DROGHEDA RETAIL UNITS GET MAKEOVER
Following the closing down of the second of two retail units in Fitzwilliam Court in Drogheda last December, Fitzwilliam properties called upon Virtual Shopfronts this month to help transform the vacant and negative looking shopfronts with the objective of bringing positivity back to the space and to inspire new business.
As is all too common in the current economy, the retail sector continues to be hit resulting in the closing down of many retail units around the country. Whilst the main cities around the country and indeed around the globe are being more resilient, satellite towns and suburbs of main cities are being badly effected.
Two such units to become the latest victims of the current climate were a former Cafe and Indian restaurant in Drogheda town. Both units have been closed since last year and the management company wanted something done with them to help bring life back to the courtyard space and to help let or sell the vacant units. After viewing some of the work we have done around the country and abroad, Fitzwilliam Properties contacted us to see what could be done.
“For us, it was a straight forward project” says our Virtual Shopfront MD, Nicholas Polley. ” We suggested a number of different types of Virtual Shopfronts that could be installed in both units and following discussions with the client it was quickly decided, from digtial mockups produced, that our Virtual Shopfront Cafe and Launderette would be installed. From there it was simply a matter of modifying our window graphics to fit each unit to scale, outputting them at very high resolution, and then getting them printed and installed. The workflow was very smooth with little to now work on the side of the client”
With both units now fully installed, our client is extremely happy with the results which we are confident will achieve their objective. These are photos of the installed units. (Unfortunately the lovely palm tree impedes the view of our Launderette but you can still get the picture!)
If you have a vacant retail unit or units that could benefit from our Virtual Shopfronts, please contact us to discuss. You can also view our vStock library here and choose a Virtual Shopfront for your vacant retail unit.
VIRTUAL SHOPFRONTS TO APPEAR IN CANADA!
Virtual Shopfronts are delighted to announce that we are about to install two of our Virtual Shopfronts in the following vacant retail premises in downtown Toronto.
Virtual Shopfronts were approached just before Christmas by Jones Lang LaSalle Canada to take a look at the above vacant retail premises. The vacant units are in a busy retail part of the city and JLL want improve their appearance. However their main goal is to attract attention and ultimately do something that will help let the premises. Traditional methods of letting or selling a vacant retail unit is to have the selling agents logo appear in the window of retail units containing basic contact details. However with the recession still biting hard this form of advertising no longer grabs attention. Something different needed to be done and that something are the Virtual Shopfronts.
Nicholas Polley, our Managing Director of Virtual Shopfronts is very excited with this particular project and what it could lead to. ” We are all really very excited that our Virtual Shopfronts will be appearing in Toronto and we believe that they will be the first of many to appear abroad. These are the first installations outside of Ireland but we never expected them to be as far away as Canada. That said there is no difference to us whether it is Canada or our nearest neighbour, the UK, because the same processes apply”.
But with selling products abroad comes difficulties and certain logistical issues no matter what the product is. Nicholas continued “Whilst there has been some logistical issues to work out in terms of printing and installation, ultimately the process has been very smooth. Once we educated the client on the concept and how the Virtual Shopfronts are created, and how they work, it was plain sailing. Our Virtual Shopfronts grab attention and our a unique way to help sell or let any vacant retail premises no matter where in the world they are installed.”
What helps clients greatly is the digital mock-up we do for every Virtual Shopfront we are going to install (see below). Whilst this is not an exact representation of scale or how the installed product will look, it does give our client a very good understanding of the installed product. This digital mock-up is provided free of charge when we submit a proposal.
For this project, the final graphics are in the process of being signed off and once this happens they will be sent electronically to the client for local printing and installation. It’s an exciting time not only for Virtual Shopfronts but for the client who cannot wait to see the vacant retail units transformed.
If you have a vacant retail premises and you are interested in boosting it’s chances of being noticed and being sold or let quicker than expected, then get in touch with us and we can help. You can view our library of Virtual Shopfronts and the ones we have installed here and learn what Virtual Shopfronts are from watching the video here.
