Fixture Moving 101

In the retail industry, closing a store for a day can mean thousands in lost revenue, dozens of angry customers and lots of stress for all parties involved. Unfortunately, many companies face that challenge whenever they need to renovate their stores. They’re forced to move an entire store out, overhaul what needs to be renovated and then put their store back together. Luckily, there is a company that understands those problems, and the issues managers face when making the decision to renovate. Inside Edge Commercial Interior Services specializes in open store remodeling because of their expertise in moving fixtures. This expertise allows their teams to go into stores after business hours, move fixtures, replace the flooring, and set everything back up before the store reopens. All of this work is done at night so that stores don’t miss out on a day of revenue. This blog will walk through some of the largest issues facing retailers as they go to improve their stores, and how Inside Edge solves those problems with a custom solution that benefits all stakeholders involved.

Fully Loaded Fixtures

A common reason stores need to close down for extended periods of time is because of the amount of time it takes to remove all the merchandise from their shelves. This process of unloading shelves, moving them and then reloading them can be tedious and time consuming. At Inside Edge, they have the equipment and know how to move fixtures with minor de-merchandising and, often times, no de-merchandising at all. This is a huge time saver and leads to money savings for the store. In addition to having the ability to stay open, reducing the amount of time workers spend clearing off shelves can save thousands of dollars.

Different Fixtures

In general, there are four major companies that produce the shelving for most retail stores: Lozier, Madix, Streater and Syndicate. While this does seem like it would make things easier with fewer companies, there is still a lot of diversity in product lines. Each company makes different series from year to year, which makes every move unique. This is where careful and thorough site assessment come into play. In addition to checking for moisture issues and store square footage, the site assessment specialists are checking how a job is going to be done. That includes noting exactly what types of fixtures are at each store. This is critical, especially on multi-store projects. It is often assumed that stores in certain areas will have the same fixtures, however with different store designs and updating schedules, they are often unique.

Safety

A fully loaded fixture can weigh several tons and stand more than 10 feet high. With the massive size, narrow base and high center of gravity, these shelves are at a high risk of falling over. Besides the risk of breaking merchandise in the event of a fall, this poses a huge safety risk to the employees who need to move it. While many companies don’t factor in the proper time needed to safely move these giant pieces of metal, Inside Edge focuses on the safety of their employees. This dedication to safety reduces injuries and helps make everything more efficient in the long run.

Electrical Equipment

Occasionally, stores have fixtures that have been wired with electric to support certain displays. This can pose a huge challenge to those not familiar with the processes needed to move them. Luckily, the installers in Inside Edge’s certified network often have the talent and training to move these fixtures themselves. If not, they know the proper organizations to work with and get it done so customers can remain worry-free.

Proper Equipment

The issues listed above and many others can be solved by employing the proper tools and equipment. While other companies simply think that one size fits all for fixture moving, Inside Edge uses the right equipment for every job. Currently, Inside Edge is strategically aligned with several fixture moving equipment manufacturers, and owns some of their own proprietary technology. It is this dedication to being industry leaders through innovation that sets Inside Edge apart from their competitors. Using proprietary equipment developed alongside fixture moving experts, Inside Edge owns custom jacks that allow them to move fully loaded shelves without worry. Because of the number of strategic alliances that Inside Edge has, they have access to fixture moving equipment for any style of shelving and are able to operate them safely. While many others simply set these massive shelving units onto fixture moving devices and hope they stay balanced, the tools that Inside Edge use lock that fixture into place. This allows Inside Edge to safely move fixtures with much less worry that they will tip over. Inside Edge takes special precautions to ensure that fixtures hooked up with electricity are safely moved, and no damage is done to wiring or the fixtures during moving.

Needing to potentially shut down a store because fixtures need to be moved is a huge worry many retail companies face. This doesn’t have to be the case when working with Inside Edge, as the stress of those decisions can be eased by our knowledgeable and detail-oriented assessment team. Tough projects will be handled safely and quickly using the right equipment, all outside of business hours to avoid costly shut downs.