I’m going to tell you a story about NEED and WANT. My husband regularly takes our two year old grandson Ryder out for lunch and play. A couple weeks ago, after lunch he took him to a motorcycle store. Ryder immediately finds a small replica motorcycle and tells his ‘Papa’ that he WANTS it. My husband says “No, You need to be four years old to have that toy.” (This toy is $20.00.) Fast forward two weeks, and again my husband takes Ryder to the same store, and guess what? Ryder picks up the same toy, and now says to his Papa, “Papa, I NEED it.” This time Papa buys the toy. I laughed! Ryder is only 2 but he has an extensive vocabulary and he knows the difference between WANT and NEED. His Dad snowmobiles, rides dirt bikes, and does all kinds of outdoor activities. I think that Ryder wanted to be ‘like Dad’. He NEEDED that toy. What about RETAIL Want and Need. It seems to me that what we want to do in Retail is to create
I’ve seen some disasters in jewellery cases! Too high, too deep, not accessible, solid sides… There can be some really poor choices. In this Blog I’ll tell you my design secrets so that you get it right. They’re expensive and long term and want you to make good well-informed choices. I’ve designed this case over and over again. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this case. It is so perfect! I prefer it in metal, but you could have the sides in many different finishes. I’ve had it made longer and shorter. The glass sides are 6” high and the height is always the same at 36″ from the floor. The depth is 24″. No matter where you are in the store you can see the Jewellery before you get to the case. There is NO doubt about what’s inside. I always make the cases lockable. If you don’t want to lock them, that’s up to you. This is really important! The drawers PULL OUT WITH THE JEWELLERY. Sometimes these are made without the drawer
HAVE A PLAN! The best advice I can give you is to have a ‘Plan’ before you buy anything. You need to ask yourself these 5 Basic Questions as they will determine the style and amount of your new fixtures. 1. Who am I selling to? 25 – 40 year olds? Over 40? Teens? This will determine the look that you want. 2 What’s my location? Am I in a tourist area, downtown, beach town, rural location? 3. How much room do I have? How much of that is open space, windows, walls and other useable space? 4. What’s the mix of clothing? 60% tops – 40% bottoms? How much is folded? How much is hung? 5. What’s my budget? Do I need to buy ready-built or can I build custom? If you think about your new or soon-to-be-renovated store as a ‘landscape’, we would have lower fixtures through the centre, higher walls at the sides and back. This allows us to see all the way through to the back of your store. That’s a good thing! Regarding Style and
I’ve been so excited to have a new website launched but I’ve been scared to death to write this first post. I want you to get to know me and I want to share my knowledge so your businesses will grow. You’re going to find me really opinionated. Don’t let that scare you! I’m here to help you, encourage you, and motivate you. I want you to feel excited about where you live, work and play. I’ve always thought that if I wrote a book I would title it “Life on the Ladder”, as I’ve spent over twenty five years doing Displays and Merchandising for large corporations and smaller independent Retailers and Wholesalers in both Fashion and Giftware. I’ve seen it all! Sometimes I’ve felt like the ‘fly on the wall’, watching interactions between customers and displays. About ten years ago I became an Accredited Interior Decorator. That’s when Retail Design and Consultations really took off. I had found my niche! People are looking for answers. They have problems, sales are not what they want, they’re over-worked. They go to bed tired,
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