What does the return on an elevated micro market space look like? To name a few things, it gives the location certain benefits, such as a reduction in turnover and an increase in employee productivity. Rashid Siahpoosh, owner of La Galere Markets in Miami, FL, creates upscale micro markets that encourage a location's connection to its employees. La Galere's micro markets are what Siahpoosh likes to think of as "self-checkout gourmet marts." The company's gourmet eats and drinks offerings in its elevated micro markets create a better value connection between a location and its employees or residents. Developing elevated micro markets takes not only creativity but also a hunger for making something the best of the best.
Getting to know gourmet
La Galere offers upscale, high-end finishes in its micro markets. "High-end finishes," explained Siahpoosh, "mean it is custom made." Siahpoosh chooses locations that align with his company's core philosophy of value. Accompanying this, projected revenue typically plays a part in determining if a location will be a good fit. If an operator fails to create decent ROI (return on investment), they are unlikely to be a prime candidate for an elite micro market.
La Galere's specialty is creating a market designed to merge into a building without disrupting the flow of the its design, but rather accentuating it. The goal is to be consistent with the existing location – in other words, the micro market becomes an extension of the building. The finishes are paramount to creating a successful upscale market, explained Siahpoosh.
Siapoosh stressed the importance of researching the location when marketing to higher-end locations. The best results occur when the value proposition of the upscale micro market matches that of the building, its tenants and the location. Finding the core values of a location is a key part of the research that goes into choosing a location.
The return from an elevated micro market to the location is a better connection between the location and its employees/residents by making them feel like an asset. An upscale micro market is an asset for a location, which makes the employee/resident feel like an asset to the location because the market was created for their benefit. There is evidence of this in the luxury of the micro market design and its gourmet offerings. The result of this certainly decreases turnover and increases productivity, but it also satisfies the consumer, another of La Galere's goals.
Get to know your audience
It helps to know who the micro market is serving when creating an elevated market. "Companies have a goal they're looking to achieve, whether it's retention, ROI, etc.," said Siahpoosh. He went on to explain that some corporations are looking for something more, either visually, product wise, or with services. It's important to assess what they want before getting started with the micro market.
"The satisfaction of the consumers is hard to quantify, statistically," said Siahpoosh. However, defining satisfaction, Siahpoosh explained that "satisfaction means higher rates of retention and renewal for the location." Although measuring satisfaction is difficult, it can be maintained by keeping consumers satisfied and the location happy. So, the better the micro market is, the better it is for the location.
The location wants an elevated micro market for the same reason it wants to make its employees feel valued. "A micro market is an asset to a location. As an extension of the location, it builds a connection to the employee so the location's asset feels like the consumer's asset," explained Siahpoosh.
Emphasizing high-end
Being involved with a location by understanding its needs can't be emphasized enough. This is also how its values and goals are determined. "When working with a location, you have to ask the right questions," said Siapoosh. Attention to detail is crucial, because the finishes are paramount to the micro market, and because the micro market needs to act as an extension of the building. La Galere chooses to customize everything to fit the existing aesthetic of the location. Rather than using typical materials such as laminate or vinyl, the company uses high-end materials that accentuate and match the surrounding architecture. Some of the elements that La Galere incorporates into its elevated micro markets include custom-built shelving and coolers in custom-built encasements.
The upscale micro market provides a location and its employees an eats and drinks establishment on site that blends in with the structure and design of the building. The return from the elevated micro market to the location is creating a better connection between the location and its employees by making them feel like an asset. Having an upscale market designed for the use of the employees shows them that they are valuable assets to the location, explained Siahpoosh. This is where a reduction in turnover and increase in productivity stem from. The value proposition of an elevated micro market must match with the company and the location for the best results. Micro markets can't be generalized into one category, because they are so diverse. Creating a high-end micro market requires a desire to work with the location to find out what they are looking for, and delivering a micro market that meets 110 percent of the locations expectations.
