Not all businesses can afford the higher rents of the CBD or shopping centres, and the limitations and constraints these can impose on the business. Strip locations can offer a cost effective alternative to high rents and therefore, if your location is right, out-perform their more structured rivals.

So what makes a good location?

Let's start from the very top level: The strip’s catchment area. Normally located on a major road, or as a suburb focus, a good strip can dominate the local convenience and service activities of its catchment. By this I mean items such as food, newspapers, postal services, liquor, plus hair dressing and take-away foods. Since these activities generate footfall, other retailers can capitalise on their customers. So you start to get clothing, shoes, sports goods and even bookshops, jewellers, florists and opticians. These are all dependent on the types of people in the catchment.

A good catchment analysis will tell you the demographics of the area, its potential spend, not only on your trade category but also on a basket of other everyday items and give an insight into the lifestyle types it contains. Plus by examining other opportunities to shop in the region, it is possible to identify the likely flow of money out of the catchment to other centres.

Next look at the strip itself, its retailers, car parking, convenience and amenities. Look at the retailers on and around the strip. Do they complement or compete with your product? Remember that some competition is a good thing since it will act as an attraction for people looking for your product. Is the number of shops sustainable, or are there too many for the catchment to support? Check out possible development plans including changes in road layouts and diversions. Are there a number of empty shops, have they been vacant for some time? Do the businesses look profitable? Is there evidence of new investment in fitout or is the paint pealing on the fascia?

Commonly the strip is anchored by a supermarket. These can provide a great deal of information on the catchment since often it is the main reason for the visit. A good indication of the store's turnover is the number of active checkouts, but also examine the "sell by" dates printed on products. Since the oldest product is normally at the front it is often easy to estimate the throughput of customers and hence the drawing power of the strip location.

Ensure that there is sufficient convenient car parking and that people don’t have to navigate their way across town squares, up stairs, down ramps and across roads simply to reach the shops.

Finally, examine the visibility of the individual shop unit. Typically, there are 3 main forms of strip location; the straight row of shops, a U- shaped structure or an L-shaped structure.

Clearly, being at the end of the row gives you greater visibility, your unit is less likely to be obscured by trees or other signage and you have the ability to improve the outside look. However there is a danger that if you are too far from the main retail focus customers may not reach your store. Generally, choosing the up traffic end is best since you’ll have greater visibility to traffic which has the greatest ease in turning in, but either end location is desirable.

If you choose an inline store then your business will become one of many. Therefore your priority is to make your store stand out from the crowd. However many centres have developed with a common format and uniform design. This can give rise to total anonymity for all retailers. The assumption that if people know about your store they will seek you out is often wrong. People are lazy, you have to be right in front of their eyes.

Occasionally, a middle position will allow you to dominate the strip with clever use of architectural design. In this case your differentiation aids the other retailers by providing a focus for the strip. Eventually people may even refer to the shopping centre using your business name.

Generally avoid the inner corner store where visibility is compromised unless you are close to the major anchor’s front door!