Are your stores working as hard as they could? Retailers pay close attention to most of the levers which can deliver better performance: pricing, promotions, product variety, merchandising, staffing and inventory levels are all actively managed on a weekly or daily basis.
But when it comes to the single biggest asset retailers have – their physical space – most are too passive. They put a great deal of effort into determining space allocations when new stores are laid out, and again every few years when major refurbishments or remodels are planned. In between, however, it’s mostly “set it and forget it” – unless there is a major crisis and the whole format gets torn apart and put back together, often with no testing and poor results.
