More than a place for the front door and a sign, your store’s exterior says a lot about your business. Retailers only get so many chances to make a good first impression, so it’s important to evaluate your storefront and make changes that will draw in more customers.
Paint & Decorating Retailer spoke with two paint retailers who recently tackled exterior renovation projects. They share why updating their stores’ exteriors was important for their businesses and best practices for planning your own exterior renovation project.
Taking On 2 at a Time
When owner Gordon Anderson established Alpine Paint Co., he went into the venture knowing there would be several renovation projects in his future. Anderson opened the first Alpine Paint store in Breckenridge, Colorado, in April 2013, hiring a manager and securing a building lease in just a few months. The business soon outgrew the space, and Anderson added a second location in June 2015 in Silverthorne, Colorado.
“We opened the Breckenridge store with the intention of serving all of Summit County from that location,” Anderson says. “We found that location was too far removed from the other side of the county, so we searched for a spot in Silverthorne and purchased two buildings on Blue River Parkway, the main thoroughfare.”
The two buildings Anderson bought in Silverthorne were built in the 1960s and hadn’t been updated since the 1980s, but were located in front of a popular shopping center with excellent street exposure.
“We went in knowing we’d have to do an exterior renovation because the buildings were an eyesore,” Anderson says. “After we opened, our contractor customers loved our new location in that part of the county and would come in, but we were having a hard time getting our retail customers in the door. We thought an exterior renovation would help bring them in.”
Renovations began in 2017 and included a complete exterior overhaul with new siding, lighting, cedar wood beams and an Alpine Paint sign. The cedar beams fit into the architecture of the area; the shopping center behind the paint store has a similar look with rustic beams and stone.
Another major part of that store’s renovation was repaving the parking lot.
“We discovered that even after the exterior remodel, female customers were still reluctant to come in because our parking lot was so full of potholes and in bad shape,” Anderson says. “Traffic of DIY customers significantly increased after the parking lot was paved.”
Over at the Breckenridge location, exterior renovations also started in 2017. That storefront needed new siding and had a lean-to roof that was causing issues for customers in the winter. The way the roof was designed, it dumped snow into the parking lot and front entrance. The renovation eliminated the snow issue and updated the look of the building, making it more welcoming to customers.
Both renovation projects took four to five months to complete. Neither store needed to close during the construction, as each had a side or back entrance that customers were able to use instead of the main entrance. Anderson says they also increased delivery services during that time to accommodate customers.
Taking on one major renovation project can be difficult enough; tackling two at once requires twice the energy and effort. But for Anderson, both were necessary and the end result is what they were hoping to achieve.
“The city of Silverthorne is especially appreciative since that building was in such disrepair,” Anderson says. “Both locations now allow us to better serve our customers and be the go-to store for painting products in Summit County.”
An Eye-Popping Entrance
Since the 1970s, Ideal Home & Paint Supply has been operating in St. George, Utah, providing automotive paint and supplies to customers and businesses in the area.
In that time, the business has expanded and now includes a home division that sells paint, architectural coatings, decor and more.
Both divisions were working out of the same building in Old Town St. George, but it soon became clear the home division needed its own space, says sales manager Dusty Saxton. Old Town didn’t have many options for a new location, but the newer part of the town, located across a mesa, had opportunities for expansion, as well as little competition from other paint stores. Two years ago, the company purchased another building in St. George and the home paint division moved across town into a building that once housed the local newspaper, The Spectrum.
“Everyone in our area knew that building as the former Spectrum newspaper building, so we wanted to do something to the outside that let everyone know the building was now the Ideal Paint building,” Saxton says.
“The building is in an industrial area, so we wanted an exterior that would appeal to customers and catch their eye from the road.”
And catch customers’ eyes it does.
The entrance features a wall of glass windows around the front door with four large paint cans that appear to be pouring paint down the glass. The Ideal Paint logo sits above the paint cans. Along with an eye-catching front entrance, colorful banners run the length of the large building, which has 3,000 square feet of retail space and an additional 10,000 square feet of storage space in the warehouse. The banners feature various paint products, and each banner features a single color family, including yellow, orange and purple.
“Because the building is so large, it made sense to have a huge, bold exterior that catches your eye and your attention,” Saxton says.
Saxton says the company utilized the services of its in-house designer, Kasi Miller, when designing the exterior.
“We knew we wanted something eye-popping, but weren’t sure what it should look like exactly, so we went to Kasi and asked her to create the design,” Saxton says.
The creative designs flow into the interior of the store as well. As customers walk in the front door, their eyes are drawn to a wall that mirrors the entrance, with the impression of paint streaking down the wall. A giant paint can and paintbrush sit over the sales counter, and Saxton says there are plans for a local muralist to fill a large blank wall in the store with a colorful paint-themed mural.
The exterior renovation has achieved its goal, which was to set Ideal Home & Paint Supply apart from the competition.
“We tried to separate ourselves from other paint stores in all areas, including the way our store looks,” Saxton says. “Our designs have paid off, as we have so many customers, and even some sales reps, come in and say that our exterior is impressive.”
