How to rent retail premises: street frontage, mall or kiosk
Location matters more than size
In retail, footfall and visibility make the money. Premises on the main road with display windows and a separate entrance cost something different from the same space in a courtyard or on the first floor. In a mall you can take a kiosk or a small stand when you need a flow of people without much space. So before you compare prices, decide what matters more to you: the flow of shoppers, the visibility of your sign, or a quiet street for clients who come “by appointment”.
What to put in your request
- type of premises — a street shop, in a mall, a kiosk or a stand;
- area or address — city, locality, street or a landmark, for example a metro station or a market;
- size — in sq ft;
- rent — per month in total or per sq ft;
- kind of business — café, pharmacy, groceries, showroom;
- entrance and frontage — main-road frontage, a separate entrance, display windows, ground floor;
- water, drainage, exhaust hood — what your business needs;
- electrical power — in kW;
- condition — ready, fitted out or a bare shell;
- rental term — for example, from three years.
Example: “Looking for premises for a café in Sydney, near a metro station, 550 sq ft, main-road frontage with a separate entrance. I need water, drainage, an exhaust hood and 30 kW. Rent up to $1,700 a month, agreement from 3 years.”
What to ask the owner
Ask them to list the whole sum: whether there are separate charges for maintenance, cleaning, advertising in the mall or a share of turnover. In malls a variable part is sometimes added to a fixed rate. Check whether you may put up a sign and where exactly, because your visibility from the street depends on it.
For a café or a pharmacy, check that your type of business is allowed in these premises and that there is a ventilation duct. Ask about a rent-free period for fit-out: if the premises are a bare shell, you can ask for the first months free or at a discount. A typical mistake is to sign a long agreement without finding out the terms for leaving early and the rent increases.
How it works through BlaBlaPrice
You write a request once, and owners and agents reply with offers in the chat: which premises, the price, the terms, photos. BlaBlaPrice shows the offer that is best on the merits first, and owners see where they stand among the others and often improve their terms. Contacts stay hidden until you choose the offer you need. More: how it works.
If you want an office rather than a shop, look at offices to rent. For big warehouses there is a separate category, warehouses and industrial premises to rent.
