Canadian Music Trade - December/January 2019 | Page 22

MAINTAINING THE VIBE
PRE-MOVE CHECKLIST
Colliers Canada has a comprehensive Retail Space
Relocation Checklist available on its website at
www.collierscanada.com. Here’s a selection of a few key
items to consider ahead of your move.
As he was drawing up different potential layouts for the new space, Dudley says he was
very cognizant about keeping the “vibe” of Dave’s Drum Shop intact; after all, he was serv-
ing a dedicated customer base that was obviously drawn to what he was doing.
That said, the shift from a relatively small, tightly-packed converted home to a
larger open concept space with a modern industrial aesthetic is a significant one, and
at least in terms of appearance, it would be more than a challenge to replicate those
surroundings.
GENERAL
• Inventory existing furniture, fixtures, and retail stock
• Create new retail display floor plan
• Code furniture and equipment on a colour-coded
floor plan
• Audit keys
• Order new fixtures, furniture, and equipment as
needed
• Check your insurance coverage for the move
• File change-of-address forms with post office and
forward mail
• Advise suppliers of new address
• Mail moving notices to:
• Banks and financial institutions
• Clients and customers (with old and new
location hours and opening/closing dates)
• Professional organizations
• Business vendors
• Credit accounts and credit cards
• Insurance companies
• Accounts receivable and payable
• Newspaper and magazine subscriptions
• Telephone company and internet service
provider
• Prospects and special services
• Schedule marketing and public relations efforts,
including news releases and grand opening event
or sale
• Arrange for listing on directory of new building
• Arrange for post-move cleaning
STEVE’S MUSIC’S NEW MONTREAL LOCATION
“I was a bit worried about the vibe in the back of my mind,” Dudley admits – “that
people would miss that funky, one-of-a-kind, old-school vibe, but I’ve always consid-
ered my store as being about what I have in it and the mix of products we’ve curated
and the way we present and sell it. I’m of the mindset that it’s not as much about the
space itself.”
INTERNAL
• Organize a staff moving committee if appropriate
and delegate responsibilities
• Develop a master relocation project schedule
• Arrange for staff to tour new premises a few weeks
prior to moving
• Schedule and prepare agenda for employee move
orientation meeting
• Finalize a new merchandise display plan
• Prepare labels for moving furniture and boxes to
new location
• Assign move supervisors per department
• Schedule and implement a clean-up program
(purge files, dispose of trash, etc.)
• Schedule staff for unpacking new stock displays,
stocking supply cabinets, storerooms, etc.
• Arrange for disposition of any unsold clearance
merchandise
• Pack contents of all filing cabinets and desks with
proper labels
• Schedule post-move training for security, fire, and
life safety procedures at the new facility
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CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
STEVE’S MUSIC GM SHELDON SAZANT
The idea of “maintaining the vibe” is one that Steve’s Music faced with the move of
its flagship Montreal store in the second half of 2017. The iconic retailer was essentially
forced out of its longtime home – a one-of-a-kind series of sprawling storefronts on
St-Antoine Street with a character all its own – and the new location they’d settled on
was a more modern, open-concept space along the bustling Ste-Catherine Street East.
Speaking with Canadian Music Trade for a cover story in early 2018, Storeowner
Michael Kirman and GM Sheldon Sazant said that despite the major change and its as-
sociated frustrations and emotions, they saw the move as a tremendous opportunity.
They sought a space in the downtown core that was close to the previous loca-
tion, accessible via public transit and local highways, and had an overall footprint akin
to their previous home.
“I didn’t want to shrink the business and I also wanted to modernize it, and have a
little more of an open concept,” Kirman shares.
Taking over the new space when it was essentially a concrete shell provided
them the opportunity to work closely with a Montreal-based design firm, Loda Design,
to create a retail experience that, though updated for a new generation, still maintains