How early should you appoint your fit-out contractor?
For a retail or F&B brand, the opening date is rarely yours to move. It's set by the lease, the mall's handover programme and, often, a marketing calendar that's already public. Everything else has to bend around it — which is exactly why when you appoint the fit-out contractor matters more than almost any other early decision.
Appoint before handover, not after
The instinct is to wait until you have the keys. By then, weeks of procurement runway are gone. Long-lead items — bespoke joinery, imported finishes, kitchen equipment, feature lighting — don't care that your programme is tight. Appointing before or at handover lets procurement start against the drawings while the shell is still being prepared.
The critical path is usually procurement, not labour
Clients worry about how fast a crew can build. In practice the date is more often lost waiting for a material that was ordered late. A contractor engaged early can identify the two or three items that sit on the critical path and order them first.
What 'too late' looks like
If you're handing over drawings with only the build duration left before opening — no float for procurement, approvals or snagging — the honest answer is that the date is at risk. A good contractor will tell you that on day one, not discover it in week six.
The rule of thumb
Bring the contractor in as early as you can have a serious conversation — ideally with drawings, a site and a date. Even a first pass at the programme will tell you whether the opening is comfortable, tight or unrealistic, while there's still time to do something about it.