Moving Your Retail Business

Is it time for you to more your store?

This question passes through the thoughts of many business owners. There are many reasons to consider changing locations and some important things to keep in mind when you do. If you way out the pros and cons of moving carefully you will come to the right decision for your business.

Reasons to Relocate

There are many reasons why moving may be a good idea. Some top concerns are:

Reduce costs. If it is the monthly rent that is too high or just high utility bills from an outdated location any time you can reduce costs in a business it has to be a consideration. As a general rule – a couple months before your lease renewal always shop around to see what is available. At the minimum you will be in a better more informed position to negotiate.

Increase traffic. You may have started on a side street as the only affordable option but if things are going well it may be time to move to a higher cost but higher traffic and sales rate location. Even in the days of the internet foot traffic is gold to a retail business.

Declining neighborhood. Maybe 8 years ago it was a nice street filled with retail shops. If now it is more empty shops than full and more people in the alley fronts than store fronts it is time to move.

Larger Store. If business has gone well then you may simply be losing sales due to lack of floor space and inventory. Relocating to a larger shop will allow you more room to display merchandise and keep reserve stock. In some instances the same can be said of a smaller location. If you have developed a very profitable niche a smaller more specialized shop may be beneficial.

Factors to Consider

When deciding to possibly move there is no need to do all the research yourself. Involving a realtor that specializes in retail leases may pay benefits. If you do not know a location then a simple search – for example,  Shops to Let Brighton & Hove at Completely Retail will find a realtor that specializes in the area you are looking at. Discuss with the realtor:

Demographics. Compare your typical or most profitable customers with the traffic in the new location. If there are more people but the traffic mostly older affluent fashion conscious your retail store for extreme sports wear will not benefit.

Average cost per square foot. Before looking at any specific retail location available ask for stats on average square foot lease rates. Knowing what the average of a particular area is will allow you to determine if it is in fact a good deal you are being shown.

Customer transfer. Even if moving to an area with more people and more customer potential keep in mind you will lose some of your old customer base. When looking at budget and deciding an extra 30 sales a week would make it cost effective remember you will be losing some sales each week from having relocated and adjust accordingly.