Retail Details

GO MAGIC! Tuni - Park Ave, Winter Park, FL (Orlando)

GO MAGIC! I’m not much of a sports fan, so it took me a few minutes to realize the relevance of the brooms in this store window display at TUNI on Park Avenue in Winter Park, Florida. Apparently, the Orlando Magic basketball team “swept” the semi-finals and move on to the final round of the Eastern Conference NBA playoffs, which start today. I was visiting Orlando a few weeks ago and every direction I looked, I saw signs of support for the local team. I saw more GO MAGIC signs in people’s yards than I expect to see the week before a national political election. TUNI’s windows are alwaysworth a visit and they are normally filled with lovely clothing from Tibi, Nanette Lepore and – if it’s my lucky day- some Cynthia Vincent wedges (sigh). I

Pitter Patter - Bath, Maine

applaud the Orlando area for their community spirit and kudos to TUNI for getting my vote for the best GO Magic window.

This display rocks, literally. A music theme is a simple display to create. The props are easily located and music is never out of style. This display at Pitter Patter children’s store in Bath, Maine, does not need props, though. The onesies and shirts set the theme and too many props could distract from the merchandise.

Speaking of music displays, several drums and guitar amps are the perfect props for the rock band t-shirts folded neatly on the tiered tables in this next picture.

There’s a store in Illinois with a rockin’ decor. You can’t tell in this picture, below, but they have great rock star artwork and even have vintage Rolling Stone Magazines on their coffee table. With a large selection of jeans for men and women, Cityblue Apparel & Denim in Chicago displays one of the best ideas I have seen in a long while.

Cityblue Apparel & Denim - Chicago, IL

 They use polaroid pictures to show what the jeans look like when “on”. You may be surprised what information a simple picture can provide: low rise or mid rise, loose fit or skinny, low or high pockets, straight leg or boot cut. They have these polaroids by their jean displays in both the men’s and women’s areas. I suspect this tool works well for their male customers, especially those who like to shop by waist size and not have to try anything on.

Props, ideas and inspirations:

Notice the base for this eyeglasses display. It is simply a 12″ x 12″ sheet of mosaic tiles.  They are available in various colors and finishes. I’d like to see them lining the bottom shelf of a jewelry display case, perhaps in a shiny, irridescent finish. The mesh backing is easy to cut to custom fit the area you are trying to cover.

While at the home improvement store, you could visit the garden area to create this display for grouping small items. The tiered metal piece adds height and the small terra cotta pots will not topple easily. Shown here, they are displaying beauty products in sample sizes, but it could make a nice display for loose beads and other crafting supplies, makeup brushes, wine bottle stoppers, etc.

If you have round racks for apparel in your store, I hope that you utilize the top space as a 360 round feature area. Store fixture companies sell rounder toppers in glass, wood and colored mica. Patty at the Wandering Wardrobe, in Springville, Utah, gets some of the selling space back by creating accessory displays above the clothing on her rounders.

Wandering Wardrobe - Springville, UT

 This spring display uses a clear vase to feature a pair of shoes and a scarf. One common mistake is when retailers try to put too much merchandise on the rounder topper and it looks cluttered. If you really need to pile stuff up there, get the round wire basket topper instead. The round basket topper works best for loose items or for a clearance area.

Millers Too - Bonner Springs, KS

Small step ladders are a common display prop.  Millers Too in Bonner Springs, Kansas, uses one to create a display of cleaning products. They have a nice sign from the vendor that ties the display together. It creates it’s own small department, which works well for gift, accessory and home decor stores. Ask your sales reps or contact vendors for signage and other promo materials. Sometimes they have entire display fixtures available for a nominal fee or possibly free with a sizable purchase.  Showrooms are a great source for such ideas.

Here’s a similar step ladder, but this one has been decoupaged and some hook lace added to create an earring display.

This one’s just to make you smile. It’s an actual store display for the Poo Pourri bathroom spray deodorizer. (Full size toilet).

When I walk up and down the aisles of trade shows and wholesale markets, I look for display ideas and inspirations. I went to the ASD Gift Show in Las Vegas and found a number of great display pieces that retailers could purchase at wholesale,  just by meeting a small “minimum”. Here are a few that I found at the DeLeon Collections booth. Most of their products are sold in threes, but the larger items (like the red derrick) are sold singly. Product showrooms in the merchandise marts are a favorite source for display ideas. You can ask the sales reps, showroom managers and vendor representatives for display ideas, signage and literature when you order their products.  Your sales reps may also have ideas from the many other stores that they visit. Many permanent product showrooms have a display team, so take note of their display ideas.  Thanks to the Just Got 2 Have It showroom in the Atlanta Americasmart for allowing me to share these two:

Just Got 2 Have It Showroom - Atlanta, GA

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Stay display inspired!

~Becky