A structured site recce for a new showroom or brand outlet location.
A new store site visit checklist is the structured recce a Business Development Manager completes when evaluating a property for a new showroom, exclusive brand outlet or cafe. It records the frontage and how visible it is from the road, footfall counted at three times of day, neighbouring brands, parking and access, whether signage will be permitted, the sanctioned power load, water and washrooms, the rent and lock-in quoted, the landlord's documents, and live photos of the frontage and interior. The Regional Head reviews the scored visit before a site goes to the approval committee. One item is fatal: a landlord who cannot show clear title. Every gap raises a ticket with an owner and a deadline, so open questions are closed before the offer letter.
Free. No form. The workbook has the same columns as the table below, with the score formula and a fatal-item check in place.
Score = weight of items answered Yes ÷ weight of items not marked N/A, out of 100. Pass mark 80. A failed fatal item caps the score at zero and raises a ticket to the regional head.
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frontage width | What is the frontage width of the property, in feet? | Number | Required | 3 | Measured frontage in feet, with a photo showing the full width from across the road. |
| 2 | Visibility from road | Is the store clearly visible from the main road and from both directions of traffic? | 1 to 5 | Required | 4 | Rated after viewing from both directions, trees, poles and hoardings blocking the view noted. |
| 3 | Signage permission | Will the landlord and the local body permit facade signage of the size the brand standard needs? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 4 | Signage size and position agreed in writing, local body permission route understood. |
| 4 | Ceiling height | What is the clear ceiling height inside, in feet, below beams and ducts? | Number | No | 2 | Clear height measured below the lowest beam or duct, enough for the brand's fixtures. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Footfall morning | How many people walked past the frontage in fifteen minutes during the morning? | Number | No | 3 | Count of passers-by in fifteen minutes, with the time of the count noted. |
| 6 | Footfall afternoon | How many people walked past the frontage in fifteen minutes during the afternoon? | Number | No | 3 | Count of passers-by in fifteen minutes, with the time and weekday noted. |
| 7 | Footfall evening | How many people walked past the frontage in fifteen minutes during the evening peak? | Number | No | 3 | Evening count in fifteen minutes, ideally on a weekend or festive evening. |
| 8 | Neighbouring brands | Which brands trade on either side and opposite, and do they suit the brand's customer? | Text | Optional | 3 | Names the neighbouring brands and categories and says how they fit the target customer. |
| 9 | Competing stores nearby | Which competing brands have stores within walking distance or on the same road? | Text | No | 2 | Lists competitors nearby with approximate distance and how busy they looked. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Customer parking | Is there safe customer parking at or near the property, and roughly how many cars can it take? | Text | Optional | 3 | Parking type and approximate capacity noted, paid or free, distance from the entrance. |
| 11 | Access and entrance | Is the entrance at road level or reachable by a ramp, without steps that block wheelchairs or prams? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 2 | Level or ramped entrance, no steep steps, footpath in usable condition. |
| 12 | Loading and delivery access | Can stock, fixtures or display cars be delivered to the store without blocking the road? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 3 | Delivery route and timing understood, space for a truck or car carrier to unload. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Sanctioned power load | What is the sanctioned electrical load, in kW, and is it enough for the brand's store format? | Number | No | 3 | Sanctioned load from the bill in kW, compared with the load the format needs. |
| 14 | Power backup | Does the building provide power backup, or is there space for the brand's own generator or inverter? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 2 | Backup source and capacity noted, or a location agreed for the brand's own. |
| 15 | Water and washrooms | Is there a reliable water supply and a usable washroom for staff, and for customers where needed? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 3 | Water supply confirmed, washroom location noted, drainage suitable for a cafe kitchen. |
| 16 | Fire safety readiness | Does the building have fire exits and fire equipment that would support a fire NOC for the store? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 3 | Exits, extinguishers and building NOC status noted, no obvious fire safety gaps. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Rent quoted | What monthly rent is quoted, in rupees, and what escalation per year? | Text | No | 3 | Monthly rent in rupees, escalation percentage, maintenance and deposit noted separately. |
| 18 | Lock-in and tenure | What lock-in period and total lease tenure has the landlord proposed? | Text | No | 3 | Lock-in in months, total tenure in years, renewal terms noted. |
| 19 | Landlord title documentsFatal | Has the landlord shown title documents that prove clear ownership or the right to lease this property? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 5 | Title or lease-right documents seen, owner name matches the person signing, no disputes disclosed. |
| 20 | Approvals and zoning | Is the property approved for commercial use, with no pending notices from the local body? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 4 | Commercial use confirmed, occupancy or completion certificate seen, no pending notices. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Frontage photo | Can you take a live photo of the frontage from across the road? | Photo | Required | 2 | Full frontage in frame from across the road, neighbours on both sides visible. |
| 22 | Interior photo | Can you take a live photo of the interior from the entrance? | Photo | Required | 2 | Interior from the entrance, showing depth, columns and ceiling, in daylight. |
| 23 | Site recommendation | Do you recommend this site, and what are the two biggest risks? | Text | No | 3 | A clear yes, no or maybe, with the two main risks and what would resolve them. |
Loaded into BorentisOps, each required photo is live, GPS and time-stamped, so a photo from yesterday or another store does not pass. Where the brand has a docket or display standard, Drishti scores the photo against it and marks the misses. Every fail raises a ticket with an owner and a deadline, and the regional head sees the store on a heat map before the next visit.
The checklist runs offline and syncs when signal returns, in Hindi, English and Hinglish, and the operations score sits next to the store's selling score from Borentis Floor on one store card. Pricing is per store, so every business development manager and staff member in the store is on the app.
Because one count tells you little. A site that is busy at lunch may be empty in the evening, and many showrooms and brand outlets do most of their business in the evening and at weekends. Counting fifteen minutes in the morning, afternoon and evening, ideally including a weekend or festive evening, gives a truer picture of who passes the frontage.
Because everything else can be negotiated or fixed, but a property without clear title can cost the brand the fit-out and the lease. Rent, lock-in, power load and signage can all be improved in negotiation. If the landlord cannot show clear ownership or the right to lease, the site should not go to the approval committee, so a fail caps the visit at zero.
The Regional Head, who knows the city and the brand's network in it. The review is where the Regional Head checks the footfall counts against nearby stores, questions the rent against the expected sales, and decides whether the site goes to the approval committee. Live photos with GPS and time stamps show the visit was made at the property.
Yes. The Excel download keeps the same columns BorentisOps uses: section, item, question, answer type, photo rule, weight, fatal flag and the note on what good looks like. It imports as a checklist, and a Borentis onboarding person maps the filled-by and reviewed-by roles to your people and assigns it to your stores. Many brands run it on every shortlisted property so sites can be compared side by side before approval.