Peter Harding, Managing Director at Fairway Furniture, shares an update following the completion of their £1.25m interior refurbishment project at its Plymouth store.
Earlier this year, South West independent furniture retailer Fairway Furniture announced a significant internal refurbishment of their flagship Plymouth store, with the work commencing in April and expected to take around six months to complete.
This included the removal of the entire existing interior and installation of a completely new store layout, enabling an even wider range of product to be displayed within a fresh, contemporary shop-fit design – in partnership with store and interior design specialists Spaceworks Interiors. This collaboration formed when they met at the Associated Independent Stores (AIS) annual conference some five years ago.
Fast-forward to now and the project has been completed, with Peter sharing his thoughts. “Embarking on a major store refurbishment is always a daunting prospect, with the likelihood of disruption and the various ‘unknowns’ that can derail even the best laid plans. Having refurbished all our other stores over the past decade, our flagship store in Plymouth was the last due a full overhaul. Originally slated for 2020, the pandemic intervened, but we finally commenced work this Spring.
“For any project to be successful – particularly when being done within a ‘live’ trading environment – planning is the key and we have a fantastic management team who all worked closely together to ensure it could be completed with the minimum of disruption. Working with the main designer Spaceworks, our planning of the finer details regarding project delivery started in the second half of 2023, such that we could ensure key dates in the 21-week programme did not coincide with important promotional periods in our calendar.”
The choice behind Spaceworks was an easy decision, as Peter continued: “Being able to continue to trade throughout and maintaining use of the customer entrance were non-negotiables and the plans allowed for us to always have around 75% of the floorspace available. We chose to use Spaceworks to manage project delivery, including the various major local sub-contractors, so that there was a chain of accountability throughout as well as ensuring our store and head office management team could focus on day-to-day business. The use of a fixed-price contract, subject only to any additions we required as the project progressed, provided fiscal security, and allowed cash-flow to be carefully managed.
“In a challenging early 2024 trading environment and mindful that a dip in store performance would be highly likely as the project progressed, we used it as a genuine reason for a ‘Refurbishment Sale’. This ran for three weeks – from two weeks before the work started until the first week of contractors being on site. This high impact promotion, planned and run in-house on a modest budget, generated good interest from curious customers, with over two months of sales achieved in the three weeks.”
As Phase 1 work started in early April, there was a sense of anticipation among the store team as the temporary dividing wall went up and the area stripped right back to the building frame. “It was reassuring that no major ‘gremlins’ were uncovered, meaning that the Spaceworks team could more accurately plan the timeline for following phases,” Peter said.
“Seeing a design concept come to life day by day was an exciting time. Indeed, the customers coming into the store were keen to find out what was going on – British shoppers, it seems, like nothing more than a little bit of retail chaos. It makes me wonder why we all work so hard to have well laid out and welcoming showrooms!”
The British public also like another thing too while shopping – but more on that a bit later, as Peter talks about moving onto the next Phase’s. “Phase 1 was completed by late May. This allowed us to reoccupy the space and rotate display stock so we could move onto Phase 2, then Phases 3 and 4. Throughout, we managed to maintain our full range of products on display, albeit some ranges featured fewer pieces. Trading performance in store over the project period was stronger than we had anticipated – previous such projects had seen sales weaken appreciably, so this was a welcome surprise.
“As we approached mid-August, Phase 4 neared completion. With the new store layout increasing usable floorspace by over 1,500sqft through the removal of raised display platforms, steps, ramps, fixed walkways and a pond (yes that does say a pond!), the merchandise team had been adding new ranges to the store’s normal product inventory and delivery of these from suppliers began.
“Part of the new store design was changing the way in-store promotional material was displayed, as well as adding scope to ‘theme’ specific areas of the showroom with large wall murals framed with illuminated floating oak frames and new point of sale to create a more contemporary shopping environment. Work on finalising these began during Phase 4 and continued once all the work had been complete.”
Fairway took back the completed store from Spaceworks in early September – on time and within less than 1% of the original contract price, due to minor variations. “Over my 30 years in the business and having been involved with many refurbishment projects, this had been by far the least stressful,” Peter revealed. “This was down to a strong working relationship with Spaceworks – from the initial design phase through to its evolution and on to delivery. It felt like a truly collaborative team project – not one where we were the client and they were the contractor.”
Design vs Reality
It is often the case that a design concept and the delivered reality can be quite different. With this project, however, Peter believes that the end product is better than the original design, principally because of that collaborative approach that didn’t stop when work started. “Getting store designers to truly understand what matters to your business is vital and that empathy then helps shape the design through to delivery.
“We took time back in 2023 to commission prototypes of the shop-fit components so we could put them into the showroom and gather feedback on size, look and impact. This proved to be a valuable investment, as we made some crucial changes to dimensions before commencing the project. Similarly, as the project continued, we did the same with other elements, tweaking little details here and there to make the end result the best it could be.”
Contractor relations
“I am a great believer that strong relationships will always deliver the best results,” continues Peter. “It is not always about the lowest price but rather the ability for the designer and the contractors to understand what you are trying to achieve and then work with you to challenge thinking, suggest alternatives and ultimately produce the outcome that you want.
“We were always keen to use local contractors where possible and working with Spaceworks they understood the importance of that. They quickly formed strong working relationships with the local contractors and from early in Phase 1 it was clear that everyone was committed to delivering the project to the highest possible standards.
“We have used numerous contractors over the years, and I have no hesitation is saying that Spaceworks are among the very best. They possess a real ‘can do’ attitude and were always prepared to go above and beyond to ensure the project remained on schedule. More importantly however, they understood that in retail, you can’t simply shut things down during the day to complete work. This meant that we suffered almost no disruption at all to trading throughout the duration.”
Final verdict…
As Peter reflected over the past few years, from the original decision to start on the refurbishment journey with a new shop design and fit contractor, to the delivery of a store, he believes it now makes Fairway a “true destination furniture store” – both in the city and beyond. “I am both relieved and excited,” he said. “Relieved that it’s over and excited that the feedback from customers has been incredibly positive.
“The store is already attracting a wider age-profile audience and with the increased product range we have been able to now include, we are seeing promising signs that the investment will give us the return we had anticipated.
“Perhaps the most amusing comments from customers however have been about our in-store toilets. We had not intended to include these within the project’s scope but added them mid-way through. They were completely gutted and replaced, designed to blend seamlessly with the store’s fresh new theme. Since they were completed as the last part of the project, every customer using them has offered positive comment. Clearly the British shopper loves nothing more than a stylish loo!”
