White Paper Reports Sharp Increases in Cap Ex

Capital Expenditures among retail companies are of major interest to the members of the at-retail merchandising and marketing service industry. It is from this pot of money that retailers reinvest in their business in the form of technology, opening new stores and remodeling existing stores. Many members of NARMS, especially those in the Professional Installation Companies (PIC) Division, play an integral role in helping chains get new stores opened and old stores looking new.

According to a new white paper by Colliers International, as reported on by Chain Store Age, retail companies are making sharp increases in capital expenditure budgets for 2012. Retailers are using a good share of these funds to upgrade stores and open new stores. The report also sees a rise in experimenting with smaller prototypes. That is an extension of a trend seen in the last 18 months and could result in tremendous business opportunities for companies who go into a location and build-out stores from the floor up, walls in and ceiling down.

Obviously that is good news, but it is where the tech investments are going that might be even better. The report says that the technological investments are being made toward systems that better integrate all sales channels. They are looking for a multi-channel experience that becomes highly personalized in-store. This shopper experience offers a contrast, and yet still is an extension of the growing on-line experience.

What does all this mean? It means physical changes to the at-retail environment. Those physical changes need to be done on-time; on-budget and often times while the retailer is still open for business. The members of the PIC Division bring expertise and experience to the process of opening new stores. These agents of change help retail customers get the most out of there Cap Ex budgets and they do it in an efficient, safe and customer friendly manner.