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Should Merchants Share Space to Cut Costs and Build Sales?

June 17, 2013Written by RetailWire Staff

It isn't a new idea, but many retailers think it's a good one. In order to attract more customers, retailers are sharing space with complementary businesses.

One recent addition is Walmart's agreement with Seattle's Best to open in its parking lots. Seattle's Best already had what its VP and general manager, Frank Sica, called a "strong relationship with Walmart," so the link seems natural. Bloomberg quotes him as saying, "Our customer is definitely on the go — they're value conscious and they're in need of a better cup of coffee."

Difficult economic conditions, plus extra efforts required to attract customers, make the idea of sharing real estate increasingly attractive to retailers both large and small.

MINDS Eye Bookstore of Mount Clemens, Michigan, which specializes in books about metaphysics and alternative healing, found a match by sharing its building with a yoga studio. In Atlanta, a coffee shop and bakery saw the light, encouraged by a landlord wanting to lease more space.

Way over in Australia, Wendy Jackson started a website called Shops to Share, "aimed at anyone who wants to share or source shop space," according to startupsmart.com. Described as "the retailers' meeting place," Ms. Jackson got the idea when her one-woman business had more space than it needed. Explaining that creating "a more community-friendly, interdependent retail sector could mean survival for many," she added that her goal is to "help to boost small business nationally and help our small retailers to not only survive but flourish and end each month with more cash in their pockets."

Ms. Jackson worries that retailers may fail to innovate in attempts to battle a tough economic environment. "Multifaceted" stores have distinct advantages, she believes, for retailers, landlords and consumers.

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