I meet people of all ages who complain how expensive it is to start their own retail business. And, unfortunately, I usually agree with them. But if you’re willing to share the overhead –and the floor space – with others in your position, you just might get your big break.

That’s what the young retailers in the collective store known as the Dressing Room are doing in New York. A dozen clothing designers are splitting the rent and displaying their wares in a space none could afford alone. This trend is just catching on in the U.S., but it’s already a huge hit in countries like Belgium and Japan.

At the Dressing Room, everyone shares in some common duties like working on the sales floor a certain number of days. But that also gives them access to a studio in the basement, where they can work on their designs.

We’ve all seen this concept carried out to the max in “antique malls” where sellers rent spaces and work on commission. But the Dressing Room and its competitors sound like the kind of place for those who want hands-on experience in the retail world. If you’re in that category, start networking and maybe you can get in on the ground floor. It could lead to a sales floor of your own sooner than you expected.

Ah, yes, another blog about Apple. You must know by now that I’ve been a Macintosh user since they were introduced in 1984. Back then I was more interested in the technology than their retail side, which was nonexistent. Now I carefully watch what goes on in each Apple Store I visit because, like their computers, Apple is setting the pace for consumer retail.

The company’s 201 stores were recently redesigned again. This is the third or fourth redesign I can recall, and each one improves on the rest. Now the checkout registers are completely gone from customers’ sight; staff carries wireless scanners/registers that complete the sale on the sales floor and either email the receipt or beams it to well-hidden printers.

All of the Macs, iMacs, iPods, iPhones and other product are on tables that invite immediate exploring by grown-ups and kids alike. Each computer is connected to the Internet, and each music player is preloaded with content. It’s a gadget lover’s nirvana.

Ultimately, though, the stores wouldn’t work without the so-called “concierges” who attach themselves to customers. I’ve found almost all of them to be knowledgeable about every product in the store. If they can’t answer a question, they’ll find someone who can. They are eager (sometimes too eager) and polite, unlike many of the sales staff at big-box consumer electronics stores. Obviously, some excellent training is going on.

It’s paying off for Apple, because more than 100 million visitors came in during its fiscal year that ended in September. They contributed $4.2 billion in revenue, up about 24 percent from $3.4 billion the last fiscal year.

Maybe Apple’s concierges and wireless scanners aren’t your retail style, but you sure can learn from them. Can your salespeople answer all of your customers’ questions? Do they treat your customers courteously, without the condescending tone I’ve seen too far often in retail? Are they willing to go the extra mile for your customers – and for you?

Think about it. You don’t need to look like an Apple store. But you can embrace the way they treat customers as a core value.

…will you be as prepared as Best Buy? The consumer electronics retailer is rehearsing its staff to cope with the expected onslaught of shoppers. Great idea, and one that surely grabs media attention.

Smaller retails can only pray that they’ll have long lines and extra cashiers on hand for the three-day shopping surge after Thanksgiving. If you’ve done all the right merchandising and marketing, you’ll get your fair share of the in-store shoppers. Either way, have you taken the time work with your staff on how to handle holiday crowds?

Whatever your T-Day and beyond situation, take the time to work with your staff to discuss ways to accommodate holiday shoppers. Do some role-playing and set up some horror scenarios. A few minor changes like posts and ropes in front of the registers, better directional signs and clearer price tags can save everyone a lot of grief.
You’ll be surprised at how far a little preparation will go. Your employees will thank you for it–not to mention your customers.

Best of luck to you this Friday and the entire holiday shopping season. If you have any ideas to help make your fellow retailers jolly, I’d be glad to share them here.

Maybe last Wednesday was a slow news day in Orlando, Florida. Could that be why the grand opening of a new IKEA store dominated the headlines of OrlandoSentinel.com? Or was it newsworthy that IKEA’s combination of merchandise and design attract assemble-it-yourself furniture groupies? I think it was the latter.

I’ve always thought the Swedish home-furniture retailer did a fantastic job of drawing shoppers in and keeping them moving through the huge stores. I didn’t know there were so many IKEA fanatics, like the ones in the article who camped out for the grand opening.

“Adventure shopping” is what a marketing-strategy expert calls IKEA’s successful formula. What a great description. We hear all the time about “destination shopping,” but IKEA’s takes it a few steps further. You can drop your kids off in day care, stroll through the store to see what’s new, enjoy a delicious meal in the café, pick up your kids, and drive away satisfied.

I visit the IKEA in San Diego a few times a year and am glad to see that there’s always a decent merchandise churn. The old standbys like freezer-bag clips are still there, but so are the latest TV stands. Yet I get vacuumed in like everyone else and usually walk the entire showroom floor—on both floors. (There are some well-disguised shortcuts that let you get out faster, but I’ll let you find them yourself.)

Shopping should be an adventure. You can make your retail store more adventurous just by changing the aisle configurations every once in a while. Try a new paint color on the walls. Replace carpet in high-traffic areas. Hang signage from the ceiling to eye level. None of this is on the scale of an IKEA, but it just might keep your store on your customers’ “adventure list.”

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Finding a location for a new store or office (or in this case both) can feel like you’re chasing a moving target. You have to be concerned about your customers, your employees, the rent, the type of buildings available, etc. In our case we have a national base of customers but we wanted to make it easy for locals to get to our showroom and warehouse and for customers coming in from out of the area to find us. Our initial inclination was to locate near a competitor. There is a synergy that often builds when a customer can hit 2 or 3 similar businesses in one area. It’s an easy shopping experience and in fact each business often finds that their sales increase. In our case we have two primary local competitors, one in downtown San Diego and the other in the center of San Diego county in a retail-industrial area about 7 miles from downtown.

Rather then basing our decision on our competitor’s locations we decided to find a customer centric location . Where was the best spot in the county for the majority of our local customers to easily reach and where was the best spot for our out of town visitors to easily find us? To that end we started analyzing the potential venues.

Population growth in San Diego has been north, east and south but the central core has also been gentrifying at an amazing rate. Getting in to downtown or the central industrial areas has become a chore due to traffic and once there the level of activity can feel chaotic. Further, our employees who have been working 3 blocks from the ocean, were less inclined to urbanize their work place then others might be. To that end we started looking in Sorrento Valley, a retail, industrial area a few miles north of San Diego. Sorrento Valley is close to the coast and within minutes of the the 5 freeway, a major LA-San Diego artery. Not too many locations appeared to be available but after extensive driving, phone calls and finally help through a great real estate broker we found a potential space.

The building had been vacant for 9 months, was mostly offices with some warehouse and was in what felt like an almost rural environment. Located on a quiet street with loads of parking, everyone who looked at the site remarked about how comfortable it felt. Even my wife liked the space and she can be a hard sell. So we started negotiations. Of course as soon as we wanted the space other prospective tenants materialized but we just kept our demands simple and reasonable.

1) All the building systems had to be in good working order. (HVAC, Power, Ceiling, etc.).
2) The building had to be in compliance with ADA handicapped access rules.
3) We needed new wall partitions, lights, ceilings, paint, and flooring. (about $70,000 dollars worth.)

And we paid them what they asked for in rent at $1.00 per foot. And they said, “fine”.

When we got the lease I had a few changes. My broker had more and we negotiated those. Some issues the landlord would not relent on and in a conversation with my broker I said:
“What’s the next lowest rent we’ve seen”.
He said: ” $1.35 per square foot”.
I said: ” At 9000 square feet that’s $3,150 more per month times 60 months. Total: $189,000. Plus, their giving us about $50,000 more in tenant improvement allowances then the other landlord’s and some free rent. If we blow the lease over a few nonessential lease provisions we will be out $250,000. Let’s sign now”.
And I did.

So now, on November 16, 2007 we’re in the building phase. We have a permit and we’re rushing towards an early January move-in date.

Next:
Designing the store and offices and implementing the construction process.

I wrote a while back about the British food giant Tesco, whose Fresh & Easy markets are just getting started on this side of the globe. Looks like they’re doing pretty well, according to this article in the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper sent some notable chefs, foodies and staff writers to check out the small supermarkets. They also talked to customers.

Interesting that while they praised the food selection, they also had a lot to say about the stores’ interior layout and design. They liked the “interior design, because of wide aisles, clearly written signs, bright lighting and an uncluttered feel.” A shopper said, “I like the nice atmosphere. It doesn’t overwhelm you like other stores.”

I’ve visited Tesco stores in the United Kingdom and found them to be likewise well laid out, even for Yanks who don’t recognize all of the food choices. The stores are designed to keep you moving, ever on the lookout for the surprises ahead on the next aisle. That could apply to your store, too, even if it’s not at all food-related.

Keep your customers moving by creating logical places to stop, like sales tables or new-merchandise shelves, all tied together with appropriate signage. Add a little element of surprise to their shopping experience. From the British Isles to your store’s aisles, it’s a simple technique that will have your customers coming back for more.

I never knew that retail art galleries barely existed in this country until the mid 1920s. Or that the reason they have flourished since then is because of an Eastern European immigrant named Edith Halpert, who started her career at the original (and still standing) Macy’s in New York City.

I just learned this at a talk by Lindsay Pollock, the author of a new book on Halpert, “The Girl with the Gallery: Edith Gregor Halpert and the Making of the Modern Art Market” (PublicAffairs, a member of the Perseus Books Group, 2007, $16.95).

Halpert’s talent as an artist developed early. She went to work as an illustrator in Macy’s advertising department while in her teens. It was there, Pollock says, that Halpert picked up the principles of retail merchandising, store layout and design, and customer service.

After marrying an artist, the pair lived for a time in Europe, where retail art galleries were already established but had more of a museum atmosphere. She realized there was a market for galleries in New York after meeting and cultivating the artists she met in Europe. She took a gamble and opened her Downtown Gallery in New York, a tasteful but homey place where visitors were made to feel comfortable around the art and artists.

The gallery flourished for 44 years. Halpert invented the market for American folk art, and championed the growth of the American modern art movement. She cut legendary deals with artists and educated her patrons.

She became an icon in the art world. And she did it by doing what I constantly harp on in this blog: If you want to be a successful retailer, study what the really successful retailers are doing. Then adapt their practices to your store’s style. Halpert had the good sense to absorb it all as a teen at Macy’s. All you have to do is take a walk through your regional mall. I’ll bet it even has a Macy’s.

With Thanksgiving just two weeks away and Christmas/New Year’s not far behind, you should have your holiday-season merchandising strategy in place by now. The large retailers certainly do. This season looks to be very competitive, with aggressive price cutting on big-ticket items like widescreen HD TVs, computers and other highly desirable items. And the big guys got sort of sneaky with their holiday advertising, starting with subtle hints in October.

How can you carve a niche for yourself this holiday season? You don’t have to spend big bucks to draw people into your store. But don’t be a Scrooge, either. You should be on the lookout year-round for holiday-season design elements. Non-traditional items like chili pepper string lights might make a good start. Or go with all-white string lights instead of the standard red and green. You know your customers best. Shake them up once in a while with unexpected holiday displays.

Changing out your windows displays regularly conveys to shoppers that yours is a store that keeps up with the times. If you’re selling dinnerware, fore example, a window display with a table set for Thanksgiving is a natural. You can even buy a faux turkey on eBay.

I found a pop-art style plastic Christmas tree set at a local chain hardware store. It would look right at home in a kids’ store or a downtown department store. The price tag? Only $25 each. I can just see a forest of them in a creative retailer’s windows and aisles.

If you don’t feel artistic enough to tackle such projects, consider students or recent grads of local design schools.

You only need to look at a holiday calendar to plan upcoming display change-outs. From New Year’s to July 4th to Christmas, you can find a theme that suits the time of year. Need help finding the appropriate displays? You can find plenty of display wholesalers in the Yellow Pages or online. But don’t forget non-traditional outlets like Party City, where you can obtain all kinds of accessories and decorations for just about any theme imaginable.

If you don’t feel artistic enough to tackle such projects, consider students or recent grads of local design schools. They’re usually eager to add to their portfolio, so have them come up with a holiday concept for your store. If you like it, reward them with merchandise, cash or an internship. Take advantage of their enthusiasm at this stage of their career. You might be the springboard for a future store-design legend. Also review the jobs-wanted postings at VMSD.com to find a pro who will work for a moderate fee. The cost should be more than offset by the increase in sales.

It goes without saying that shoppers love to see imaginatively arranged mannequins. Dress them up for the holidays, with scarves, caps, gloves and other Christmastime fashions. Get creative. If you sell surfboards, put one under the arm of a wet-suited mannequin wearing a Santa’s cap, and sprinkle sand around its feet.

If you think mannequins are too expensive, think again. The price range is vast. You can always start with a used mannequin, then build your collection as your budget allows. Featuring the same mannequin(s) from season to season in clever window displays will have your customers looking forward to their next visit.

Remember to check out the windows and interiors of stores that are know for great holiday themes. Eddie Bauer, Target and Restoration Hardware are chains that come to mind. But each city and town has its own cadre of retail stores that are known for their imaginative themes. Pay them a visit to get some free lessons.

Shoppers line up the by the thousands to see the elaborate window displays at legendary New York department stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Inside, they’re greeted by even more eye candy, as each department seemingly tries to outdo its neighbors. It helps to have a huge budget to pull off great visual merchandising like this. But with a little imagination, you can get customers talking about your creative holiday themes, too.

So we decided to create a bricks-and-mortar presence in San Diego.

Why now? Why at all? We’re doing well without a showroom. Why risk changing the mix?

Frankly, I simply felt like we needed to address how relevant we really are to our clients. Every single day, our customers ask, “Where can we see your fixtures?” and our salespeople have only been able to answer, “online.”

Since our business is retail design, we, more than most, realize how important touching and feeling a product is. Sure, consumers are getting more and more accustomed to buying online. But given the choice, I’d rather check pricing on the web and go to a “real” store to, as my grandmother used to say, “Feel da merchandise.” Further, we wanted to create a venue where our customers can immerse themselves in the retail experience. To that end, we decided to build a showroom that does just that. TRIO’s new showroom will showcase our retail display fixtures, house our design studio and libraries, and will provide an opportunity for our clients to interact with our packaging and POS specialists, all in one visit.

Additionally, we want to encourage an interactive retail community. One of my favorite stores in San Diego is Great News. This place started out as a small gift shop and over the past 20 years has evolved in to the greatest kitchen shop in town (and maybe the state). In addition to selling kitchen equipment, they hold cooking classes day and night in a 2,000-square-foot-classroom complete with large-screen TV monitors overhead. The place is packed with people having fun and feeding their passion.

We want to build a similar retail community. So we are setting up an auditorium in our new showroom that will be used for regular seminars and workshops on store design and planning. I’ll teach some of them and we’ll bring in various speakers to enlighten our clients on every aspect of the retail business. We’ll also have videos of many of the seminars available for you to watch in our showroom, plus a full library of books on retail design and planning to browse and purchase.

The store is in Sorrento Valley, a commercial area just north of San Diego. It’s close to the coast and just off interstate freeways 5 and 805. We’re in a semi-rural setting and we think our customers will appreciate how easy it is to get here, park, shop and learn at their leisure.

Over the next two months I’ll take you through our design and construction issues and review some of our challenges in the decision-making process. I hope you’ll be able to learn from our experience so that you’re better-equipped to handle your own move into retail.

Jeff Grant
TRIO
President

Next:
Finding the location. Where to locate, what kind of a building, the competition, rents, acting fast…

You probably don’t have shopping carts in your store. Even so, you use the trusty indoor vehicles when you go to the supermarket. So you know that the cart’s track record as a marketing vehicle is less than stellar.

That may change soon, according to this article on Forbes.com. The space between your hands on the cart handle could be the most valuable in-store marketing real estate yet. The Home Depot is using that space to send text messages about products and prices to a screen literally at shoppers’ fingertips.

The article points out that more than 70% of purchase decisions are made in-store. But only 6% of advertising budgets is devoted to in-store marketing. Makes you want to think about reallocating your in-store marketing budget, doesn’t it?

Have you installed any video screens with customized messaging to attract customers? It’s a growing trend, but not the most effective way to reach customers, Forbes says: “Mass merchandise and supermarket consumers go shopping to shop, not to stop and be entertained. They are conditioned to move through stores, not to stop, look and listen.”

Your store is likely much smaller than those the article discusses. But the story contains some good lessons: In-store marketing seems to work better than anything for getting customers to buy. So keep those “Sale” and “2-for-1″ signs and tags handy. Got hand baskets? Stick quickie fliers and in-store coupons in them. And keep those basket handles in good shape. The way things are going, you could be sending text messages to them in the near future, using Wi-Fi and your computer. One can only hope.