Do I Need a Shop Fitter?

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

Shop fitting, or shopfitting, is the business of fitting retail stores, boutiques and other types of stores with the equipment, signage, retail store displays, and even merchandise. Shop fitters generally specialize in retail, merchandising, and interior design. They can help you make the most of the space that you have available. They will also purchase your retail equipment for you.

Because shop fitters purchase equipment directly from manufacturers, sometimes they can save you money on outfitting your store. Additionally, their expertise can be invaluable when it comes to marketing the largest amount of product in the smallest space possible. This is especially helpful if you are not trained or experienced in this type of work.

If you want to do things on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. You can purchase your retail store fixtures directly from the manufacturer on the internet. Some shop fitters charge a fee for ordering your fixtures, so you end up paying retail anyway. Ordering equipment yourself can save you from paying the middle man.

Do your research and find out which manufacturers have quality products. Buying cheap racks and counter displays that fall apart, have sharp edges, or look tacky can cost you more money in the long run. Stick with quality merchandise from a company that offers a good return policy, customer service, and guarantees their products. Quality construction is a must.

When it comes to making the most of your space, don’t forget to include storage in your designs. You will need a manageable space that has the flexibility that you need to get you through different seasons, promotions and changes in inventory. Many shop owners and retail managers choose slatwall or gridwall for this purpose.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

Slatwall and gridwall displays give you a lot of versatility for displaying a lot of different types of products in a small space. It really utilizes the vertical space in the store and allows you to feature accessories and complimentary items around your merchandise. It keeps all of your merchandise facing out towards the middle of the store, making it easy for shoppers to see what you have to offer.

When you get everything up on the walls, you free up plenty of floor space. When you have room, you can be picky about product placement and create more elaborate and effective promotional displays.

Installing a slat wall or a grid wall can require a professional contractor, so consider that cost when you purchase. Other than that, the upkeep of the system is reasonably priced. You will want to invest in some hanging bars, hooks, shelves and other types of display accessories, and you can add to them at any time. Moving the hooks and bars around is so easy that you’ll love to rearrange your store and update your displays.

Hiring a shop fitter may still be beneficial, but you could save some money by doing part of the planning yourself. Do your research and you’ll stretch your dollar as far as you need to get your store up and running.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Boutique Merchandising Tips

Merchandising in a small boutique can be challenging, especially if you’re new to the business. You want your boutique to look fresh and inviting while maintaining its unique charms. However, problems arise when you want to carry more inventory or expand on your merchandise. You need to accomplish both to be successful.

Carrying more products can help you to bring in more money. It can bring you customers that you didn’t appeal to before. It can keep your current customers interested and coming back time and again. Keeping your product line interesting and profitable is definitely a priority. Having the inventory on hand to satisfy your customers and hold up during promotions and busy seasons is also important. So what do you do if you want to turn more profit, gain new customers, and expand if you are in a limited space?

There are a few ways that you can accomplish this. You need to make space so that your sales floor isn’t overcrowded. Too many products in one area can make your boutique look crowded and uninviting. You won’t sell more simply by squeezing more in. You can invest in garment racks that stand taller to give you more room. This helps you to take advantage of vertical space. However, if racks stand too tall, it can make it difficult to keep an eye on your store when you suspect that someone is considering shoplifting.

Another way to take advantage of vertical space is on your walls. You can use gridwall or slatwall systems to display your items vertically without sacrificing attractiveness. There are many benefits to using gridwall and slatwall.

One is the manner in which they display your products. Instead of your shirts, coats, and dresses facing each other, they can hang facing outward. This type of visibility allows customers to shop with ease. They can easily see what you have to offer without digging through crowded clothing racks.

When you’re ready to add more inventory, the versatility of the grid wall or slat wall will amaze you. You can squeeze things closer together without making them look crowded. You can make unique spaces for new inventory with very little effort, simply by moving the hooks around.

You can also display your accessories right beside the outfits that you think they look best with. By displaying your items on the wall, you can free up floor space to display ensembles on mannequins. Mannequins are the number one selling tool in the retail industry and using gridwall and slatwall will allow you to take full advantage of them.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Retail Storage Solutions

If you own or manage a small retail store or boutique, you have probably struggled with not having enough storage space for your inventory and merchandising tools. This is so common, especially during the holiday season. You want to have enough inventory so that your supply keeps up with the demand, but you have probably had problems finding the space to run the business like you want to. Use these storage and display ideas to get the most out of the space that you have and create space where you didn’t know that you had it before.

Come up with a system for keeping the store room organized. Have garment racks handy for steaming clothing that is coming out of the box. Try installing a ceiling rack for boxes and other lightweight items that you need to keep out of your way. Roll out wrinkle free clothing on your garment racks as soon as possible to keep the store room from getting too cluttered.

You can make extra room on the sales floor so that you don’t have to store so much. Too many garment racks can clutter up the space that you have. Additionally, cramming your inventory onto the racks can turn customers away. No one wants to dig through packed racks back to back with other customers. Installing gridwall or slatwall could be the answer.

Gridwall and slatwall systems help you to utilize vertical space. You can display your clothing and other items facing forward so that customers have an easy time seeing what you have to offer. You can help to eliminate the need for extra storage by hanging your inventory on the gridwall or slatwall bars. When you need to put out more inventory than normal, like when you’re having a sale or promotion, simply swap out your normal bars for longer ones.

Grid wall panels and slat wall panels can hold a lot of weight, so you can really use them to display and store at the same time. They are extremely versatile and easy to rearrange. As certain items run out, you can simply move the bars around to fill in the space.

You can maximize the impact of your gridwall and slatwall displays by using mannequin forms. Hanging mannequin forms are lightweight and easy to use. Simply hang them on the ends of your display bars and customers can see what the items look like when they’re being worn. This eliminates the need for many customers to try on clothing. Your store stays nice and neat, and customers aren’t constantly rearranging or digging through your displays. Employees can concentrate on helping customers and take down the sizes that they need only when they need them.

When you stock your store with gridwall or slatwall, you open up your business to many new opportunities. You’ll even attract new customers as they pass your store and easily see what you have to offer.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Make Room in a Small Boutique

If you run a boutique, chances are space is an issue. Many boutiques are run by individual owners who simply cannot invest a lot of money on store space. Therefore, it becomes important to make the most of the space that you have available. Whether you’ve expanded your inventory, or you’ve always needed more room, you can use these tips to help you make room by following these steps.

First, you need to get rid of merchandise that just isn’t moving. Have a sidewalk sale or set up a clearance area and sell off what you can to make some room. Floor space and garment racks should not be crowded, so do what you can to consolidate, but don’t pack things together so tightly that no one is interested in digging through them. Move some things to storage if you have to.

Make use of the vertical space in your store. A popular option for retail merchandising is to have gridwall or slatwall installed. It is fairly inexpensive and can save you loads of space. Plus, there are other benefits to using it.

With a few simple accessories like hanging bars, shelves and hooks, you can turn your grid wall or slat wall into a merchandising and promotion dream. Using gridwall and slatwall systems puts your merchandise up where people can actually see what you have at a glance. Since customers often use their first impressions to determine whether or not they will buy anything, letting them know what you have when they walk in is a great idea.

When the floor is more spacious and open, you are less likely to lose merchandise to shoplifters. Gridwall and slatwall are loved by retailers everywhere because of this feature. Your employees can see shoppers from all around when there is no place to hide. Having crowded clothing racks just a few feet apart gives thieves the sense of security that they need to shoplift.

Clearing out floor space by using gridwall and slatwall makes your store look more inviting. It makes it more user-friendly, clean and organized. It also creates open spaces that you can use for more interesting displays, like mannequin displays. You can even hang mannequin torso forms on the ends of your hanging racks that protrude from your gridwall or slatwall. This is an effective way of letting your customers know what your clothing looks like when it is worn and drawing attention to your items.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Merchandising Tips for Retailers

There are endless ways to merchandise your inventory. If you are looking for some fresh ideas, you’ve come to the right place. It is always good to keep things changing when it comes to retail. Customers will get bored if they see the same displays twice and stop considering shopping in your store.

The goal of any display is to grab attention. The purpose of window displays is to get customers interested in coming inside the store. Promotional displays are generally at the entrance of the store, or in a high-traffic area, like a walkway. Mannequins can be used to bring customers to certain parts of the store. Signage is a great way to communicate to your customers as well. Lighting, fully stocked garment racks, and helpful employees are also necessary. But there is still something else to consider.

Retail stores can benefit greatly from utilizing retail gridwall and retail slatwall fixtures. These commercial strength displays do something that regular clothing racks cannot. They get all of your merchandise right up in the customer’s line of sight.

Slatwall and gridwall both have detachable hooks, bars, clamps, and shelves that can easily be moved and rearranged to give you the most aesthetically pleasing display possible. Employees can simply move the fixtures left or right, up or down, to get the spacing right between merchandise.

As a retail store owner, you know the importance of keeping your racks fully stocked. Customers ignore garment racks that have only a couple of things hanging on them. People are actually turned off by a clothing rack that is near empty. They get the impression that something is wrong with the garments hanging there. They wonder why you are not restocking. Maybe these clothes have gone out of style, are being clearanced, or they think that the chances of their size being there is really slim. This is where gridwall or slatwall can save you again.

On a grid wall or a slat wall, you can easily combine like items on to one peg, bar or shelf. Combining items that you can’t restock helps to keep the racks looking full. If you don’t have anything else to fill in the hole, then simply move around some racks on the grid wall or slat wall to space them out more evenly. The next time you get new merchandise, simply move everything closer together again, making space for the new merchandise.

This technique keeps your retail store always looking full. Gridwall and slatwall keep everything directly in sight of the customers. They also clear out floor space making the store easy to navigate for customers, reducing the places for shoplifters to hide, and making room for any extra holiday or promotional items that you may have coming in.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Gridwall and Slatwall Systems Can Help You Save Space

Boutiques and retail stores are often short on space. How many times have you said to yourself, “If I had the space, I could do so much more with my business.”? Sometimes it’s not that we actually need a bigger space, but that we need to learn to better utilize and organize the space that we have.

Gridwall and slatwall are the most popular, cost effective items on the market for utilizing vertical space in a retail setting. But, there are more benefits to using one of these systems than you may realize.

Slatwall and gridwall panels are both fairly cheap to install. It is generally recommended that you have a professional contractor do the job to be absolutely certain that the wall panels will hold up the weight that you need them to. Check with your insurance company before you attempt it yourself because they may require that a professional contractor do it and guarantee the work.

Once installed, both systems are easy to keep clean and neat. Shelves, hooks and hanging bars are easily moved about and both slatwall and gridwall can be simply wiped down with a damp cloth when needed. Slat wall panels come in a wide variety of colors and styles that are sure to match your décor. Grid wall sections also come in a few different colors and finishes that can help you to set the tone that you want in your store.

Gridwall and slatwall allow you to conveniently and easily move displays around with very little effort. This is such a useful aspect in the retail environment where needs are constantly changing. The versatility is unmatched by any other retail display. You can quickly switch from summer to winter, from sweaters to shoes, or even from jewelry to power tools. The possibilities are truly endless.

Gridwall and slatwall both allow you to put clothing and accessories on the wall instead of in your floor space. Not only does this save you from having an overcrowded sales floor, but it also allows you to coordinate your displays to make more sales. Let’s say that you are selling general apparel, like jeans, shirts, hats and jewelry. Normally these items would be hung on different racks around the store. But, with a grid wall or a slat wall, you can hang them facing outward and next to each other. You can even use torso mannequin forms to display the outfits in their entirety without using any more space.

Using your gridwall and slatwall to your advantage can save you on rent and power, but can also make your store or boutique easier to shop in. Customers appreciate being able to see what you have without digging through racks and crowded displays.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Keeping Up with Retail Appearances

Like it or not, customers constantly judge you based on your appearance. How you dress, your hair, make-up, your employees attention to service, that piece of trash on the floor, and the messy table of products that ten anxious shoppers just rummaged through. All of these things and more can help a person form an opinion about you, your store, and your products in a matter of seconds. Keeping up the appearance that you want to present can be challenging in the hectic holiday season.

Make sure that you have the basic foundation of order under your belt. Using retail displays that are designed well is a good place to start. Circular racks can easily get crowded and look a mess even if everything there is in order. Forward facing displays are not only more effective, they are easier to keep straight and show the customer what you have to offer before they touch a thing.

Using display wall units, like gridwall and slatwall, will really help you to keep the store straight. Hanging items up high means that customers can see the products way before they even enter the store. They are displayed facing outward and spotlights can showcase something even if it is high overhead. Customers will need assistance to look at items that are up high, so this keeps them from rummaging through stacks that constantly need to be refolded and fixed.

Another benefit to having things hung up high is that an associate can always be hovering in that area to help customers. This way, people can ask questions, get immediate help, and the employee can keep track of how many items are going into and coming out of the dressing room. If people can’t hide behind crowded racks, then it is much harder to shoplift. This is especially true if they know that the employee is aware of exactly what they are holding.

Another benefit to having things displayed on gridwall or slat wall is that it is so easy to display clothing on mannequin forms. These plastic or acrylic shells are torso forms that hang from the bar in front of your inventory. They take up no floor space, but allow you to showcase certain outfits and accessories almost as well as a full size mannequin. Customers can simply scan the wall and figure out which outfits would suit their needs before they ever decide to go into the dressing room.

Gridwall and slatwall satisfy a lot of your needs and keep your retail store looking great throughout the holiday season. Your displays will sell more clothing and accessories, you can cut down on shoplifting, and the time that employees spend straightening racks. Keep your store in order this holiday season and you will rake in the benefits.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

How to Keep up with Merchandising During the Holidays

The holiday season is an exciting time in retail. But, it can also be a challenging time for retailers. The store can really get cluttered with all of the extra holiday inventory. Keeping up with organization, customer demands, inventory, and displays can make it hard to stay in the holiday spirit. Use these tips to simplify and streamline the process.

1. Give employees an updated inventory list every day. If racks start to run low, they can quickly reference if there are more products in storage or not. No more wasted time rummaging through boxes to figure out if they can find another size for a customer.

2. Prepare your inventory for presentation before you need it. You don’t need to be pulling wrinkled garments out of boxes and displaying them before they are ready. Keep a steamer or two in your back room. Fill the room with rolling garment racks and hang everything that comes in as soon as you get it. Get it steamed and ready to go out.

3. Keep a list of your hottest products next to the register. Have the cashier check off or make a mark when one of the hot items sells. Have them alert another employee when a certain item or size of an item gets up to a good number. The other employees can quickly restock sizes before you lose a sale.

4. Have employees greet customers and let them know that you have plenty of inventory in the back if they can’t find something. This will keep them from ignoring racks or stacks that are looking low.

5. Get your employees to follow a system of maintenance. Every time they help a customer, they should straighten racks and displays on their way to the next customer. Just make sure that they drop everything if a customer needs help. Also make sure that they know it is rude to straighten things when a customer is trying to look at them or immediate after they messed things up. Always be courteous and eager to assist.

6. Make sure that your items are clearly visible to customers. Showcase each item in a way the keeps customers from rummaging through stacks. Slatwall and gridwall displays are perfect for this. You can utilize wall space by hanging items on outward facing racks. Hanging mannequin forms are perfect for showing off your best outfits. Just hang them on the end of the rack and customers can easily see them, even from outside the store. If they already know what something looks like on, then they are less likely to need to rummage through the rack.

By manipulating the displays on your slatwall or grid wall, you can keep them looking full. If you run out of something, simply move the hanging bars or racks around a little to fill up the space. Keep everything organized and your holiday season can be a productive and exciting one!

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Creating Effective Visual Displays

Creating attractive displays can get cumbersome if you use the same ideas over and over again. No matter how wonderful a display may be, if you use it too much, customers will lose interest, employees will not be excited, and your store will begin to look boring. Use these ideas to put life back into your retail displays. Get your store organized for optimal sales. Get ready for the holiday season and have your store functioning more efficiently than ever.

It’s not just how a display looks that is important. You could build an intricate model of the Eiffel tower with purses. It would be interesting, but wouldn’t necessarily sell any purses. The style of the display should match the style of the item that you are promoting. For example, distress washed jeans and vintage t-shirts could have a rock-n-roll style of display, loosely stacked on a table or worn by a mannequin wearing a hat and a head-set. That may not work so well for a designer suit, which is better showcased on a wooden hanger or more sophisticated mannequin.

If the clothing that you sell is casual, you can get really creative. But, you shouldn’t forget that it is important to maintain your image, build customer confidence, grab attention, and keep things organized. It’s a lot to think about, but not very hard to obtain.

Start with being organized and displaying things where customers can actually see them. Crowded, jumbled racks are just an inefficient, ineffective way to go. Utilizing a system, such as gridwall or a slatwall system, can keep things really organized and give your customers unmatched views of your merchandise. These are especially effective for maximizing small retail spaces that you see in malls and boutiques.

Hang enough items facing front that your displays really communicate your style. Alternate textures and styles, or use colors to create interesting patterns. You can really use your imagination, but be careful not to take attention away from the products that you are promoting. If your red clothing all forms a star in the middle of your gridwall, it will definitely grab attention! But did it lead all of your customers straight past your promotional display? Make sure that you position displays around big attention getters so that they will be seen.

Gridwalland slatwall displays are perhaps the most useful retail displays on the market. You can cheaply and easily mix it up as often as you’d like. You can move racks, bars, hooks and shelves around throughout the day to keep all of your displays looking fresh. This helps to build customer confidence because your racks don’t look empty. It helps you to keep up with business on days like Black Friday, and make it look effortless. Use your gridwall or slat wall displays to showcase your items this year.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Managing Retail Displays this Black Friday

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. This is an exciting and sometimes stressful time for retail store owners and managers. You need to be prepared for long hours, a lot of traffic, constant restocking, and you still can’t let customer service and your image slide into second place. You and your employees need to be ready to handle anything. Use these tips to keep your sanity and bring your profits into the black this Black Friday.

1) One problem on Black Friday is employees. Most stores open really early to get shoppers early on in their spending spree. Employees that are used to coming into work around nine or ten AM are not usually keen on being there at four o’clock in the morning. Plus, taking care of an endless sea of customers is really hard work, dreaded by most retail employees. You need to offer a reward incentive to ensure that employees will actually show up. You may also offer alternating hours off during the day so that your employees can also get some of their Black Friday shopping done.

2) The second problem retailers run into is keeping enough inventory on hand. Hopefully you have a past year’s data to indicate how much inventory you will need to get through this day. Try not to be afraid of ordering too much. Even if you can’t move it all on Black Friday, you still have a few weeks to sell it.

3) Keeping your displays fully stocked is an important part of making sales. Make sure that your employees are constantly stocking and straightening your showcases, shelves, and garment racks. When an item is running low, people sometimes assume that you are not restocking it for some reason. Studies show that people buy more when there is more on display. Plus you want them to know that you have all sizes available. If a stack is low, they might bypass it thinking that you probably don’t have the size that they need, or that it’s already picked over.

4) There’s a trick to camouflaging areas that are running low on merchandise that you can use to keep your store looking stocked. If you have slatwall or gridwall, you are in luck. You can easily combine similar items when they run low and then rearrange hanging bars and shelves to keep the wall looking full. For example, if you had forty shirts hanging on one bar and you’re down to fifteen, then the rack will look really empty. With slatwall or a grid wall, you can simply switch out the hanging bar that holds forty to the one that holds twenty. Suddenly your display looks full again.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Using Gridwall and Slatwall for Holiday Displays

The holiday season is here and it’s time to get ready for it. Retail owners look forward to this time of year when people get out and buy lots of gifts. This is often the time when businesses make their profits for the year. Preparing for the season means decorating and arranging your showcase displays in a way that attracts customers and makes them feel compelled to buy.

People want to feel a certain way when they find that special gift. You can encourage them to feel that way by getting your store in the spirit. I’m not talking about simply putting up some Christmas lights, although that can help with your lighting scheme. I’m talking about bringing up fuzzy warm feelings in those that you want to spend money in your store.

First, do a little research. What age and gender are your best customers? Talk to them to get a clue as to why they decided to make a purchase. Did they simply like it? Or did they go into detail about how it made them think of someone and they just had to have it? The more that you can get customers to gush about why they decided to purchase something, the more insight you’ll have into how you can use that information in your store displays.

Having gridwall or slatwall in your store is a very big step in the right direction. These wall displays are the most versatile of all store displays. You can arrange and rearrange, strategically placing items where they’ll be seen and admired. Additionally, you can space things out in a way that makes your supply always look full and never like you might be out of sizes or like you might be discontinuing an item.

With gridwall and slatwall, you can hang bars, pegs, hooks and shelves to mix it up a bit. You never want a straight line display. It’s boring to the eye and seems very cold and impersonal. Varying degrees of depth and texture makes a display enticing and pleasing to the eye. It keeps the brain actively involved in looking and considering. This is exactly what you want.

Draw extra attention to your showcase displays by utilizing spot lights that shine on your slat wall or gridwall. You want to create the same sort of effect with lights as you do with your shelves, pegs and bars. Depth and dimension are added when you use special lighting. Colors look better and textures of clothing are amplified.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Functional Slatwall

Slatwall is one of the top display picks of retail store owners. Slatwall makes it easy to turn a store wall into a complex merchandising system. You can choose slatwall in a variety of finishes and colors to compliment your store displays. Additionally, you can quickly and easily move around racks, shelves, hanging bars, and hooks to fit in as much or as little inventory as you need.

Slatwall is made of medium-density fiberboard and is sturdy enough to last for many years of use. Check with your manufacturer about how much weight you can put on your wall. You may choose to add aluminum inserts when you place your order. These make it possible to hold 50% more weight than a standard slatwall.

How much weight you can put on a slatwall display also depends on the quality of installation. It is recommended that you have a contractor install your slatwall to ensure that it is anchored well enough to hold a lot of weight. Because of the possible liability of a wall falling, your insurance company may require that you have your slatwall professionally installed, so be sure that you check with them before you decide to do it yourself.

Slatwall has a clean look and is a versatile option for merchandising a wall. But, you can also use sections of slatwall to create merchandising racks. These displays can be free standing. They are very useful for floor displays, accessory displays, impulse item displays, brochure displays and more. You can place them near your retail showcase so that customers get a good look at smaller or impulse items while they wait in line. You can use slat wall to create your own shelving, or custom fitted displays that go into oddly sized areas.

Slatwall has sturdy construction and finish that can last through many years of use. Their versatility is equivalent to that of grid wall with many accessories to choose from. You can use hooks, shelving, acrylic pieces, and more to make your merchandise look good. Not only that, it keeps everything facing out towards the customer. No more unsold inventory that was simply looked over because it was crammed on a regular rack. With slatwall, you can rearrange items to bring attention to the ones that aren’t selling. You can hang mannequin torso forms to bring even more attention to your clothing.

You may be set with your slatwall, but you may also consider grid wall for your display needs. Both styles of wall merchandisers are sturdy, versatile and make the most of vertical wall space. You can save so much space, time and effort with either gridwall gridwall or slatwall.


About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Gridwall for Retail

Gridwall is a versatile, sturdy, cost efficient choice for many types of retail stores. Gridwall is comprised of metal grids that can be attached to the wall or each other to create unique store displays. They can be configured into display areas that fit almost anywhere. You can be creative in the way that you use your gridwall, changing up your displays to match the space that you have, the season, or the amount of inventory that you are displaying.

Versatility is the number one reason that retail stores choose gridwall. Sturdy tabs connect the metal grids together. You can create shelving, tables, wall displays and more with different sized sections of gridwall. When it is installed on the wall, you can use accessories, such as hanging bars, hooks, shelves, racks and more to display your products in ways where they will be easily seen by your customers or people passing by.

Space utilization is another reason that gridwall is so popular. You can display, carry, stock and sell more items on gridwall than you can on garment racks. You can have clothing facing outward where it is easily seen. Customers won’t have to sift through racks to see what you offer. You can utilize the vertical space that your store has to offer, instead of just the floor.

Gridwall is also a cost effective choice in retail display. It is inexpensive compared to other forms of displays and is incredibly strong. Gridwall can hold a lot of weight, which makes it popular for displaying heavier items, like power tools. Simply zip-tie the products directly to the gridwall, or use one of the many gridwall accessories that there are on the market. You can also showcase your items by displaying them on mannequins or mannequin forms that hang from the gridwall. Or, if you’ve saved floor space, you will have more room for interesting mannequin displays that can help you to sell smaller items as well as your main attractions.

Longevity is an important thing to consider when you’re purchasing retail displays. Gridwall has sturdy construction and can last for many, many years. The accessories are often solid metal without small parts that can break off or require maintenance. Grid wall pieces are standard sizes that you can add to or take away from for years. You don’t have to worry about needing new accessories and then finding out that nothing fits your gridwall anymore.

If you rent, consider the space that you will save by using gridwall. You can rent out a smaller space for your store, saving you money every month on rent and utilities. You may also save money by protecting your merchandise from theft.

Stores with racks placed closely together give thieves easy access to your items. By spreading out your floor displays and hanging items, you increase visibility. You may even choose to display more expensive items up higher so that customers need help from an associate to handle the merchandise. People are a lot less likely to steal if the employees know that they have the item in their hand.

If you love all of the advantages of gridwall but would like something else to showcase your store, check out slatwall slatwall. Slat wall sections look like painted wall when installed and covered in merchandise. No matter which way you decide to showcase your store, you will still enjoy all of the benefits of using vertical wall space.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Retail Showcase and Display Ideas

Use these display ideas to make the most of your slatwall, gridwall and showcase displays. Learn what benefits these store displays have over other forms of product merchandising.

Using slatwall in a retail setting can be really beneficial. Once the slatwall panels are installed, you can quickly and easily change up your displays. There are just about endless accessories that can help you to be creative and grab attention with your arrangements. You can feature higher priced or new merchandise at eye level to grab the attention of customers that may only be passing by your store.

Slatwall can hold a lot of weight and is the choice of retailers that sell power tools and other heavy products. It is also very popular for making the most of a retail space that is insufficient. You can use circular garment racks and other floor displays along with your slatwall set-up and fit a large inventory into a small space. You can accomplish this without cluttering or cramping the space.

Gridwall is useful in a lot of the same ways that slatwall is. You can easily move around hooks, shelves and display bars to accommodate changing seasons and inventory. You can also buy sections of grid wall that clip together to create custom retail floor displays. You can make a wall of cubes that fit in odd spaces. For example, underneath a staircase. This unique feature helps you to utilize what would have otherwise been wasted space.

Gridwall and slatwall both help customers see what you have to offer. You can hang mannequin torso forms at the front of your inventory to show customers what clothing looks like when worn. You can use gridwall and slatwall in your retail window displays to showcase accessories like shoes, hats and bags.

In addition to your gridwall or slatwall displays, you will need garment racks and glass showcases. Your retail showcases can help you to control the flow of traffic through your store. Showcases that are lighted attract customers to areas where you want them to shop. They also help to control what customers are allowed to handle and touch. Most showcases have plunger locks that require key entry. This will allow you and your employees to monitor merchandise while customers are looking at them. You can keep a nightly inventory to prevent employee theft as well.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, slatwall and gridwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Best Uses of Gridwall and Slatwall

Gridwall and slatwall are popular with retail store owners for good reason. You can use your creativity to make either one fit your needs. Here we will discuss some of the best ways that you can utilize gridwall or slatwall to make the most of your investment.

Gridwall is very inexpensive, sturdy, and can be reconfigured to build just about any type of display or showcase. Furthermore, it breaks down into flat sections. These can be easily stashed in your storeroom, hung on a wall or stashed in a ceiling bracket for storage. You can change up your displays often and store unused pieces very easily, without taking up much space.

Gridwall is great for creating different wall configurations for merchandising your inventory. It is easy to install. You can purchase all kinds of accessories that hang from each grid. There are hanging rods, hat displays, baskets, shelves, hooks, tubing and more that can be used to display clothing and accessories. There are also acrylic accessories for displaying signage, brochures, flyers, magazines and shoes.

Another thing you can do with gridwall is to build merchandisers or showcase accessories. With a rolling or stationary base, legs and clips, you can create a custom rack for displaying clothing or accessories. These are really versatile and help satisfy all of your display and showcase needs through changing seasons, promotions and changing inventory.

You can also create free-standing displays, such as t-shirt cubes, towers, department dividers, or shelving. Simply clip together the pieces that are the size that you need. Clips hold pieces securely together, so you don’t have to worry about the things that you create being flimsy or weak. Gridwall is so versatile and so sturdy that many retail stores only need gridwall to stock their entire store.

Another option is slatwall. Slatwall is installed as a permanent wall fixture and should be done by a professional to ensure that it is securely anchored and will not later fall down. The grooves on slatwall will hold more weight if you get the metal inserts to go in them. You can easily hang all different kinds of slatwall accessories. Much like gridwall, you can hang bars, hooks, shelves and more. There are so many accessories for slatwall that you are sure to find something to display just about anything.

Some retailers prefer the clean look of slatwall. It looks more like a painted wall than gridwall, but really it just depends on your personal preference. Gridwall and slatwall are both very versatile display options and are sure to help you meet your display needs.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail displays, including mannequins, dress mannequin forms, female mannequins, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Visual Displays Needed to Start a Retail Store

Starting up a retail store can leave your head spinning! The “to do” lists can be overwhelming. Part of the start-up requires that you devise a plan for acquiring visual store displays. This list will hopefully help you to narrow down some of your research and get the show on the road.

First you will need to decide on wall displays. Choosing the right type of slatwall or gridwall system can save you a lot of space and money. These types of wall display systems are versatile and help you to accomplish your most basic display goal; to keep the customer interested. In order to keep your store aesthetically pleasing, you need to create an array of merchandising options that can change with your inventory, promotions and the seasons. Keep photos of your display arrangements for future reference. Make notes as to whether or not certain arrangements attracted more customers or more sales.

Floor displays need to function not only as clothing racks, but also as merchandising displays. Choose garment racks, tables and shelves that give you a variety of options when it comes to displaying clothing. Long racks of clothing all facing the same way make it difficult for customers or people passing through to see what you have to offer. Keeping the displays more interesting can result in a better brand image and higher sales. Try to choose display racks that face clothing outward. It’s also a good idea to have racks that can accommodate folded and hung clothing. Reserve less interesting display racks for clearance items.

The next step is to order your showcases. A showcase is a special display that features a certain item, brand or category of items. Showcases are often lighted glass cases that are well suited for illuminating certain areas of the store, drawing attention to high priced items, and keeping small valuables safe from shoplifters. Showcases are regularly used as countertops in the register area of the store.

The last piece of your visual display puzzle is to incorporate mannequins into your design. Mannequins can last for many years and are a great item to invest in. They have been responsible for more sales than any other display in history. They help to set the tone and environment in your retail store. They communicate your image to customers while visually enticing them to feel emotionally connected with your product.

Once you have your gridwall or slatwall system, your garment racks, showcases and mannequins, you’ll be ready to tackle some of the other details on your list. Good luck in your endeavor!

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Should I Hire a Retail Designer?

Whether you are remodeling or opening a retail store, you may want to hire a retail designer. A retail designer may also work with an architect to make sure that your merchandising plan fits with your space in the most profitable way. A retail designer may also go by the title interior designer, visual marketing specialist or merchandising designer. Companies that offer these services or that employee the professionals will often have a team of specialists work on a design that works best for you.

When you work with a retail design team, they should always keep your profits in mind. They will not give you an extravagant design that is not very user friendly. They should consider your space, your products, your inventory, your budget and your customers. Retail designers can often come up with innovative designs that you haven’t thought of yet. It can help you to take a fresh approach to merchandising that result in profits.

Retail and visual merchandisers are specialists in determining your clients’ needs. They anticipate what your clients will want and design the store around them. They will also want to catch the consumer’s eye and create new wants and desires along the way. All of this can be done by someone with a keen eye who does a lot of research.

Visual merchandisers will create the lure to get customers in your store. This often starts with the window displays. Mannequins and lighting designs can help to draw in customers. Once inside, the products need to be arranged in a logical fashion so that customers can easily feel their way around the store. Your showcases should be strategically placed to guide customers deeper and deeper into the store. Impulse buy displays should finish out the design. They are generally located in areas where customers will be passing once they’ve decided to leave the store. Near the register and near the door are good places to make that last ditch effort in selling a few more items.

If you have a small space, a retail design team my suggest using the walls to maximize your display area. Gridwall and slatwall are great for managing a large amount of merchandise in a small area. You can constantly update your displays. Spread them out for a more spacious feel, or arrange them close together to advertise just how much merchandise you have to offer. Gridwall and slatwall displays allow you to face your merchandise outward where it can be more easily seen, even from outside your store.

Hiring a retail design team will help you to purposely and diligently place each type of merchandise where it will be most profitable. You can get advice on what type of retail displays, like gridwall or slatwall, will work best for you. Professional opinions on merchandising are generally more profitable than guessing what is best for your type of store, so the investment could really pay off.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Retail Slatwall Questions

How much weight can my slatwall hold?

It is best to check with the manufacturer before you hang heavy objects. Ask about the internal bond strength. The internal bond generally ranges from 50 pounds to 150 pounds per square inch. The higher the internal bond, the more weight your slatwall can hold. In general, ligt slatwall can hold around twenty pounds for things hung close to the wall (within 6”). High pressure slatwall can hold around one hundred pounds. The further away you hang things from the wall, the less weight your slatwall can handle. High pressure laminates are the strongest, melamine and paint grade hold less weight.

Can I increase the weight that my slatwall can handle?

Yes, you can increase your slatwall weight capacity by installing inserts in the slots. Again, check with your manufacturer because most have to insert them during production, and they cannot be added later. Plastic or acrylic inserts increase the weight capacity by only a little, but metal inserts increase it by a lot. MDF slatwall with no insert can hold between 15 and 40 pounds per bracket, while a metal insert increases the load capacity to a range of about 40 pounds to 120 pounds.

Can slatwall be attached directly to studs?

Yes. Slatwall can be installed directly on studs or through drywall. Check with building codes before you install, because some walls are required to have drywall between the studs and the slatwall.

How do I know how much slatwall to order?

Talk to a representative of the company that you are ordering from. Be aware of their standard panel sizes and whether or not you are accommodating vertical or horizontally measured panels. Also, consider whether you want slatwall from floor to ceiling or just at a certain level.

Does slatwall require professional installation?

Not necessarily, but professional installation is recommended. Some insurance companies, especially ones insuring retail stores, require that a professional licensed contractor install the slatwall. There are building codes and fire codes to consider. Plus, you need to be sure that the slatwall is properly installed so that it will hold the weight that you plan to put on it without posing a liability or injury hazard.

How versatile is slatwall?

Slatwall is one of the most versatile products on the retail display market. There are so many accessories, that you will never run out of ideas on how to present your merchandise. You can use hanging bars, hooks, shelves and special accessory displays to keep things fresh and changing in your store. You can attractively display impulse items next to other, more standard items. You can easily and quickly switch from summer to winter merchandise, adjust the amount of inventory in the store, and set up promotional displays without changing the look and feel of the store. Buying slatwall for your store could be one of the best investments that you make.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

Benefits of Retail Gridwall and Slatwall

Slatwall and gridwall are very versatile display options for retail stores. They allow you to change up your displays quickly and easily, without spending a lot of money. Replacement costs are just about nothing if you get a decent quality gridwall or slatwall. They look great and maintain their quality and appearance very well.

You can maximize your use of these store displays by utilizing slatwall or gridwall accessories. Just about any product you need to display has an accessory designed to showcase it. Shelves, bars, hooks and more are easily moved around to make the most of your space.

Slatwall and gridwall are especially popular in smaller retail stores where space is limited. You can utilize the vertical space that you have available and free up some room on the floor. Your merchandise can be displayed facing out or hung on mannequin forms to really showcase the items that you’re trying to sell. Displaying clothing in this way has a lot of benefits that you may have not even considered.

Customers can see your clothes and what they look like on, even if they are not in your store. Having merchandise up high draws the eye into your store. Customers can see many articles at once and quickly determine if they would like to shop in your store.

Another benefit to having things up high and having the sales floor more spaciously arranged is reduced shoplifting. Garment racks that are crowded with clothing not only keep customers from seeing everything that you sell, but also give shoplifters a lot of cover to do their business. One of the most common ways that a shoplifter steals is to reach between clothing on a clothing rack and drop articles into their bag, purse or stroller, completely hidden from sight. Additionally, if customers have to interact with sales associates to get their sizes down from the wall, then they are less likely to think that they can get away with stealing it.

Slatwall and gridwall help you to come up with interesting displays, but they also help you to camouflage certain things from customers. Let’s say that you are discontinuing an item. Well, we all know that it is a big no-no to display a less than full rack, or customers will not buy. Being able to cleverly rearrange hooks, shelves and racks will help you to move a once full bar on to and inconspicuous shelf.

Using slatwall and gridwall for merchandising can help you to increase your sales, reduce loss, and keep your store looking top notch. It is durable, inexpensive and a great addition to any retail store.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.