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What recession? Retailers still spending on store maintenance, upgrades

June 28, 2009

Building Design & Construction: Not all is bleak on the retail construction scene. Though most retailers have scaled back their new store development plans (some considerably), many have redeployed staff to focus on upgrading and better maintaining existing stores to a degree not typically seen in the past.

It wasn't that long ago that retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and others minimized their capital expenditures in existing store locations for the simple reason that they didn't plan on staying long. From the 1970s through the 1990s, many retailers, including both large and small box owners, planned on staying less than 20 years. Now, the majority of these firms plan on being in the same location for twice that long.

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