Location costs differ from traditional sites
Location costs differ from traditional sites
Making the move to a shopping mall means dealing with costs that are not found in the traditional surgery center setting.
The rent on retail space is more expensive than traditional space, says Marc A. Michelson, MD, of the Michelson Laser Vision Center in Birmingham, AL. Negotiate a lease that sets your rent at a fixed price rather than a percentage of your revenue, which is typical for retail space, Michelson says.
"You are making a sizable investment in staff and equipment that typical retail operations don’t make, and you want to recoup that investment with increasing revenue," he says. A fixed price rental agreement will not eat into future revenue increases, he explains.
You’ll need more space
Lease and finish more space in a retail location than in a traditional setting, says Myles B. Weiner, CEO of Visual Freedom Center in Herndon, VA. "We typically plan on 4,300 square feet for our retail locations, where a typical surgeon’s office is between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet."
The extra space is for educational areas, larger waiting areas, wider hallways, and additional rooms for future expansion, he explains.
"We want the area to be more elegant and more spacious than a typical clinical area so we can get people to walk in," Weiner says. It’s also important to obtain the space you might need for future expansion at the outset since expansion in a retail mall is not easy and could mean a costly move to another location in the mall with more construction costs, he explains.
You have to finish and furnish a retail location site more upscale than traditional sites, says Michelson. For example, furnishings need to be stylish, and areas should not be cramped and crowded, he says.
"It is very important to use a good architect and interior designer who can help you project an elegant, nonclinical image to a target market that will pay for your services out of their own pocket."
For more information about laser vision correction in a mall setting, contact:
• Myles B. Weiner, CEO, Visual Freedom Center, 560 Herndon Parkway, Suite 130, Herndon, VA 20170. Telephone: (703) 471-1533. Fax: (703) 471-5650. E-mail: [email protected]. Web site: www. visualfreedomcenter.com.
• Marc A. Michelson, MD, Michelson Laser Vision, 327 Summit Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35243. Telephone: (205) 969-8100. Web site: www.michelsonlaser.com.
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