Retail construction can take on many different shapes and forms and is a good example of commercial construction overall. A more specific example of retail is brands containing various stores and locations. Options for these can be big box retail, pop-up stores or stores within stores, mall stores and of course stand-alone stores. For any of these a corporation needs to express a synonymous experience across the multiple locations and storefronts for the customer. To achieve this, brands do a lot in branding or rebranding the consumer experiences across these various storefronts. There are various stages to achieve these consumer experiences through construction and other services – including design, planning, building and finishing. And all the work must be executed as quickly as possible across the various stores (since they lose revenue when closed).

Usually the rebrand work is started at the flagship retail store and approved for overall completion prior to execution at the other stores. This construction rebranding process can include new:

• Flooring
• Shelving
• Signage
• Wall painting and finishes
• Counter tops
• Lighting
• As well as other fixtures and even plumbing

The construction firm doing this execution must be as experienced and quick as possible to limit downtime for the store’s revenue.

Once the flagship store’s construction is completed, the remaining locations must also be completed in construction. Often in commercial construction, whether fully rebranding a store, or starting with new construction, the goal is to get to a “vanilla shell” before implementing the final, finished rebranding. A vanilla shell means a building with minimal floors, minimal lighting and ceilings, white walls and no furnishing. The vanilla shell is then adapted for the full branding or rebranding.

So why is it worth all the work, costs and downtime for retail businesses? The answer is to keep attracting customers. Consumers won’t regularly visit a store that appears to be dying or antiquated. It is worth it for retail businesses to keep up a new and trendy customer experience, making their stores worth repeat visits for their customers.

Obviously rebranding in construction can potentially be a lot of work and downtime. So an additional option is to do a brand “refresh.” A brand refresh could require less building time and be smaller in scope. It may not require getting to the point of a vanilla shell. More minimal execution such as new furnishings and paint may do the trick for a brand refresh.

Regardless of the scope of rebranding or refresh, you should get an experienced and quality contractor to meet the requirements and execute across the various store locations.

Want more? Read about Buildrite Construction’s roll out services.