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Development Consultancy & Retail Planning

Development Consultancy & Retail Planning

Align the retail concept and physical plan with customers, retailer requirements and commercial objectives.

Husband Retail provides retail strategy consulting for developers and retail destination owners. We connect customer demand, retailer requirements and commercial priorities with the retail concept, tenant mix and physical plan. Our advice supports decisions about the offer, its scale and how the destination can attract suitable tenants and serve its customers.

The Landmark, Hong Kong

Retail planning with a commercial purpose

For a new destination, we define the positioning and retail offer, then align the concept and physical plan with customers, retailer requirements and commercial objectives. Zoning, unit configurations, circulation, access and operating requirements support differentiation, tenant suitability, customer discovery and practical operation. Where appointed, we identify and engage relevant brands, including new-to-market brands.

For an established destination, customer, tenant, market and commercial insight helps shape the next phase. The work can build on existing success, with new retail concepts and new-to-market brands considered where appropriate to positioning and customer demand.

When our involvement is useful

Our involvement can support seven situations, with the scope agreed around the decisions ahead.

  • Defining a destination: establishing the proposition and role of its retail offer.
  • Developing new retail concepts: exploring formats that respond to customer needs.
  • Testing an emerging plan: reviewing its fit with the intended offer and retailer requirements.
  • Aligning development components: connecting retail with other uses and customer journeys.
  • Attracting new-to-market brands: assessing suitable opportunities and engaging brands where appointed.
  • Progressing leasing: taking planning priorities into brand engagement and leasing where appointed.
  • Shaping the next phase of an existing destination: building on success with informed priorities.

Who provides the service

Husband Retail provides the service, working alongside clients, architects, planners and specialist consultants. Our professional profiles describe the experience behind the advice. Responsibilities follow each appointment; architectural and engineering work remains with the appointed specialists.

Meet the team

Outputs that support development decisions

The brief, project stage and agreed scope determine the outputs. The following are examples, not a fixed package. Each supports a decision about the proposition, retail programme or next steps.

Example output Decision it supports
Positioning statements Agree the destination’s intended customers, market role and retail offer.
Concept proposals Assess new retail concepts against customer needs and commercial objectives.
Mix matrices Agree category balance, anchor strategy, broad zoning and area allocations.
Target-brand recommendations Prioritise suitable tenants, including new-to-market brands where appropriate.
Annotated plans Review unit sizes, adjacencies, circulation and operating requirements with the design team.
Research findings Test assumptions about demand, competition and supportable retail scale.
Roadmaps Agree priorities, responsibilities and decisions needed to progress the plan.

Retail planning within the appointment

Commercially informed retail planning connects positioning and market evidence with a clear proposition for customers and prospective tenants. New concepts and suitable new-to-market brands can create distinctive reasons to visit. Tenant mix, broad zoning and anchor strategy translate the offer into relevant adjacencies and reasons to explore.

Unit sizes and configurations support retailer suitability and leasing flexibility. Sight lines and circulation inform visibility, discovery and access; service access supports practical operation. Amenities help people stay and return. The retail programme and design review bring these requirements into discussion with the appointed specialists, with priorities and handover setting out actionable next steps. The scope follows each appointment.

Retail strategy in practice

These examples reflect individual appointments, rather than a standard scope for every project.

Taipei Twin Towers

Taipei Twin Towers Taiwan

For Taipei Twin Towers Limited, our work examined demand, competition and consumer behaviour for a destination connected to Taipei Main Station and the airport MRT. The scope covered supportable scale, positioning, trade mix, zoning, potential brand mix and a design brief for the interior architect.

Seoul IFC

Seoul IFC South Korea

Market research informed recommendations for the retail concept, layout and circulation. Our work included retail unit design reviews and a retailer configuration plan to support leasing.

Sanya Central Business District China

For Gree Real Estate, consumer, retailer and competitor studies informed positioning and the retail offer. The work covered concepts, brand mixes, unit-level tenant recommendations, theming, anchor strategy and broad zoning.

How we work

Timing and sequence vary with the brief, available evidence and project stage. The approach provides a shared basis for decisions rather than a fixed programme.

  1. 01 Brief and priorities

    Establish the brief and priorities. We agree the commercial objectives, decisions required, scope and responsibilities with the client.

  2. 02 Evidence base

    Build the evidence base. We review customer demand, competition and retailer requirements alongside the emerging plan to identify assumptions that need testing.

  3. 03 Concepts and recommendations with the client

    Develop concepts and recommendations collaboratively where included in the scope. We discuss positioning, new retail concepts, tenant mix and planning options with the client, considering their commercial and practical implications.

  4. 04 Agreed direction and next steps

    Agree direction and next steps. We set out priorities and responsibilities for progressing recommendations. Where appointed, brand engagement and leasing translate strategy into tenant opportunities.

What we address

The proposition, customer demand, retailer requirements and physical plan need to support one another. A concept may suit the target customer but require different unit sizes, circulation or service access. This can affect tenant suitability and operational practicality. We review the implications with the client and design team, considering adjustments to the concept, configuration or location.

New retail concept development and new-to-market brand introduction bring choices about differentiation and customer relevance. We assess their role within the tenant mix and balance of retail, dining and entertainment (RDE), then recommend priorities or further testing. Design review provides commercial input on how the plan supports the offer and leasing potential.

Questions about development consultancy and retail planning

What does a shopping mall feasibility study cover

A shopping mall feasibility study examines customer demand, competition and supportable retail scale. Depending on the brief, it can include footfall, sales and rental projections. These inform decisions against stated assumptions; actual performance depends on later leasing and trading conditions.

Can you review an existing design

Yes. The review can examine tenant mix, unit sizes, adjacencies and customer routes against the intended positioning. Recommendations reflect the design stage and decisions still open to the client and design team.

Does development consultancy include leasing

Brand engagement and leasing are included only where appointed. Development consultancy can conclude with recommendations and agreed next steps; tenant approaches and lease negotiations follow the agreed leasing appointment.

Discuss your development

Tell us about the destination, its commercial priorities and the decisions ahead. We can discuss where development consultancy and retail planning would support your next steps.

Discuss your project
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3/F, 8 Queen’s Road East
Wanchai, Hong Kong

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