New Store Sets

The final stages of a new store project are always demanding. The build-out may be almost finished, but that’s just the start. The real challenge is transforming that space into a store ready for customers. Fixtures need to be installed. Merchandise must be received and placed. Signage and presentation have to meet brand standards. Every detail, big and small, looms ahead before the first customer walks through the door.

Most new store set partners simply manage the process. We’ve lived it. As retailers and merchants ourselves, that distinction matters. We’ve opened countless stores — our own and for top retail brands — so we know firsthand how to orchestrate every last detail that must come together in those final weeks before opening.

SB360 is always at the forefront of equipping retailers with valuable resources, and OpenRight, our best-practice new store set program, is another indispensable tool. OpenRight brings together seasoned retail professionals with deep merchandising and operational backgrounds, giving retailers an experienced team on the ground when they need it most. We bridge the gap between a nearly finished site and a store ready to welcome customers.

Our principals assign every OpenRight team based on the project’s unique needs, matching merchants and specialists to each retailer’s brand. Team members understand the pressures and sensitivities of new store projects. They know how stores should look, how they need to function, and what can go wrong when timelines are tight and multiple teams are working toward the same opening date.

OpenRight teams lead the entire new store set process, freeing store management to focus on operations, staffing, and training. Because every retailer has a distinct approach to launching new stores, we don’t use a one-size-fits-all playbook. We tailor our process to each brand’s standards, timeline, and internal teams.

• All merchandise flow and floor sets — from the receiving area to fixtures to the stockroom. The team ensures every piece of merchandise throughout the store is properly spotted and placed.
• Consistent execution of a brand’s merchandising techniques and standards — fixture by fixture, area by area. Details matter, and we don’t overlook anything.
• Stockroom setup — from the initial configuration of each stockroom to the training of personnel to manage the ongoing organization and flow as merchandise receipts continue to arrive.
• Setting up customer service and cash wrap areas — ensuring all service spaces are fully supplied and operational.
• Maintaining daily store upkeep — clearing trash, overstock, and unnecessary fixtures throughout the store set.

The result is a more organized, efficient opening process — one that protects the retailer’s brand, reduces the burden on internal teams, and helps bring new stores to life with confidence.

What is always consistent from client to client is the experience behind the service. Every practice OpenRight brings — how we sequence a floor set, how we anticipate problems before they become delays, how we keep a hundred moving parts on schedule — comes from having done this so many times as retailers first. That’s the difference between a team that manages new store projects and one that’s actually run them.

Ready to open new stores? Give us a call — let’s make sure they OpenRight.