The current fad in popular business wisdom is to use instruction manuals written centuries ago for Chinese and Japanese warriors as guides to success in the modern marketplace.

The sound of one hand clapping may be an appropriate strategy in rarefied corporate enclaves, but in the retail realm–where business often resembles a bare-knuckle bar fight more than an elegant duel–you need both hands to stay in the game.

A better "textbook" for snowboard retailers might be Darwin’s Origin Of Species, which outlines visceral rules of engagement such as, "adapt or die." In retailing, as it is in life, a radical leap–rather than an evolutionary step–is often necessary for survival.

While making that radical move can keep you from going the way of the dinosaurs, such leaps are frightening propositions. One underutilized and often-overlooked choice is to reinvent your store through renovation.

Done right, the results can be dramatic. Renovation cannot compensate for a noncompetitive or outdated market position, or for inadequate selection, pricing, or service. However, Rick Carp, general manager for Princeton Ski Shops/The Boarding House says he’s seen a significant return on investment for renovation. He attributes at least part of the Boarding House’s success to an innovative renovation done early in the store’s history.

In 1993, The Boarding House literally dismantled condemned houses and rebuilt large parts of them within its stores. "There was a remarkable return on our investment of time and energy," remembers Carp. "Our business doubled."

That kind of return made renovation converts out of The Boarding House, which has made a number of store changes through the years. Currently, Carp is redoing the snowboard softgoods sections in all four locations, and completely renovating the Roslyn, New York store. "Based upon our expansion and redesign in Long Island," he predicts, "I’m expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30- to 40-percent sales increase next year in all snowboard categories."

Carp’s forecast jibes with the Retail Renovation Return on Investment (ROI) study released by The Store Fixturing Show in 1994. Conducted between 1991 and 1993, the study examined similar renovated and unrenovated stores and found not only a strong correlation between renovation, increased sales and gross-profit margins–with increases as high as 35 percent–but also a tendency to maintain those increases over time.

Most importantly, the study found that the reasons for renovating were a large factor in the end result. "When the motivation for the renovation is external and reactive, and focused on updating and catching up to the competition, then sales and gross-margin results are likely to be limited and short term. But when the motivation for the renovation is internal and proactive, and focused on repositioning image and mix, then sales and gross-margin results are likely to be substantial and sustained."

So how much will a renovation cost, and what kind of return will it generate? While the ROI study identified renovating costs per square foot as ranging from thirteen dollars (for large discount stores) to more than 70 dollars (for women’s specialty stores), most experts agree that for a snowboard retail operation you can reasonably expect to pay between fifteen and 50 dollars a square foot.

Getting more specific can be problematic. "You determine the square footage, then use multipliers, based on the type of project," explains Scott Gilbride, a Bend, Oregon-based architect who specializes in small projects. "You also have to balance those figures against what’s going on in the community. And it’s a moving target. You have to understand that everything you pick has its price."

The return on your renovation is a moving target as well. In the excitement of changing your store, don’t lose sight of its specialty focus. If you increase your sales area, but sacrifice a top money-making department, a redesign can become a frightenly quick road to lost sales. "Say you’re doing 1,000 dollars in sales per square foot in your snowboard department–which obviously everybody would love to do–and you’re planning to double the size of your board-department space," says Carp. "What are you taking that space from? Will the next gain still be there?"

Once you’ve embraced the ambiguities of the process, the next step is straight out of elementary school: do your homework and check your work. Figure a conservative budget and stick to it. "If you price things out and get a number of quotes, then go over it again and again with whoever you hire to do the job, and you spell out on paper what’s involved, you shouldn’t have the problem of going over [budget]," says Christine Donovan, director of store planning for the Boston-based Ski Market/Underground stores.

Some of what’s involved can easily go beyond the knowledge of mere mortals. Commercial building projects–including renovations–are governed by the Uniform Building Code, which dictates everything from placement and number of required exits to fire safety and electrical equipment regulations–even handrail heights. All this esoterica is the domain of architects and contractors, neither of whom will offer up their knowledge for free. "An architect, in most projects, will typically cost you about ten percent of the total cost of the job," says Donovan. "That can be very high, but it can also be some of the best money you’ll spend if it’s the right architect, because he’s the guy who’s going to spell everything out on that blueprint he gives the contractor."

As long as the project does not involve "life and safety issues"–such as emergency exits–or more than about 4,000 square feet, an architect is not a requirement. But you will need some sort of designer who can draw up plans for a contractor. "Design teams [made up of either an architect or a designer and a contractor] are a great way to go," says Gilbride, "because you can bring the contractor in early on, and end up with a better understanding of the overall cost."

Whoever does the plans and the building, you’ll have to pay a large chunk up front as a retainer–about twenty percent of the estimate to an architect, and five to ten percent to the contractor. The rest is usually invoiced monthly based on work completed.

Such large amounts of money can be intimidating, so shop wisely for contractors and architects. "You bring them in just like you would any other salesperson," says Donovan, "and let them tell you about what they do, and the projects that they’ve done. I call on references they give me, and ask those people what their experience was with the architect. Did they end up partners or enemies at the end?"

When it comes to controlling your costs, don’t be afraid to get creative: garage sales, other retailers going out of business, warehouse sales–all are resources you can tap effectively.

Carp’s primary way to save money is potentially available to everyone. "Labor is the critical component in the cost of renovation," he explains, "and in most cases, we do all the renovations ourselves.

"If you can do [that], and not make it look like you did it yourself," he continues, "it’s a phenomenal plus, because the cost of outside work is just astronomical. You can save better than half the cost."

Once you decide to renovate, you have to calculate how long it will take and what effect its progress will have on your store. The time line "largely depends on the level of the renovation," says Carp. "This [current project renovating snowboard softgoods sections in all the stores], will probably take somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 days to do all four stores."

Carp will keep the stores open during the renovation, partly because the work is being done in the off-season, and partly as a sales tool. "We’ll just partition that area off and work quietly, [and] consumers, I think, are a little interested in that," he says. "All you have to do is put up a sign that says ‘Employees Only’ or ‘Under Construction,’ and that’s instantly what they’re going to look at first."

Staying open during construction may actually increase sales claims Donovan: "If you put some bins or boxes with merchandise close to your walled-off renovation area, you’d be surprised how much old stuff you can move because [customers] think they’re getting a bargain because you’re renovating."

A bigger project, such as a complete redo of the store, would require some length of closure, as do some types of small jobs. "We’re doing a small renovation [in one store] that involves new carpet and painting," says Donovan. "For that we’ll close down for a couple of days because, to me, it’s more efficient to hire contractors to come and to shut the doors for your two quietest days of the week and get the work done, and, bang, you’re back in business, rather than trying to do it around being open."

Another, lesser-known resource is Display and Design Ideas magazine, published by Shore-Varrone out of Atlanta, Georgia. These are the same folks who were behind the ROI study, and they are a part of another overlooked resource, GlobalShop, touted as the world’s largest annual store-design event. Held in Chicago at the end of March, the show is free if you preregister, and the benefits of attending easily outweigh the cost of staying in Chicago for a couple of days. A sampling of this year’s seminars include "Branding Strategies"; "Partnering Projects and Outsourcing"; "Sound, Music, and the Retail Environment"; and "The Power of Visual Merchandising."

Whether you opt to renovate or not, given the current retail climate, a close look at your store is still in order. "I’m not going to make a blanket statement like, ‘It’s a good time to renovate,’" offers Carp, "but don’t be asleep at the switch right now, because people are too good and too smart at what they do, and they’ll catch you sleeping."