Choosing a retail location is one of the most important decisions a business owner will make, and one of the hardest to undo. A great store in the wrong place will always struggle.

Your location shapes who walks past, who walks in and who comes back. The right location goes beyond a busy street. Foot traffic only matters if the people passing by are the people you want to serve. Visibility matters too: can your store be seen and recognised from a distance? So does access: is it easy to reach, park near and walk into?

The surroundings play a role as well. The brands and stores around you can strengthen your position or weaken it, depending on whether they attract the same kind of customer. And the cost of the space has to make sense against the sales it can realistically generate.

In this video, we break down the criteria that make a retail location the right one for your business, and what to look at before you sign the lease. The right location makes your store work with its surroundings, not against them.