Shop fitting

Shop fitting (shopfitting) is the trade of fitting out retail and service shops and stores with equipment, fixtures and fittings. The trade applies to all kinds of outlets from small corner shops to hypermarkets. A shop fitter executes planning, designs shop layout and installs equipment and services. A shop fitting firm typically incorporates professional expertise in interior design, manufacturing of bespoke furniture, signage and fittings (with own or outsourced facilities) and purchasing of retail equipment.

A shop fitting cycle begins with a survey and measurement of available space and preparing design drawings for submission to the client. Alternatively, the client may have their own drawings prepared by an independent interior designer. The shop fitter arranges for purchase of standard equipment and merchandise or production of bespoke, delivers and physically installs them—until the shop is ready for daily operation.

There are different requirements to the different branches and types of shop. Fashion shop design requires up-to-the-minute awareness of current trends in colour and style to create stores that will draw customers in.

Shop Fitting Profession

Shop Fitting is a profession that involves the fitting of retail outlets like corner shops, department stores, convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets with equipment, fixtures and fittings. It’s carried out by a shop fitter who executes all planning, design, layout and installation of equipment and services. A shop fitter brings interior design expertise and assists in the design of bespoke furniture, fittings and signage and with the buying of the retail equipment.

The process begins with a survey of the retail premises and measurement of available space. The next stage is the preparation of designs and these are submitted to the client for review and approval. Some clients provide their own design drawings that are drawn by another interior designer. Finally the shop fitter arranges for the purchase of standard equipment and the production of the bespoke furniture, which is delivered and installed – ready for the shop operation.