free-Flow Layout (Boutique layout)

• Fixtures and merchandise grouped into free-flowing patterns on the sales floor – no defined
traffic pattern

• Works best in small stores (under 5,000 square feet) in which customers wish to browse

• Works best when merchandise is of the same type, such as fashion apparel

• If there is a great variety of merchandise, fails to provide cues as to where one department
stops and another starts
Spine Layout

• Variation of grid, loop and free-form layouts

• Based on single main aisle running from the front to the back of the store (transporting
customers in both directions)

• On either side of spine, merchandise departments branch off toward the back or side walls

• Heavily used by medium-sized specialty stores ranging from 2,000 – 10,000 square feet

• In fashion stores the spine is often subtly offset by a change in floor coloring or surface and
is not perceived as an aisle
Feature Areas

 The areas within a store designed to get the customer’s attention which include:

 End caps – displays located at the end of the aisles

 Promotional aisle/area

 Freestanding fixtures

 Windows

 Walls

 Point-of-sale (POS) displays/areas

Location of Departments

 Relative location advantages

 Impulse products

 Demand/destination areas

 Seasonal needs

 Physical characteristics of merchandise

 Adjacent departments