A shop renovation budget: what you need to consider
Is your shop looking a little worse for wear? Is the painting peeling off the walls? Then it is time to renovate. I hear you asking the question “But, how much will it cost?” Here are three elements to consider when creating your shop renovation budget.
1. Scope: what do you want to renovate and why?
We all want beautiful shops which will encourage our patrons to depart with their hard-earned cash easily. Which parts of your shop do you need to upgrade and how much of the existing infrastructure can you use? You need to remember the more of the existing infrastructure you use, the more economical your renovation will be.
The areas you need to consider for your renovation are:
- Design: Depending on how much of your shop you want to change, will affect your need for an architect. If you’re going to make major infrastructure changes, you may need an architect to create a blueprint of your shop.
- Electricity: When considering electricity, you need to understand how much electricity the equipment you use in your shop takes. If you are a print shop or beauty parlour, you may need to upgrade the electrical infrastructure of your shop, or you may need to look for a different shop which suits your electrical needs.
- Plumbing: Does your business need plumbing? Do you need a small kitchen area or bathroom in your shop for the staff? These requirements may involve getting permits which could take time and add to your renovation timeline.
- Floor and ceiling: If you are going to do structural changes to the floor, you may need to get permission from your landlord. This may also be under the expenses which your landlord will pay for depending on what is in your rental contract.
- Millwork: This refers to the display areas in your shop. The pricing for it will depend on the materials used, the quantity and space where they need to fit into.
- Air-conditioning: Do you need to install an air-conditioning system into your shop? The comfort of your employees and customers will affect your sales, so it is important to consider what type of air-conditioning you will require in your shop.
- Paint: When you paint your shop, you will need to prepare the area you want to paint, and then you will need to consider what colour you want to use as this could affect the price. Dark colours need more layers to be striking.
2. Time: how long will it take to do the renovation?
The scope of your project will determine the amount of time which will be needed to complete the job. The time spent on your renovation can also negatively affect your sales as customers will be less willing to shop at your store during your renovation.
3. Cost: How much do you have to spend on renovations?
Some retailers have a savings pocket which they use when they need to do renovations while others borrow money to do the renovations. When assessing how much the renovations are going to cost you, you will also need to look at your fixed expenses which you will still need to pay during the renovations. These could be rent, water and lights, and security. If you choose to close your shop during the renovations, you may save on salaries. It is important to look at your expenses over the past three months and get an accurate account of your fixed and variable costs so that you know what you will need to survive your renovation.
When you have considered these three elements, you can move on to finding your ideal shopfitting contractor. It is important to get between 2-3 quotes for your renovation so that you can see what the average amount you should be paying is. Some contractors will give you a per unit price which could be per-square metre, per-cubic metre or per linear metre. Other contractors may quote the materials and the labour cost separately. You will also want to ensure that the contractors can stick to your timeline.
