design:retail - October 2017 - 46

046
Which of the following statements best describes your
plans to renovate stores in 2018?

Plan to renovate fewer
stores than in 2017

24.1%

Plan to renovate more
stores than in 2017

28.7%

Plan to renovate about
the same number of
stores as in 2017

47.2%

followed by 15.2 percent that closed 11-50. For 2018,
about half (51.4 percent) of companies plan to close
fewer stores than in 2017, and 39.6 percent plan to
close about the same number of stores as this year
(only 9 percent of companies plan to close more
stores than in 2017).
Renovations are holding steady, with key locations receiving remodeled looks. Half (53.6 percent)
of survey respondents reported that they renovated between 1-25 stores, and another 10 percent
of retailers said that they renovated between
26-50 stores, while 9.1 percent renovated between
51-100 stores. Additionally, 15.5 percent of retailers
reported not renovating any stores. Remodel efforts
are becoming more laser-focused as well. One respondent said they are focusing on "departmental
reinventions as opposed to full-store renovations."
Renovation plans for 2018 will continue, with
47.2 percent of retailers expecting to renovate
about the same amount as this year, while another
28.7 percent plan to renovate more stores and
24.1 percent plan to renovate fewer stores.
OCTOBER 2017

DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

The challenges of the past year have seen several
retail categories feel the burden more than others.
The resounding sentiment among the industry-
this year and also over the past few years-is that
the department store channel continues to be the
most challenged (indicated by 61.1 percent of respondents). Another 14.6 percent of respondents
believe the softlines specialty channel is the most
challenged, followed by big-box specialty stores
(9.1 percent). And while softlines may have obstacles to overcome, 16.3 percent of those surveyed
said it's also the channel with the most potential
for growth (16.3 percent also said the "showrooms,
automotive, financial, service/agency" channel
has the most growth potential, while 17.9 percent
believe "closeout retailers, dollar stores, factory
outlets" have the most potential). But the sector with the most growth potential, according to
23.5 percent of our readers, is "supermarkets, grocery stores, drugstores, c-stores, fast-food service."
In terms of supplier relationships, retailers
continue to experiment with new vendors, with

GLOBALSHOP.ORG

47.5 percent of retailers saying they are "exploring alternative vendors." Another 27.2 percent of
retailers said that they are "staying loyal with the
same vendors" and 24.3 percent have changed a
few vendors.

THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN
Over the years, the role of retail design has continued to grow in importance. A little more than
half of survey respondents (55.6 percent) feel that
design, store planning and visual components are
"much more important" to the retail design industry compared to five years ago, and 22 percent said
it is "somewhat more important."
Although the industry sees the retail designer's
role increasing in importance, a tempered economic environment has seen most of respondents
(51.7 percent) maintaining personnel/staffing levels with no change in 2017, with just over a quarter
of respondents (26.5 percent) increasing design
staff headcounts and another 21.8 percent having
to decrease staff. That appears to be the game plan
http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - October 2017
