When off the rack won't do: Retailers demand a hand-crafted project experience

New York City is known worldwide as one of the most demanding, discerning, and dynamic retail markets. The cachet of a Manhattan address leads top retailers to choose the Big Apple for their newest boutiques over all other sites. The appeal has fostered a rising influx of foreign retailers - lululemon athletica (Canada), Kira Plastinina (Russian), Muji (Japan) and Mango (Spain) - and the growth of several new retail corridors, such as 72nd and Broadway and the intersection of Wall and Broad Sts., home to Tiffany & Co., Hermès and Canali. As boutiques proliferate, the need to create exteriors and interiors that stand apart becomes increasingly important. To ensure a brand's profitability and longevity, retailers are turning to a collaborative team of real estate brokers, owner's representatives, architects, and construction managers /general contractors (CM/GCs) to satisfy their ambitious project requirements. No longer is the team simply expected to find, manage, design, and build a space. In today's volatile market, these professionals frequently help create a selling environment that boosts the retailer's brand on many and varied levels. The process begins when the entire project team explores the client's specific business objectives and develops what JRM terms a project lifecycle approach (PLA). Realizing that the retailer has spent years developing its brand and that each project is unique, the PLA is implemented to ensure that the project team always acts in the client's best interest, provides fluid on-site flexibility, and adheres to rigorous project schedules. While on the job, the CM/GC goes beyond providing oversight and coordination and works with the other project consultants as an extension of the client's existing operations. For example, when JRM executed the interior build-out for designer Adam Lippes' first ADAM boutique, it safeguarded Lippes' design intent, timeline, and budget by value-engineering the project and speedily remedying logistical issues during the pre-construction phase. In addition, since time is always critical in the retail world, JRM secured crucial documentation from the Department of Buildings (DOB) to allow ADAM to make its grand opening prior to the start of New York Fashion Week. In a recent renovation for Dylan's Candy Bar, JRM phased the entire lifecyle, allowing the client to maximize profits by staying open throughout the construction process. The CM/GC needs to work with all members of the project team as well as subcontractors to ensure that all details are tended to. As custom-made, imported finishes, often from exotic locales, are an essential ingredient of any upscale retail project, these fine materials must be properly cared for during shipping and installation. For Smythson of Bond Street, JRM devised a work flow plan that synchronized all trade activity and optimized field mobility within the confines of the 1,100 s/f boutique. The careful coordination allowed five trades to work simultaneously on any given day without incident. Diligent planning and an in-depth understanding of project requirements allow the CM/GC to act swiftly when challenges arise. When realizing a boutique for couturier Dennis Basso - furrier to many notable celebrities - in The Pier at Caesar's Place, JRM found that a specified plumbing fixture layout interfered with sub-level structural beams. The firm quickly developed a cost-effective design alternative, ensuring that Basso was able to open in time for the busy holiday season and the winter selling months. The demands for value-added brand-oriented services will only increase in the coming years as retailers seek the team best able to realize their vision of a high performance, compelling environment. Brokers, owner's reps, architects and construction firms need to continue to work closely with retailers to stay competitive in the NYC market. After all, as the song says, if you can make it here... Gorguin Shaikoli is the director of marketing and business development for Citadel Construction, New York, N.Y.