We certainly needed all of our contingency resources to make this project happen.

When people talk about having a contingency plan it’s normally about having extra cash to cover cost overruns, which we built in to our budget. I built in a two-week time contingency into our store development programme from the expected date when the shop fitting out would end to the store’s opening day.

This time contingency was entirely used up for a variety of unexpected reasons. By themselves, individual issues like making the two store units’ floor levels match or the very hot weather that delayed the commissioning of our refrigeration would not have had a significant impact. The accumulating effect though meant that the two weeks got completely used up.

A team effort

Brad, our builder and Paul the shop fitter and their teams were with us every day right up to the day before our launch. Coupled with Chris, our Parfett’s Business Development Manager and his team of merchandisers, we got the store ready to launch with every shelf fully stocked and ready for our customers.

I couldn’t write this article without mentioning our own team, they have all been brilliant. It would have been so much harder to deliver our new store without them. Our customers have also been very supportive during this project and have put up with a lot of dust and noise as we transformed our store.

Looking ahead

What I do know is that what we have achieved in getting our store project completed is now history. What really counts is what we do with our new enlarged store from now on. Developing the way we use the new fixtures and fitting to deliver what our customers want will be key to increasing sales and our profitability. I think that I will have plenty more to write about for Better Retailing in the coming months.

Continue reading to see the exact day-by-day programme of Jai’s store redevelopment