Bands by format
| Format | Fit-out cost per m2 | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Basic neighbourhood shop | EUR 600 - 900 | Simple finishes, basic services, standard furniture |
| Chain unit in a shopping centre | EUR 900 - 1,400 | Chain concept, centre constraints, rigid timelines |
| High street unit, mid band | EUR 1,200 - 1,700 | Designed shopfront, considered lighting, bespoke furniture |
| Flagship or high-end | EUR 1,800 - 2,500 and above | Special materials, scenographic lighting, dedicated joinery |
Where the unit is handed over as a shell, the cost of base works must be added (partitions, WCs, primary services, upgrades): EUR 300 to 600 per m2 depending on the starting condition. The question to put to the landlord before any estimate is therefore always the same: in what condition is the unit delivered?
The recurring items of a fit-out
The shopfront and entrance concentrate the highest unit cost in the shop: bespoke glazing, shutters or security glass, signage, and often specific municipal approvals in historic centres. It is also the element the brand refuses to compress, because it is the first selling tool.
Lighting is the most underestimated item: in retail it is not a service installation but a merchandising element, with wattages, colour temperatures and accents that can be worth 10-15 per cent of the fit-out.
Furniture and display units can be chain standard (strong economies of scale) or bespoke (double the cost for the same function). The choice belongs to the concept, not the site.
Services and code compliance: climate control sized on occupancy and shopfront gains, fire protection by area and activity, accessibility, acoustics towards adjoining units. These are opening prerequisites, not options.
The items that escape: connections and electrical capacity upgrades, disposal of the previous fit-out, contractual reinstatement at lease end, permits for signage and use of public space.
Time is a cost item
In retail every site day is a lost trading day, and in shopping centres work windows are often nocturnal and tightly contracted. Two economic consequences follow. First: retail estimates embed a speed premium, and compressing timelines costs explicitly (parallel crews, night work, expedited supply). Second: the full cost of a fit-out includes the lost margin of the closure period, an item no contractor quotes but the business plan records. Comparing two offers with different durations without monetising the difference in days is a frequent assessment error.
Budget example: a 120 m2 unit, mid band
A shell unit on a commercial street, chain concept with adaptations. The example shows the distance between the fit-out band and the actual budget.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Base works and upgrades | 120 m2 × EUR 400 | EUR 48,000 |
| Fit-out (finishes, furniture, lighting) | 120 m2 × EUR 1,400 | EUR 168,000 |
| Shopfront and signage | lump sum | EUR 25,000 |
| Special services and fire protection | lump sum | EUR 18,000 |
| Professional fees, permits, testing (10%) | EUR 25,900 | |
| Contingencies (8%) | EUR 20,700 | |
| Total | EUR 305,600 | |
| Full cost per m2 | / 120 | ~EUR 2,550 |
The full cost per m2 (EUR 2,550) is more than double the fit-out band we started from: that is the usual distance between the price that circulates in conversation and the budget actually needed, and the reason retail always reasons from the unit's delivery condition. The missing items are services, builder's work adaptations and professional costs.
Note: the figures shown are 2026 orders of magnitude for the Italian market, for guidance only. Every project requires a specific estimate based on a bill of quantities and on the unit's delivery condition.