Editorial

The Right Way to Project the Right Image

If David Letterman had a Top 10 list for successful retail store planning, it might read something like this: 10. Don't forget to turn your "Open/Closed" sign around. 9.Get all the livestock out before the store opens. 8.Call the store manager and remind him to put the displays on the wall not just throw them on a table. 7.Do not offer your customers canes and seeing-eye dogs, they will think you are in a different blind business. Well, we think you get the idea. Thank goodness for our industry Letterman is not involved in store planning and Maureen Marrone is. This month, Marrone, visual merchandising manager for Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, shares with us some business management tips for when it comes to projecting the right image in the design and layout of a retail store. Just as in our daily lives, organization plays a key role when it comes to properly laying out stores. From the window displays to the backroom, every corner needs to have a defining purpose. Marrone explains, "Even if you feel your store's environment is satisfactory, remember that the marketplace and the consumer are constantly changing. For your business to survive, the personality of your store must also evolve." You might not have thought much about the Letterman-like Top 10 we started off with, but we are confident that you will learn a lot from Marrone's Top 10 tips for Successful Store Planning. 10.Show it respect, or don't show it at all. 9.Keep it fresh. 8.Variety. 7.Show large product samples. 6.Displays should tell a story. We don't need to give them all away in one reading. You will have to read this month's Business Management article for the top five tips!

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