Leasing Retail Space – The True Costs Of Leasing Space

Occupancy Cost

After obtaining information regarding the cost of tenant improvements, you should be able to estimate the cost of occupancy for your retail space. This will include rent, CAM charges, utilities and the amortized cost of tenant improvements.

CAM

CAM charges referred to comment area maintenance. Practice may vary from area to area, but in most areas this includes not only maintenance expenses but also the cost of taxes and insurance. Most leases for retail space include a partial or complete pass through for basic operating expenses, insurance, management, and property taxes. The landlord or leasing agent should be held to provide an estimate of these charges for your space.

Amortized TI

The amortized cost of your tenant improvements will be the cost over the term of your lease. To keep matters simple, if you are spending $60,000 to renovate your space, and your lease is for five years (60 months), include $1000 per month for the cost of tenant improvements.

Are You Paying Too Much?

Next research the occupancy cost compared to what others in your industry are spending. You may want to review occupancy cost on a dollars per square foot basis, percentage of sales basis and a dollars per month per location basis. If possible, determine what other similar businesses in your area are spending monthly for their total cost of occupancy.

Occupancy Cost Data Sources

Research the information available from industry associations and related publications for information on occupancy costs. It is sometimes referred to based upon dollars per square foot per year. It is more often referred to as a percentage of sales. If this is your first store, it will be difficult to estimate your sales. If you have other locations, you should be able to make an educated guess regarding the probable level of sales for this location.

Dollars per Month per Store?

In some cases, it may also make sense to review the cost of occupancy on a dollars per month basis. For example, if your existing stores tend to have a similar level of revenue, focus on locating retail spaces which meet minimal criteria and have the lowest monthly occupancy cost. Conversely, perhaps any store will have an excess amount of space for your real needs.

Rent per Month Example

For example, perhaps you operate a seasonal income tax business. During the peak of the season, there’ll only be two people in the store (you and your assistant). Based on previous experience, there are no locations which will provide the minimal amount of space you truly need. Further, since you are only leasing a modest amount of retail space for 4 months per year, landlords have not been particularly accommodating. Hence, a location which meets minimal criteria and has the lowest cost for the tax season may be your best option.

Criminal Activity?

Finally, research criminal activity in the area for the retail space you are considering. In many cases, it is apparent whether an area is likely on the low crime rate or high crime rate end of the spectrum. However, considering the investment of time and capital necessary to open a store, it would be very disappointing to learn your retail space was near a hotbed for criminal or gang activity shortly after opening.

Example

Consider the following example. A retail center in north Houston had been a prosperous shopping center on a major thoroughfare for 15 years. Shortly after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, many evacuees from New Orleans settled in Houston. For whatever reason, a large number of New Orleans residents who were criminals located in the adjacent apartment complex. During the next 12 months, there were three murders on the retail center property. Occupancy fell from 80% to 30% because of the problems.

Crime Data Sources

Options for researching criminal activity within an area include online crime reports, discussions with tenants at the property, and discussions with police officers who are active in the area.

Online

In most cases, the information from the services will adequately address the issue of criminal activity near the retail space you’re considering. However, the most current and contextual data you’ll be able to obtain is from tenants at the property and local police officers.

Speak to Tenants

Tenants at the property where you’re considering leasing retail space can be a wonderful resource. They can provide information regarding crime in the area, tenants who have left the center, problems with traffic, problems with ingress and egress, problems with parking, and the trend in the center. Retailers within a retail center typically trade notes or visit with each other. Ask if business has been getting better, or is business declining for the businesses within the center?

Area and Property Criminal Reports

Area police officers are another excellent resource regarding criminal activity in the area. In most cities, you can obtain information regarding criminal records for any address. The records are public information. All you have to do is request the information and pay for the cost of copies.

Speak to the Source

In addition, in most cities the police are willing to visit with you if you are considering opening a business. Expect them to be very direct regarding criminal activity and trends in the area. It is possible they will discourage you from opening a store in a location you’re considering. However, is much better to not open a store in a poor location then to open the store and have to close the business.

The Market Research and Consulting division of OConnor & Associates provides information necessary to make decision to commercial real estate professionals. Occupancy and Rental Data, ownership and management information are routinely gathered for four major land uses multifamily, office, retail and industrial. This information allows investors to compare competitive properties, facilitate business decisions and track market and submarket performance.

The Future Of Jewelry Retail

Accessibility is never an issue now that Internet dominates the world. Anyone wishing to buy jewelries will be swept over by assortment of designs in the zenith with just one keyword. Hence, its retail world has varied from exclusive elite shops to regular department stores to internet sites. Yet, the cycle of change hasn’t stopped.

The coolest mobile device opened a new opportunity for industries in a very promising way- this is through smartphones. With augmented number of users of this newest -it- phone, mobile retailing is now greeting the horizon.

Users of this gadget are interestingly stuck with their phones, on its every activity and more. They can afford to have active social life, go out and have fun while fasten full blast to its every nook and crook. Thus, business people couldn’t help but see the intensifying possibility of conquering even these tiny gadgets to enforce industrial businesses, especially jewelries; because if carried out successfully, this has high percentage of becoming a breakthrough project.

But just like all other big ideas, as high risk renders high reward, so does its critiques. This idea garnered a lot of arguments disbelieving in its potential and magnifying its awful to-be consequences.

Convenience spells good business to end-customers. In any form, they make sure that they patronize those which offer them products most conveniently. So as smartphones are always glued to them wherever and whenever, nothing beats the idea of selling stainless steel jewelries on their own free time and space, in a device just right on their hands. It is now never limited to place-bound shop or specific websites, it goes more personalized and accommodating that way.

But the million-dollar question is how are you going to initiate a mobile retailing? It always starts with what you already have. For one, you need to make sure that your e-store can make way to a mobile version of it which is trouble-free on small screens- because even though smartphones are -smart- to showcase desktop, investing on a phone adaptation can convince your potential buyers to stay longer and browse some more.

Downloadable inventories specially made for mobile devices are also a good point to persuade customers to survey your products, especially for newest collections.

Another one is to ascertain that your physical jewelry shop is available information at the Internet, more so linked to your mobile platform. That way, they can always find you easily.

Also, if you want more for the project, putting up an application that works to notify constant shoppers when new designs come out would be best way to go. Adding in a QR (Quick Read) codes on brochures, posters and flyers scan-able by smartphones so to give out coupons is absolute on customers’ satisfaction.

Moreover, through mobile retailing, flash sales and daily deals for your stainless steel jewelries can spot one limelight-lit place taking hold of consumers’ thoughts; unlike if it is just sent off to e-mails or what-not/s; chances are it will just be over-piled with other important mails for the customer, rendering the blasts useless.

Despite jewelry is part of human’s life way past medieval times, consumers’ demands for a masterpiece are never old and instead it grows more rapidly strenuous. With mobile retailing, these can be met.

Three Ways to Promote a Small Retail Flower Shop

A retail flower shop offers services for flower care and handling, flower arranging, merchandising, and flower delivery. A retail flower shop is profitable because people make use of flowers for many kinds of occasions and events. However, a small flower shop needs to promote and market its product to more potential clients for higher income.

Having promotional and marketing materials and strategies is essential for a small retail flower shop to grow. Here are the suggested ways to promote a retail flower shop:

Using the Internet

Flower shop owners can make use of the internet to promote their flower business. The very first thing to consider is to develop a website for a particular flower shop. This website must contain pertinent information about the products and services being offered by a certain shop. It is also important to include beautiful and colorful images of pre-made flower arrangements. This way, potential clients can have an idea of the kind and quality of service that a flower shop has to offer.

Creating Marketing Prints

A flower shop can also make use of posters to promote certain flower products. Flower shop owners can create poster prints online through a printing company’s website. Online printing services for posters allow people to create their own designs and upload personal images to be printed on the posters. Clients can also choose designs and templates for Poster Prints Online for faster production of marketing prints.

Sponsorship to Certain Events

Flower shop owners can engage in sponsorship programs to promote the business. Bouquets or basket of flowers can be given out for free during a special event like a simple community program in a certain locale. A flower shop can sponsor the bouquet of flowers to be used for a business opening near the shop’s physical location. With this, the flower shop and the start-up business can help each other in gaining more clients.

Introducing Promos and Discounts

Discounts can be offered for bulk orders like bouquets or baskets of flowers. Free flowers can also be given out for loyal customers as tokens of appreciation. These promos and discounts can be introduced during holidays and special occasions like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving Day and others.

With these strategies, a small retail flower shop can grow and can gain more clients in the future. Furthermore, the kinds of promotions suggested for this type of business also help other companies to survive in the market arena.

The Qualities Found In Famous Sneakers Retailed In Online And Local Fashion Outlets

Famous sneakers are not just trendy and stylish but they are also comfortable to wear. There are different acclaimed brands of sneakers sold in different retail outlets. A trendy sneaker can be a casual sneaker or a sports sneaker. A trendy sneaker can be worn by anyone irrespective of one’s age or gender.

The big talk in the fashion world is casual shoes. Everyone wants to own a famous pair of casual footwear. Shoes made for casual wear will match with any kind of casual clothes. Casual clothes are informal clothes such as shorts and jeans. Ladies who purchase casual sneakers will find that they will complement well with different skinny jeans and dresses. Dressing in a casual way will make one to stand out in an informal event. To look first class, it is imperative to wear first class fashion accessories.

Different informal shoes have different decorations, colors, logos and design patterns. The easiest way to look as an informed follower of fashion trends is to make sure the colors and decorations of the apparel worn enhance the decorations and design elements of the classy footwear featuring in one’s feet. Colleagues who are very informed on fashion matters will instruct one on the different unique benefits of the latest sneaker brands.

Famous fashion shoes usually have very comfortable interiors. The interior of such shoe is usually made using cushions and leather linings. The main purpose of reinforcing the interior part of a shoe using cushions is so as to make the shoe to be shock resistant. Shock produced when the sole hits the ground will cause discomfort in the feet in case the inner sole does not have cushions. Shoes are made with leather linings so that they are breathable. A breathable shoe will create a pleasant experience to one’s feet.

The inside part of a footwear must be lined with leather strips so that the footwear is breathable. Pads are normally stuffed in inner soles so that they can be efficient when it comes to absorbing different types of shock. When shock is absorbed in real time, one will concentrate on a particular activity without being disturbed.

Online research and offline research needs to be done so as to know the names of popular sneaker stores based online. There are dozens and dozens of sneaker shops based online. To find links of well known online sneaker shops, search engines should be used. A search engine will produce a number of results after a relevant keyword is entered in its box. Search results that appear in the first two pages of search engine results should be selected.

Most women nowadays purchase fashionable shoes. There are many top notch sneakers that have feminine looks. Such footwear is the preserve of highly fashionable ladies. There are quite a number of sneaker models that are suitable for the old people. Famous sneaker brands are highly demanded all over the world.

Famous sneakers are acclaimed for their top styles, trendy outlooks and comfortable interiors. Fashionable shoes are sold in online retail shops and also in offline retail shops. Internet research will help one to locate reputable online stores. Friends and family members will direct one to reputable offline shops. The shoes purchased should be those which match with a majority of one’s clothes.

Mukesh Ambani Owned Reliance Retail Limited Scores A Ton With Reliance Jewels

The competition in the branded jewelry segment in India is about to intensify with the Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) recently declaring its mega foray into Jewelry Retail by opening 100 exclusive Reliance Jewels outlets across the country in coming three years.
Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Retail Limited ventured into jems and jewelry trade because of the never ending demand of jewels in India. The first store was launched in Bangalore in early 2009. Sprawled over three storeys and covering an area of 6,000 sq ft, the Reliance Jewels store at Bangalore proffered as many as 10,000 designs of elegantly created jewelry pieces. It is learnt that the jewelry collection here, has been assimilated from different parts of India. The availability of a wide range of gold and diamond jewelry makes Reliance Jewels a one-stop shopping venue for buyers of fine jewelry.
By the end of December 2009, Reliance Group increased the number of store launches for Reliance Jewels to 10. The multi-format retailer now aims to expand by opening jewelry stores in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Dhanbad, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Jamnagar, Jamshedpur, Jodhpur, Ludhiana, Mumbai, New Delhi and Vizag adhering to core Reliance Jewels strategy of expansion through saturation.
Enthused by good sales in the past few months, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail Lifestyle is now planning to increase the number of Reliance Jewels outlets to 100 by 2013. We are upbeat about our same store sales growth. The past eight months have been very good for us… with 22 per cent growth. And I think this is the best time to expand as the rentals have gone down to some extent. In the next 3 years, we will be scaling the Reliance Jewel stores to 100, Reliance Retail Lifestyles CEO Bijou Kurien told PTI.
The company has plans to add 14 more by this fiscal-end to its existing 10 outlets of Reliance Jewels, which sells gold and diamond jewellery under private label RJ. We have announced to open 10 more Reliance Jewels stores and six Time Out store by the end March with a total investment of Rs. 150 crore, Kurien said. The new stores will come up in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai, where it already has its lifestyle outlets. Besides it will also open a few shops in Kochi and Bangalore.
All its outlets of Reliance Jewels are large format stores ranging from 2,500 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft. As per the plan, the gold jewelry at all Reliance Jewels stores will consist of Kolkata Filigree, Rajkot minakari jewelry, Kundan from Jaipur, Temple jewelry from Kerala, Jadau from Amritsar and so on. Even in Diamond jewelry, Reliance will offer only the best. One will find the widest variety of Diamond jewelry designs here ranging from simple daily wear to party wear items to celebrate every special occasion in a persons life.