1. FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS:
Q&A WITH WARREN ZYSMAN, PRESIDENT, ALL-RITE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
The new model of contracting:
Why COOs should partner with a full-service
GC for building and maintenance
CSA: What
should be top of
mind for a COO,
or an operations
director, when
approaching store
remodels or a
facilities mainte-
nance plan?
WZ: The op-
erations leaders
typically know everything the retailer
is planning for the whole year and be-
yond. They know the number of stores
they’re going to close. They know
which ones need to be built and which
remodeled. They know all the budgets.
And these stores can be in several
different locations with any manner of
specifications unique to the region.
There are two ways to approach these
projects: at the regional level or at the
national accounts level.
CSA: What is the difference between
working with regional contractors
versus a GC with national accounts
capabilities?
WZ: A contractor with a national ac-
counts presence is your single point
of contact for a roll-out of larger chain
portfolios. Rather than dealing with
multiple contractors over multiple re-
gions and locations, the responsibility
falls on one group, a group that knows
your needs, your business, and your
goals inside and out. I’m speaking with
bias, of course, because that’s what
we do at All-Rite, but I do strongly
believe it’s a very critical advantage
for the retail brand to fulfill the needs
of the whole chain, and not just the
region. It also makes the jobs of the
operations directors that much easier,
with peace of mind knowing there’s
reliable, credible service always just a
single contact away.
It comes down to this: You can call
me, Warren, anytime, about any store
— or you could pull up a spread-
sheet and find out which contractor
is responsible for what store, in what
area, and what time zone they’re in,
and hope they pick up the phone. And
then do the same for the next store.
Call me, and we’ll talk about the whole
chain.
CSA: Not all contractors offer
facilities management solutions.
What is the advantage of a company
that can provide 360-degree services,
from building to remodeling to daily
maintenance?
WZ: We know the guts of your stores,
and we know the guts of your brand.
Once we complete your building or
your remodeling project, it’s a seam-
less transfer for us to take on the
maintenance. You don’t have to bid
it out to someone else and then get
them up to speed. You don’t have
to have someone train them on the
property, on the brand, and you don’t
need to worry about qualifications.
We already know everything and we
already have all the qualifications.
And we have more skin in the game
because we want to protect our work.
Of course, we want to make you look
good, but we also want to make our
work stand out!
CSA: Retailers often dread building in
the Northeast, specifically the tri-state
area. How do you help?
WZ: This is our backyard — our home
turf! We’ve been doing this a long
time, we know the major pain points,
and we know the complex permitting
structure. It’s a key advantage of ours
and a reason why many of our clients
have chosen to work with us. If you
have projects going up in the North-
east, you want to go with someone
who speaks the language, and that’s
what we do. It’s the most complex
building environment in the country,
but it’s where we built our roots.
We’ve expanded greatly over the
years, but first we had to master our
home region, so in that sense, we
have a leg up on anyone else because
we’re like family with all the trades,
all the government agencies. Others
might dread it, but to us it’s second
nature.
For more information about
All-Rite Construction, visit
www.all-riteconstruction.com
or call 800-255-7483.
CHAINSTOREAGE.COM / JUNE/JULY 2014 13
ADVERTORIAL
WARREN ZYSMAN
President
All-Rite Construction
All-Rite Warren Zysman 02_2015.indd 28 2/25/15 3:04 PM