How to Open a Retail Franchise Store

Opening a franchise retail store involves pre-planning and preparation.

Opening a retail franchise store takes a considerable amount of planning and preparation. It is important to thoroughly read and understand the franchise agreement as it may specify exactly what must be done and even how it must be done. Planning steps include selecting a location, signing a lease agreement, hiring a contractor, ordering products and supplies, setting up business accounts and orchestrating the grand opening of the store.

Things You'll Need

• Franchise agreement
• Lease agreement
• Internet connection
• Contractor
• Store inventory
• Store fixtures, equipment
• Attorney
• Accountant
• Employees
• Bank and merchant accounts

Instructions

1. 

   Research locations for opening your retail franchise store.

   Find a location for your business. Research shopping malls and strip centers for the best location. Find out demographics, average income and rent for each location. Visit each possible location and look at the retail space and analyze traffic. Items to evaluate include amount of walk-by traffic, destination stores nearby and the number of shoppers that pass by the location in one hour. Location can be very important to retail sales.

2. Sign a lease agreement. Review the lease agreement with an attorney and go over all the fine print. Some malls will charge a flat rental fee and then if your sales go over a certain dollar amount you have to pay additional rent. Rates are typically quoted in dollars per square foot. Monthly maintenance fees are also common for retail stores.

3. 

   Signs and displays for a retail business are a necessary start-up cost.

   Schedule construction. Find a reputable contractor and schedule construction or renovation of your leased retail space. Refer to the franchise agreement to make sure that all specifications conform to what your franchisor requires for your franchise business. It is best to have an opening date listed in the contract with penalty charges if the construction goes past the opening date.

   Monitor the progress of the contractor on a daily basis. Order any store fixtures, signs, cash registers and other display equipment that will be needed. Many franchisors negotiate volume discounts for the products needed for setting up the store.

4. Order products. Many companies can deliver products within weeks of an order, others require months. Meet with sales representatives from various companies to plan your beginning inventory and establish accounts. Many large suppliers will require you to establish a letter of credit to place orders. Some franchise agreements stipulate that all products must be ordered through them.

5. Open business accounts. Set up your business bank and merchant accounts. Have any equipment for credit card processing installed as soon as possible. Other requirements include setting up payroll withholding accounts, getting business insurance, a federal tax identification number and a business license.

   Also, meet with your attorney and accountant to finalize all set-up details, and hire employees.

6. Set up your store. You can start setting up all the store fixtures and filling the store with inventory after construction. This process can take several weeks, depending on how large your store is, how much inventory you have and how much help you have.

7. Open your store. Plan your grand opening and open your franchise store. Purchase ads in newspapers, radio, television and in appropriate websites. Publishing a press release is also a good idea.

References

• Life 123: How to Open a Retail Store
• World Village: How to Open a Retail Store
• Home Business Center: How to Start a Retail or Consignment Clothing Business