Retail consulting

Development Response Solutions

Enabling consumer-facing organisations across a diverse range of categories to develop potential in their marketplaces, drive performance and skillfully navigate risk.

Minimising Impact, Maximising Opportunity

First Retail Group are your trusted advisors when it comes to mitigating the impact of development projects on surrounding businesses. Public realm improvements, transport upgrades, and infrastructure works can disrupt trade and damage goodwill. We’re here to help Council’s, Transport and Infrastructure Agencies and Property Developers navigate these challenges with expertise in research and insight, strategy, stakeholder engagement, business continuity and collaboration.

Proven Success across Diverse Projects:
Our team has a recognised track record of success in a wide range of high-profile projects, including:

  • City and town centre revitalisation
  • Changes in road space allocation
  • Major infrastructure upgrades
  • Emergency works 

We guide methodologies that address:

  • Strategy: Early involvement to guide tender requirements; methodologies and performance measures.
  • Customer Experience and Goodwill: Minimising disruption and maintaining positive customer interactions.
  • Economic Resilience: Supporting businesses, before, throughout and beyond disruption
  • Stakeholder Welfare: Ensuring the needs of all parties involved are addressed.

First Retail Group: Trusted Solutions for the Private and Public Sector

We are a supplier to the NZ Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi’s Innovating Streets Programme. Our expertise encompasses:

  • Community Activation: Sparking positive engagement with the local community.
  • Design-Led Thinking: Fostering creative solutions that benefit all stakeholders.
  • Monitoring & Evaluation: Tracking progress and measuring impact.
  • Placemaking & Community Engagement: Co-designing solutions through workshops and facilitation.

Our Expertise:

  • Development Response Programmes: Building tailored plans to mitigate disruption.
  • Stakeholder Communications: Keeping everyone informed and engaged throughout the project.
  • Stakeholder Engagement & Consultation: Facilitating open communication and collaboration.
  • Customer Experience Strategies: Minimising disruption for businesses and their customers.
  • Community Workshops and Events: Creating opportunities for community input and buy-in.
  • Design-Led Thinking: Fostering innovative solutions through collaborative design processes.
  • Retail Resilience Strategies: Supporting businesses to weather the construction storm.
  • Recovery & Support Programmes: Assisting businesses to bounce back stronger.
  • Urgent Intervention & Assistance: Addressing unforeseen challenges proactively.
  • Project Monitoring & Contractor Liaison: Ensuring smooth project execution.

Why Choose First Retail Group?

We don’t just mitigate disruption; we turn it into an opportunity. By working collaboratively, we help impacted parties build resilience and maximise opportunities. Partnering with First Retail Group delivers customised, experience-led solutions that support guardianship through commercial continuity and customer experience.

Talk to us about Development Response Solutions

Development Response Solution Services

Analysis

Market Dynamics:

  • Consumer & Market Trends
  • Opportunity Insights
  • Category Analysis
  • Competition Tracking

Opportunity Insights:

  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Customer Experience
  • Customer Journey Mapping
  • Location Intelligence
  • Public Life Assessment

Retail Strategy

Performance Solutions:

  • Growth & Profitability
  • Omnichannel Planning
  • Operational Efficiency
  • Process & Systemisation
  • Location Optimisation
  • Risk Mitigation

Customer Experience:

  • Experience Culture 
  • Customer Goodwill

Gain Competitive Edge:

  • Market Positioning
  • Innovation & Diversification
  • Differentiation Strategies
  • Technology Integration 

Enablement

Building Success:

  • Cultural Shift
  • Change Management
  • Embedding Improvement 

Driving Transformation:

  • Change Management
  • Project Management & Delivery
  • Sustainability Solutions

Our work