Retail Expansion Planning
A structured engagement to take your shop from one successful site to a second location with a documented plan, budget, and opening timeline.
View advisory scope →Melbourne · Retail Expansion
From one successful shop to a second door that actually trades
Poplar Way Advisory Partners works with independent retailers who have outgrown a single site and need a grounded plan before signing a lease, ordering stock, or hiring floor staff.
What we do
Advisory built around shop-floor reality
We help owners of boutiques, homewares stores, specialty grocers, and small retail chains plan their next location with numbers, foot traffic context, and staffing that match how you already run your first shop.
Site Selection Review
Independent assessment of up to three shortlisted retail premises before you sign a lease.
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Staffing & Operations Plan
Roster design, role descriptions, and handover procedures for running two retail sites without burning out your existing team.
View advisory scope →Evidence
Retailers who opened with a plan
The lease review alone saved us from a 42-square-metre site with a loading dock that would have blocked our Saturday deliveries. We ended up in Brunswick Street with room for the workshop table we needed.
Helen MarshOwner, Marsh & Coil homewares — Fitzroy
Poplar Way mapped our stock split between two stores so we did not duplicate slow lines. The second shop was profitable in month four, though I wish we had started the hiring plan a fortnight earlier.
David OkonkwoFounder, Okonkwo Pantry — Preston & Coburg
Field Notes
Guides for shop owners weighing a second site
Shopping Centre or High Street for Your Second Shop?
How to weigh rent structures, foot-traffic patterns, and fit-out rules when choosing between a mall unit and a street-frontage lease.
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Estimating Fit-Out Costs Before You Sign
A line-by-line approach to budgeting shop fit-out for a second retail site — electrical, refrigeration, signage, and the costs agents forget to mention.
Read article →Ready to talk through your next door?
We respond to expansion enquiries within two business days and can meet at our Melbourne office or on a video call.
Schedule a conversation