Kohl’s opened 80 stores in one day last month – an impressive feat, but also one with multiple challenges, from site selection to store design to construction.

One of the last items on Kohl’s punchlist was getting 80 stores’ worth of fixtures delivered, assembled, installed and merchandised so the doors could open on time. That doesn’t mean that fixture installation is the last issue retailers address. “Far from it; we started lining up manufacturers, installers and truckers a year ago,” says Art Papaceno, the retailer’s director of store planning and design. “It’s a huge jigsaw puzzle. But we assign a small group of people to a store and give them three weeks. You can get a lot of work done if that’s all you’re doing.”

Very few retailers try to open 80 stores in a single day. But getting even one store’s fixtures ready for a grand opening requires coordination and planning. To accomplish that, retailers have a variety of fixture installation options: using their own in-house staffs or in-store personnel; hiring delivery and installation companies; turning the job over to their general contractor or fixture manufacturer; or using the services of a growing community of turnkey fixture providers who manage the entire job, from concept through manufacture to delivery and installation.

Whichever course you go, warns Jon Glanz of J. Glanz Associates (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.), make sure the installation crew is well-versed in retailing. “I’ve found that too many ‘national’ installation companies claim they have trained personnel around the country, when what they really do is send one of their guys into a market to hire local carpenters,” says Glanz, a turnkey fixture consultant. “They might not be people he’s ever worked with before – or people who’ve done any retail jobs.”

Another source of installation help is the commercial shipper that transports and delivers your fixtures. For example, Atlas Van Lines Inc. (Evansville, Ind.), one of the largest commercial movers in North America, offers many installation services. When you do business with companies the size of Atlas or UniGroup Inc. (Fenton, Mo.), the amalgam of United Van Lines and Mayflower, you tend to get specialists in the complicated delivery-and-installation project (many pieces to many different stores across the country) who understand retailers’ needs – such needs as delivering after hours when shoppers aren’t in the store; avoiding safety problems, like blocking fire exits or aisles; working around sprinkler systems, security systems, baseboards, wall protrusions and other architectural impediments; getting 1300-pound cabinets up and down the stairs; placating the store manager who insists his store is the most important; and generally solving problems.

Darlene Duff, supervisor of national accounts for Atlas’ specialized transportation group, says, “Our mind-set has to be to do whatever it takes to get the job done – especially the more complicated ones, like delivering to and installing 200 different stores around North America in two weeks. We have nearly 400 agents around the country to warehouse the fixtures so we can reschedule deliveries to accommodate stores’ changing needs. But we try to adhere to the schedule so we have as few drop-offs as possible. Less handling equals less damage.”

Even if you’re not opening 80 stores on a Sunday, here are some tips the experts recommend for choosing an installation source:

• What kinds of projects do they do? Home Depot is not Hugo Boss.

• Do they maintain their own staffs around the country? Or do they subcontract as needed?

• Do they provide one go-to person, 24/7, that you can contact to make decisions, solve problems, change plans, make recommendations?

• Do you need experienced carpentry?

That last question is often an important one. There are jobs for which inexperienced carpenters – or even non-carpenters – might be all right. Papaceno says one or two experienced contractors is fine if the job is mostly pure labor – unloading the truck and moving the fixtures into place. “We just need a couple of lead guys who understand us and our specs,” he says. But if the installation project is complicated, you need people who know and understand retailing.

“More and more, installers must understand the demands of opening a store,” Glanz says. “Deadlines are tight, the window for meeting those are narrow and timing is everything. Any delay in fixture installation directly affects the time the visual team and the store staff have to set the merchandise and rig the displays, potentially causing the biggest disaster of all – not having the store ready for the ribbon-cutting.“

Photo courtesy of Kohl's Corp., Menomonee Falls, Wis.