Commercial Construction & Renovation

JAN-FEB 2014

Commercial Construction & Renovation helps our subscribers design, build and maintain better commercial facilities by delivering content to meet the information needs of today's high-level executives.

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18 CommerCial ConstruCtion & renovation — January : February 2014 Advertorial on foreign soil How to construct a retail store in asia By Stephen Hekman As a start, it's important to consider that before an Asian retail site has been confrmed, you typically need at a minimum of three to six months to source local construction materials, i.e., paint, tile, ceiling tile, grout, wood fooring, lighting, curtain wall materials and even fxtures. In addition, it's important to identify your construction materials as early in the construction process as possible. Doing this, and building in adequate time for delivery into the construction schedule, will help you ensure a better quality construction result. In one example, a retailer shipped all the paint needed for its project stores from the United States to China. Its intent was to insure its locations had the specifc paint necessary to present its brand. But, due to unforeseen consequence, the materials were held up in customs for an indefnite length of time. The delay had a signifcant impact on the construction schedule. In another situation, because of the strict local fre restrictions, a retailer's standard mineral ceiling tile and new sheet metal tiles had to be sourced locally as an alternate during construction. These were costly mistakes that could have been avoided with a little research ahead of time. Remember: The best savings are derived from purchasing your construction materials locally. Logistically, the speed to market realized with sourcing the con- struction materials locally far outweighs the risk of relying on importing to the Asian market. Sourcing local materials also provides greater fexibility in the event the original materials takeoff is incorrect. Sourcing construction materials locally also increases the odds that the stores will have the ability to open quicker with a more consistent look that maintains the design integrity. In addition to logistical and schedule savings, additional long- term cost savings normally are realized after the store has opened by enabling materials for repair and maintenance to be purchased locally for normal maintenance for the life of the store. W hen constructing a retail store in Asia, what common sense steps can retailers take to help keep costs down while trying to match the level of quality of construction that exists at their existing North American stores? Stephen Hekman is VP of Retail Services for Kingsmen Projects PTE. He can be reached at Hekman@kingsmen-int.com It's important to identify your construction materials as early in the construction process as possible. CCR-JanFeb.14_991-.indd 18 2/7/14 2:01 PM

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