The phases that make up a fit-out timeline
A retail or F&B fit-out moves through design approval, permitting, procurement, site construction and snagging — and clients are usually only shown the site-construction phase when they ask "how long will it take." In practice, permitting and long-lead procurement often take longer than the physical build itself.
How unit size and complexity actually scale
A 140m² café fit-out and a 310m² retail flagship don't just differ by area — the flagship usually carries more MEP complexity per square metre: additional power circuits for display lighting, more elaborate ventilation for an F&B kitchen, and a longer joinery scope for custom fixtures. That's why execution time doesn't scale linearly with size; a unit twice as large can easily take less than twice as long, or considerably more, depending on what's inside it.
The long-lead items that quietly control your date
Custom joinery, imported light fixtures, and commercial kitchen equipment for F&B units routinely have longer lead times than the construction itself. If these aren't ordered the moment a design is approved, they — not the build — become the reason a launch date slips.
Where delays actually come from
In our experience, the two most common causes of delay aren't on the contractor's side at all: late landlord design approvals, and an incomplete base-building handover (unfinished shell services that were supposed to be ready before fit-out could start). Both are avoidable with a clear approvals timeline and a proper base-building inspection before site mobilisation.
What we've actually delivered
Recent examples from our own portfolio: a 140m² café fit-out in 7 weeks, a 310m² retail concept in 9 weeks, and a 1,450m² administrative fit-out in 16 weeks. Timelines like these are realistic when procurement starts in parallel with design sign-off — not after it.