Shopfitting in Johannesburg, for a retail store, is a buyer’s problem: what has to be in the brief, what a fit-out includes, how long trading stops, and what 2026 numbers usually cover. A homepage full of finished photos does not answer that. This guide does. Mall islands are a different job—see mall kiosks and mall kiosk design ideas. The store service is retail and store shopfitting.
What a store fit-out includes
A retail shopfit is the customer-facing joinery: POS counters, perimeter shelving, display walls, boutique bays, and the lockable storage staff actually use. Liquor stores add bottle density, refrigeration interfaces, and a checkout that survives trolleys. Hospitality venues add a service counter that can be cleaned hard. It is not a full office shell, and it is not a three-day exhibition stand.
Most carcasses are PG Bison melamine with matching edges. Feature walls can be oak or ash when the brand needs it. POS tops are quartz, granite, or compact laminate chosen for cleaning chemicals and wear. We fabricate in Booysens and install to the lease line you actually have, not to a showroom grid.
The buyer’s checklist
Before drawings mean anything, collect the lease line, ceiling height, landlord rules, and whether you trade through the fit-out. List the fixtures that are joinery and the fixtures that are loose equipment. Brand colours and a logo file matter less than the planogram: what sits at eye level, what is locked, what needs power.
Walk the shop as a customer and as the person on the till. If the queue blocks the door, no finish will save the layout. Our Valley Cellar work is the local example of a liquor floor where display, checkout, and aisle width were drawn together.
Programme and 2026 cost bands
A single storefront POS and display package is typically 6–10 weeks from signed drawings. Full liquor or multi-bay retail fit-outs more often run 10–16 weeks, depending on stone, lighting, refrigeration interfaces, and after-hours access.
On price, excluding VAT and confirmed after a site review: a single storefront POS and display package often sits around R80 000–R180 000. Full liquor-store or boutique fit-outs with display walls typically run R180 000–R450 000+, depending on stone, lighting, and after-hours access. Those bands match how we quote the service. They are not a rate per square metre you can multiply on a serviette.
Trading through the fit-out
Live stores usually need early mornings, evenings, or a weekend so the shop can open the next day. That window is locked before workshop cutting starts. A Monday-morning handover with wet silicone and an unadjusted drawer is not a handover. Snagging is part of the programme, including a return if the centre only allows a short first visit.
What to send
Send the floor plan, photos of the existing shop, the date you must trade, and a list of what is joinery versus loose equipment. Book a consultation and we will reply with scope questions, not a hard sell.
