Ask the Architect

Should we redo our new store?

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Q. I recently bought a store with a partner, and we’re trying to decide how much we should change it. We know we want different displays for products and lighting (it was a dim restaurant before), but inside, everything needs to go inside, and the outside isn’t so great but could be very expensive. My partner wants to change everything and says it will make us more noticeable, but I think the outside doesn’t matter as much. What do you recommend? (We rent the business, five-year lease).

A. Ever notice how large chain stores and restaurants go through facelifts every five to seven years? They’ve done their homework and learned, as you should from them, that certain types of businesses grow stale, get taken for granted, and may even be overlooked after a while, in favor of the competition. Even Macy’s, after 75 years, decided to do a complete renovation, and they’re an institution in Herald Square.

There are many factors involved in the decision. First is something called “sphere of influence,” a term in city planning, and store planning, that basically means to know and understand your surroundings, who you want to attract and from how far away. Some neighborhood stores haven’t changed in 75 years, and the locals seem to like it that way. I remember my local drugstore with the lunch counter and the guy in the narrow white hat making milkshakes. A national chain came in, renovated the store, put in bright lights, wider aisles and a very sterile choice of hospital colors. The store closed in two years. So read your neighborhood.

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