It can’t have escaped your notice that many High Street units across the country lie vacant but is a new style of retail design and space sharing about to save the stores we love?
Whether it’s to do with BREXIT, out-of-town retails parks, online shopping or crippling rents, empty High Streets are a sorry sight. All might not be lost, however, as MPL's shop fitters are noticing that a new style of retail is taking off.
Tandem retailing – where two businesses operate under the same roof – is a fresh approach to occupancy that can be mutually beneficial. Of course, concessions are not a new concept but they’re more common in department stores. However, bringing unexpected disciplines together on a small scale can be beneficial for business and our communities.
Two for the price of one
For instance, the Post Office is a brand where tandem retailing has become natural. Many of its post masters are now operating within another business. There’s a counter inside a café, where people can grab a coffee while they wait to be served, and another Post Office inside an arts and crafts suppliers – handy for those who post the items they make to customers. Elsewhere, there is a trend for tattoo parlous opening up inside barber shops. It’s often that one trade feeds another, encouraging custom and enterprise.
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Keeping faith in face-to-face
Although tandem retailing brings business benefits – sharing shop fitting costs and splitting the rent - there is a more serious side to this trading style. Bringing services together under one roof reinforces the benefit of face-to-face custom and good customer service. In a world where the threat from online operations is growing, offering people a unique High Street proposition and positive experience that leaves them feeling valued should not be underrated.
Split, share & save money
Perhaps you’re an estate agent who could house a mini coffee shop? Maybe you’re a dentist who could accommodate a dermatologist? With smart space planning and a considered commercial refurbishment, you too could stay ahead of the retail curve.
If you’d like shop fitting advice and ideas on how a new layout design could accommodate a business within a business, contact MPL Interiors today.
