Multi-Store Rollout Planning Guide

Planning a gondola rollout across multiple store locations requires standardizing specifications before the first order ships. Height, section width, finish, and base bracket type decisions made inconsistently in the first two stores become permanent fixture incompatibilities that complicate every future addition and replacement across the chain. The cost of specification inconsistency compounds with every store added.

Specification Standardization

The single most important decision in a multi-store rollout is specifying height, section width, and finish consistently across all locations. These three variables determine which replacement components can be shared across the chain. A chain where store A has 84in Platinum sections and store B has 72in Charcoal sections cannot share replacement uprights, rails, or back extensions between locations. Every location requires its own separate parts inventory.

Before placing the first order, define: the primary gondola height for all customer-facing aisles, the section width standard (36in or 48in), the primary finish, and the base bracket type for heavy-load categories. Apply this specification to the entire rollout before beginning installation. Exceptions for individual locations should be deliberate and documented, not the result of ad hoc specification decisions at each site.

Lead Time Management

Standard finishes (Platinum, Charcoal, Cool White) usually ship in 1-3 business days and support phased installation without long advance ordering requirements. Catalog finishes require 8-10 week lead time and must be ordered at least 10 weeks before each installation date. For rollouts specifying catalog finishes, map the installation schedule first, then work backward to determine when each location's catalog finish order must be placed.

Lead time risk in a multi-store rollout is concentrated in the first installation. Problems discovered at the first location, component count errors, specification mismatches, installation sequence issues, should be resolved before ordering for the next location. Building a buffer of 2-3 weeks between installations gives time to identify and address first-location issues without delaying the full rollout schedule.

Installation Phasing

Phasing a rollout by location allows for learning from earlier installations before committing the full specification to all remaining stores. The recommended approach: complete the first location fully, operate it for 2-4 weeks, identify any specification issues (wrong shelf depth for a category, insufficient section count in a zone, finish that does not match the store's lighting), and incorporate those findings into the specification for subsequent locations.

Do not phase a rollout by component type across locations (i.e., installing uprights in all stores before installing shelves in any store). Component-type phasing creates stores that are partially installed for extended periods, which complicates product placement and creates safety risks from incomplete sections.

Component List Standardization

Maintain a master component list with Lozier part numbers that applies across all locations. A consistent component list means future reorders for any location can be placed from the master list without re-specifying. It also allows component inventory to be shared across locations in the same geographic region, a replacement upright ordered for one store can be used in another if the specifications are the same.

How the Client Portal and Store Planner Work Together

The two tools are built around the way a multi-store rollout actually runs, not around single-store commerce. Each rollout gets a shared project space in the client portal with one master fixture spec at the top and a separate record for every location underneath. The master spec sits at the top of the rollout as the source of truth; each location record inherits it unless a per-location override is set. When a location diverges from the master, the divergence is captured explicitly on that location record so nothing drifts silently. When location 4 needs a per-location override, that override is explicit on the location record and does not silently drift out of the master BOM.

The Store Planner is where each location gets its own layout. Drag island runs, wall runs, end caps, checkout counters, and freestanding fixtures onto a scaled floor. Plans save into the shared project so approvers see them without a Dropbox link. Comments thread on specific fixtures. Revisions stack, and previous versions stay in the audit trail so what a store manager approved and what the install crew builds match on paper.

Every rollout, regardless of size, is one project in the admin with each location as a child record. Your rep works from the rollout record, not from fifteen separate email threads, so questions on one location have context from the whole program.

Start Your Rollout

The fastest path from intent to first approved layout is the intake form below. Submitting opens a rollout record in the client portal and assigns a rep. The rep responds within one business day with next steps, opens the per-location records with you, and starts the layouts in the Store Planner.

Compatible Products

• Island Sections standardize section specifications across all rollout locations
• Wall Sections perimeter gondola with consistent finish and back panel specifications
• Uprights standardize height across all locations for shared inventory compatibility
• TL and DL Shelves standardize depth specifications to simplify future replacement orders