Call for entries in retail display contest

Press release 

Midwest-CBK, leading designer and manufacturer renowned for its design, style and sparkle in home décor, gifts, holiday and candles, announces a call for entries in its fourth annual “Design Style Sparkle” in-store retail holiday display contest for independent retailers.

      Independent retailers are invited to submit up to two photos of their holiday displays, a 150-word description and if possible, impact in terms of increased traffic, sales and customer feedback. Criteria for judging include creativity and impact. Prizes include Midwest-CBK product credits and award plaques, and will be presented for first, second and third places.

      “Now in our fourth year of hosting this popular retail awards program, Midwest-CBK is sponsoring the 2010 ‘Design Style Sparkle’ contest to celebrate, recognize and share the creative display ideas that are helping to drive traffic and sales for independent retail business,” says Frederic Contino, president of Midwest-CBK.

      The deadline for contest entries is December 13, 2010. All digital photo entries and descriptions should be emailed to your local Midwest-CBK account manager, or directly to contest@mwcbk.com. To find your local Midwest-CBK account manager, please call 800-394-4225.

      Winners will be announced on Saturday, January 15, 2011, during Midwest-CBK’s “Design Style Sparkle” party in the company’s Atlanta showroom located in Building 1, Suite 16A7. Photos of the award winners will be on display in major Midwest-CBK showrooms during the winter markets.

Award-winning exhibits at Chicago gift show

Chicago Market: Living and Giving Best In Show Award Winners

BEST EXHIBIT DISPLAY AWARD WINNERS
Gourmet Winner
Rolf Glass, www.rolfglass.com
Rolf Glass is an American glass cutting and engraving manufacturer. They offer customers distinctive images and timeless icons on quality crystal and glassware.

What A Girl Wants Winner
W.I.N.O.S Inc., www.winoshavefun.com
W.I.N.O.S offer cookbooks, apparel and accessories with a sense of humor.

Home Winner
Amity Home, www.amityimports.com
Amity Home offers fine linens,Crib Beddings,Quilt Patterns that feature great quality and workmanship.

Beckman's Handcrafted Winner
Erin Smith Art, www.erinsmithart.com
Erin Smith offers fun and sassy mixed media artwork.

Beckman’s Handcrafted Winner
Printed Canvas, www.printedcanvas.com
Printed Canvas offers distinctive, artist-signed stationery and unique art.

Gift & Accessories Winner
Royal Green Enterprise, Ltd and Chit Chat Beauty, www.royalgreen.com and www.chitchatbeauty.com
Royal Green Enterprises Ltd is an importer and wholesaler that was founded in 1980. Their products include a wide range of Artificial Flowers, Trees, Fruits, Vegetables, Christmas Decorations, Vases, Containers, Furniture and more. Chit Chat Beauty is an inspirational bath and beauty line created for young girls.


BEST SHOWROOM DISPLAY AWARD WINNERS
Design Design, showroom 13-518, www.designdesign.us
Design Design’s product lines include paper tableware, humorous beverage napkins, ceramic and aluminum serving pieces, gift packaging, greeting cards, stationery, home décor, and gifts.

Daniel Richards, showroom 13-512, www.danielrichards.biz
Daniel Richards offers fine gift and stationery representatives, with products ranging from baby, home decor and general gift.

AND!Sales, showroom 14-109, www.andsales.com
And!Sales is a rep organization specializing in home lines and serving the Midwest territory. Their goal is to bring a broad range of products and style to Mid-America. Products range from home decor, indoor and outdoor, fashion and trend.

Saro Trading, showroom 14-105 http://www.saro.com
Saro Trading offers traditional home textiles in delicate laces in the European tradition as well as a multitude of contemporary textiles in varied textures, spanning the wide range from napkin rings to table throws to bedcovers, supplement the selection of textiles into full collections

Saturday special: Shopping at the Mitsukoshi Department Store:

What excites shoppers? The merchandise, the layout of a store, the service and the overall atmosphere all play a role. Gift & Home Today asked writer Louise Burton to share her thoughts of the Mitsukoshi Department Store in the EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World, Florida.

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When I shop for home décor, one of the things I always look for is great Asian design. Because I have a difficult time finding stores that sell traditional Japanese crafts and décor, I was delighted to discover a branch of the Mitsukoshi Department Store in the EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World. The main store is located in Tokyo, and the WDW store is the only branch in North America.
Every year, my husband and I go to a trade show held in one of the Disney World hotels. Although we’re there to work, we find time to visit the theme parks. Visiting the EPCOT Center’s World Showcase is like walking around a huge bazaar with great international food and music. And one of the biggest draws is the shopping.

When we visited the Japan Pavilion in 2009, I discovered the Mitsukoshi Department Store’s tiny entrance inside a large, imposing replica from Japan’s Imperial Palace. When I walked inside, tables of Hello Kitty toys and lucky cat figurines greeted me. Further back, I saw rows and rows of stationery and other paper products, imprinted with elegant details from Japanese fans and woodblock prints. My favorite Japanese print, Hokusai’s Red Fuji, was reprinted on journal and notebook covers.

In the women’s department, there were exquisite wall hangings and purses made out of kimono fabric and colorful silk brocade. Several young Japanese women dressed in stunning kimonos stood behind glass cases of Mikimoto pearl jewelry, while others sat at a table writing calligraphy on fans.
I truly wanted everything I saw in the women’s department. I had so many choices, I didn’t know what or how to choose. My husband returned to warn me the EPCOT closing fireworks were about to begin. I let myself be dragged out without buying anything. What could I do? There was no way to choose when what I wanted was everything. I promised myself that one day I would return.
When we finally visit EPCOT again, I wondered, will the Mitsukoshi shopping experience be as I remembered it?

This year, I convinced my husband to return to EPCOT, despite his objections against “paying for admission just to go shopping.” In the Japan Pavilion, the front entrance of Mitsukoshi was the same: a gleaming metallic sign reading “Mitsukoshi: Since 1673”, and a few items in small windows. Not much to suggest what wonders lay within. When we walked in, the children’s department at the front of the store looked the same. But, further back, the shelves of exquisite stationery and paper products were gone! Instead, the area featured anime-inspired gifts (dolls, tote bags, etc.) that were more commercial and less appealing. I began to worry.
But the further back I went, the more things I remembered: a small black handbag with the image of a gold crane spreading its wings, silk brocade purses, teacups, jewelry. In particular, jewelry made out of kimono fabric. I was attracted to a sparkling Sakura (cherry blossom) pendant, as well as a red-and-black floral pendant shaped like a donut (see pictures).
Because I love all things Sakura, a set of Sakura hairpins caught my eye, but they were just the tiny tip of the iceberg. The hairpins were sitting on a glass case containing a wealth of traditional Japanese hair ornaments made from satin flowers and silk brocade. Unfortunately, most were designed for longer tresses than my businesslike bob!

I also discovered mini tote bags in one of my favorite Japanese patterns: waves of the sea, shown as formalized wavy lines with white splashes shooting up at intervals. This design was used as a sea god emblem in Japanese shrines. (See picture). I also saw teacups imprinted with another iconic image of the sea: Hokusai’s famous Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Unfortunately, my brief, tantalizing impression of Mitsukoshi in 2009 was not entirely confirmed this year. There didn’t seem to be as much merchandise on the floor, and what was there seemed picked over. The only category that retained its astonishing beauty and variety was the jewelry and hair ornaments. These were worth the price of admission alone.
I had been saving my money for months for this moment. I purchased two necklaces, a Sakura fabric ornament, the Sakura hairpins, and the mini tote bag. All together, this was the only splurge purchase I had allowed myself in months! And I’d do it again.

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Louise Burton is a writer, editor and avid shopper who lives in Wilmette, IL. Louise previously wrote about a gift store in Evanston, IL. She currently writes Web content and designs Web sites, uniting her interests in both writing and design. She has written for a host of e-newsletters about marketing trends and techniques. One of her passions is good design, wherever it can be found: on the Web, at art fairs, or in home furnishings. She is constantly on the lookout for the finest products available in gift and home décor.

Saturday Special: 15 Visual Merchandising Tips

Gift & Home Today invited Christi Finch to share her ideas about store displays. Christi has worked on the wholesale and retail side of home furnishings. A 2005 graduate from Texas A&M University, she is studying for a masters in merchandising and marketing at the University of North Texas. 
Contact Christi at christifitch[at]hotmail[dot]com. Follow her on Twitter: @christifitch

When you think of visual merchandising in your store, you need to imagine it is like meeting someone for the first time – you want to make the best impression possible.
Customers entering a store are greatly influenced by the visual information they gather in the first split second. Think of what grabs people’s attention: bright colors, new shapes or groupings.
Use these simple tips to keep those first impressions fresh and new:

1. Keep the merchandise looking full even if you don’t have the stock available.
2. Use a visual triangle shape when merchandising. Keep the sides somewhat symmetrical and the center or item towards the back tall.
3. Place new merchandise front and center.
4. Never block any piece of merchandise with another.
5. Organize merchandise in a shippable manner. Do not make it too cluttered.
6. Avoid covering tables or massing-out decorative items on furniture.
7. Merchandise items to give customers new ideas.
8. Be ready for anything. Have a backup plan if the merchandise in your display is sold. Know what you will replace it with next.
9. Keep it clean! Insure that the merchandise looks as new as the day you received it.
10. Replenish and restock as merchandise levels diminish.
11. You want the display to be as fresh for the last person who sees it as it was for the first person.
12. Make each display approachable so your customers want to touch and feel your merchandise.
13. Double-expose the merchandise because this helps customers visualize your merchandise in different settings.
14. Keep bulk or excess merchandise in close proximity to the display they are featured on.
15. Know what looks good. After all, this is your store, and you know it better than anyone else.

GuildMaster visual display contest opens

Retailers can begin uploading photos of their store displays today to the GuildMaster on Tour Facebook page The contest is intended to recognize the most outstanding retail displays across the U.S. and to support the favorite charities of the winning dealers.
Ten retailers from across the country will be named as winners based on voting by fans March 15 through 28. The awards for each winning display include a $1,000 donation made to the retailer’s favorite charity, 500 trees planted in their honor, and $1,000 in GuildMaster bucks for additional product.
GuildMaster will donate $10,000 to charity and plant 5,000 mahogany trees. As part of its ongoing commitment to reforestation, the company has planted thousands of trees in Indonesia in a one-for-one replacement for each tree that’s used.
1.At least 250 square feet need to be allocated to the display that is exclusively comprised of GuildMaster product in the following categories: accent furniture, accessories, wall decor, lighting and mirrors. Non-GuildMaster product such as upholstery, bedding, flowers, dinnerware, jewelry or rugs may also be included.
2. Only one entry per company may be posted.
3. Participants must submit a 5" x 7", 300 dpi photo, along with the name of the display and maximum 150-word description of why the display works, what they were trying to accomplish and the inspiration for the display, along with the name of their charity. (Videos to further support the entry may also be posted on the GuildMaster Facebook wall.)
4. There is no limit to the number of times GuildMaster on Tour fans can vote.
5. Promotion of the contest to employees, customers, local media and the community is highly encouraged.
6. Winning retail store displays must remain in place through April 15.

Visual merchandising

Gift & Home Today is taking the day off. Please enjoy this feature from an earlier posting.

Staged vignettes take the guesswork out of the shopping experience, as customers are able to visualize how they would show merchandise in their homes. Inviting displays like the ones below incorporate merchandise that can easily be mixed and matched—and that look natural, functional and pleasing. Why buy just the sofa, when that end table looks so nice next to it? Click to continue.

Tote bags, display ideas from Midwest-CBK

Retailers visiting Midwest-CBK showrooms during the January gift markets will receive a complimentary reuseable tote bag designed in-house and featuring the company’s “Design. Style. Sparkle!” motto. The tote is made of sturdy canvas.
The company also is giving aways CDs containing display ideas. According to a company press release: "Creative display ideas feature products from more than 20 new themes from Midwest-CBK’s new holiday, home décor, gift and candle collections, including Merry Little Christmas, Wonder Lights, Warm and Fuzzy, Snow Fun, Gracious Holiday, Tinsel Town, Peace, Sandy Shores, The Suzy Toronto Collection, Genuine Monkeez and Friends, Casa Cristina, Western and frames.
"For example, ideas include creating a vintage merchantile display complete with Santa chair, glass display case and streetlights; creating a candy shop display, filling glass containers with candy-styled ornaments and baubles; and building a sand box to frame a nautical display."
Midwest-CBK’s showrooms are in Atlanta, Billerica (MA), Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New York and Seattle.

A retailer to know: Blackstone's of Beacon Hill

Mark Duffield said a wise man told him long ago, "Don't make a sale. Make a friend." So when Duffield and business partner Jennifer Hill bought Blackstone's of Beacon Hill in April 2006, they put that maxim into practice. When I spoke with Duffield and Hill, it was a long time before we ever got around to talking about merchandise, buying, marketing and promotions. Instead, they wanted to talk about their customers-- locals and tourists alike--who hang out and share stories with the owners. Their store is the first stop for one repeat customer traveling from England.
"There are a million 'small-world' stories," Hill said. Recent visitors from Ohio turned out to be neighbors of her parents.
Blackstone's was one of four 2009 recipients of the Pride of New England Awards given by the Boston Gift Show. The award recognizes New England retailers for outstanding customer service, creative merchandising, community involvement and demonstration of New England pride.
Duffield says their core values are "good old customer service" and "the experience." Because Blackstone's is near Massachusetts General Hospital, Duffield and Hill see a lot of shoppers who are undergoing treatment there or are visiting patients. Often, these customers need a friendly ear to listen to their stories or a shoulder to lean on. One shopper told them she was all alone, to which Hill replied, "No you're not. You know us." A candy dish is always stocked so that, Duffield said, they can "sweeten the day" of their visitors.
The owners' caring and empathy extends beyond their store to the Boston community. They contribute to more than 20 organizations and allow their store to be the site of fundraisers. For one Christmas promotion to benefit the United Way, Duffield and Hill asked vendors to donate product, which they laid out, unpriced, on a table. Customers named their own price, then donated the gifts back to the store. The retailers displayed each item under a Christmas tree, along with the names of the buyers. At the end of the promotion, they gave the gifts to a church to redistribute to the needy. Money collected from the sales went to United Way.
The owners are now in the third year of a five-year-long holiday promotion. They are creating two "mystery" ornaments a year, each with a puzzle consisting of word jumbles. The words from the 10 ornaments will spell out a holiday message. The first customer to decipher the message in 2011 will win $2,000 in gold and silver coins, donated by a local bank. In addition, Duffield is writing one chapter a year of a holiday story, which is being illustrated by comic strip artist Don Sherwood. Duffield hopes that the finished, five-chapter story will create new holiday traditions for the participating ornament collectors and their families.
The retailers' sense of community extends beyond Boston. Duffield and artist Lynn Stern met at a trade show, where she was selling her handmade witches hats. During Blackstone's Halloween event, proceeds from the sales of the hats benefit Michael's Garden, a program in Arizona helping disabled adults.
Hill described the store's price point as medium to high end. She and Duffield shop gift shows in Boston and New York. They have attended the New England show in Portland, Maine, and have been to Atlanta.
Personal accessories, including jewelry, purses, scarves, men's neckties, are a top-selling category. Paper products, such as napkins, gift wrap and cards, keep customers coming back.
Hill and Duffield are always on the lookout for exclusive merchandise. They work with one artist who draws ducklings from Boston's Public Gardens (the setting for the children's story "Make Way For Ducklings"). Her illustrations are on pillows, rugs and stationery.
A new "personalization corner" was established at the request of customers. Shoppers can put their name, monogram or words on soaps. Other items can be engraved. A Caspari display sampler promotes cocktail napkins that can be personalized.
E-commerce is a new activity for the store. Hill and Duffield had been at it for just one week when we spoke. While shoppers won't be able to chat with Hill and Duffield as they shop, the internet does allow the retailers to stay in touch with their far-flung fans.

This article originally appeared at Gift and Home Channel.

Meet Denise Williams Roberts

Retailer Denise Williams Roberts knows what she wants, and what her customers want. The first time she saw Dick Idol lighting, she placed a $20,000 order. The fixtures and portables sold through in four months. As Roberts re-tells the story, these were the days before scanners. She says she was ordering so much in the Pacific Coast Lighting showroom that the sales rep told her to slow down. “I can’t write that fast,” he said.
As Idol expanded into furniture and accessories, Roberts followed.
Roberts is the owner of Lilli’s Lighting & Décor in Frisco, Colo. She started with a flower shop and now runs a 4,000-square-foot home furnishings store on two levels.
“I never had enough space” in the original flower shop, Roberts said. She sold fresh and silk flowers, moving several times over the years. One day she noticed the ceiling was unused, so she bought lighting fixtures to hang from there.
Then a storefront became available in downtown Frisco about nine years ago. It was time to stop calling her business a flower shop. She changed the name to Lilli’s Lighting & Décor. (Lilli is her daughter.)

Roberts’ customers are affluent residents who have retired in Summit County. They have owned their own businesses or ran major corporations. Customers are year-round residents or second-home owners. A 29,000-square-foot house is not unusual.
Men love her store, she says, because of the masculine, lodge-y Dick Idol furnishings. Yet Roberts calls Lilli’s Lighting & Décor a “chick” store. “When women come in here, they get all giggly,” she says.

Roberts has shopped markets in Dallas, High Point and Las Vegas. She keeps returning to Dallas because of the discounted hotel rates offered by the Dallas Market Center. The more consecutive markets she attends, the deeper the discount. It’s an incentive to return there.
“You have to go to market to see new product and get excited. Markets energize you,” she said.
Roberts buys containers of furniture and holds the goods in five storage spaces behind her store.
Like other retailers, Roberts is dealing with a bad economy, but she calls her position “financially strong.” She says it is a struggle to get product lines and exclusives. Furnishings are priced competitively but not discounted. Slow-moving merchandise is marked down, but Roberts does not run a sale. June to October is the prime selling season. The store is open six days a week, and Roberts has two part-time sales people. Roberts has two young children (a third moved away from home after graduating college) who work in the store after school.
Roberts has had success with a 24-hour “on approval” policy. If customers like the merchandise, she’ll run their credit card the next day. Those who don’t like it, return the merchandise the next day.
In some cases, Roberts has had only the first name and a phone number of a customer taking merchandise home. But in a small community, where no one is a stranger, she has not been burned, she said. Because the population of Frisco and Summit County is small, Roberts can remember what her customers have purchased. That customer service endears her to customers.

Besides retailing, Roberts offers design consultations with homeowners and advises custom-home builders on lighting. This summer she won an award for interior decorating and furnishing in the Summit County parade of homes competition. (The photos are from a past parade.) Besides the parade of homes, marketing efforts include yellow page advertising, a website and membership in The 3/50 Project. A Facebook page is in the works.

Customers tell her she needs more space because the store is crammed with merchandise. And she would like to have 8,000 square feet, but she won’t move again. Besides, she knows a larger store would not be less cramped. She would fill the space with more goods.

A retailer to know: Monica Schramm

Home décor retailer Monica Schramm joined six like-minded independent storeowners in a co-op advertising campaign to promote their hometown of Media, Pa., a suburb 30 minutes west of Philadelphia.
Schramm owns Local Home + Gifts, a business she bought 15 months ago. Owners of a women's apparel store, a men's clothing shop, an optical boutique, a handmade glass gallery, a spa, a restaurant and Schramm bought three advertisements in Philadelphia magazine to promote services, shopping and dining in Media. The "Style on State" campaign is supported with a website.
In addition to the print ad, Schramm promotes her business with a website and Facebook page. "Facebook has been great for us," she says. She gives fans a first look at new merchandise. A monthly e-mail newsletter typically shows what's new and what's on sale, and offers a discount.
Schramm was a customer of the gift store when the owners decided to move. They didn't want to close the store, so they sought a buyer. Enter Schramm, who bought the store in June 2008. She has a business background, but not in retail. The former owners showed her the ropes, then she was on her own. After a year, she started to make changes as she learned about new vendors, lines and what her customers wanted.
Schramm added baby gifts, including albums, onesies, burp cloths, frames, and socks. This category is in among the top sellers. Local Home + Gifts is a popular destination for shoppers gifts for babies, brides, hostesses or new homeowners. Bath and body items and candles round out the top three categories.
The retailer describes the store's point of view as "unique and contemporary, without being trendy." When she buys, she seeks a variety and she seeks uniqueness. Schramm is well aware of what nearby retailers carry. Schramm wants the one-of-a-kind or unique item. She doesn't buy deep, preferring "four, not 100" of an item. When they sell, that's it and she's on to something new. Of course, she does reorder the standbys, like candles, and bath and body. She found new lines and vendors at the New York International Gift Fair. Lately, she has been looking for lower-priced items that don't compromise her style. She is also experimenting with brand-name gifts. Vera Bradley stationery products have been successful, she said.
The store does stay true to its name by carrying handmade items from local artists and food vendors. A painter, a potter, and a chocolatier sell their wares in Local Home + Gifts. Schramm held an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting one evening. The distributor set up a table in the store and demonstrated the products. Sales were so good that Schramm ended up carrying the line.

Another successful store event was a "handy woman" night, at which women learned such skills as fixing a toilet and hanging wallpaper. The retailer also participates in the Media Arts Council's "late night," a monthly event held on the second Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.
Schramm feels she is good at customer service. If she doesn't remember a shopper's name, she'll usually remember what she bought on her last visit. (Schramm also likes to play the role of personal shopper.) Either way, it's a good way to start a conversation and engage the shopper.
"Customers consistently comment on the relaxing mood of the store," she said. Scents and music add to the customer experience. "We want the customers to be relaxed and feel at home here - or maybe more like they're at a spa." Schramm and her husband Kevin select appropriate music for the store.

Local Home + Gifts is open Tuesdays to Saturdays (until the holiday shopping season begins). Though Schramm is the sole employee, she can count on her neighbors and fellow Project 3/50 members for moral, marketing and business support.

This article originally appeared on the Gift and Home Channel.

Profile: The Whistling Elk

Retailers react when business conditions turn unfavorable. Some tactics they use are watching expenses, ordering more cautiously, becoming creative, and seeking partners with similar goals or clientele.
Last year, retailer Barbara L. Collins saw sales of her custom-made cabinets and furniture dry up, and customers were no longer coming for design work at The Whistling Elk, her Chester, N.J., furniture store. Shoppers just were not spending like they used to. Items priced greater than $200 were out, she said.
So Collins adapted and added less expensive items. Gifts and accessories that sell well today range from $5 notebooks to $30 candle holders. Fragrance lamps are popular, too. The retailer keeps them near the entrance so she can demonstrate the product to shoppers who notice the scent as soon as they enter the store.
Collins describes The Whistling Elk's point of view as "casually elegant." (She took the name for the store from a character in a Lynn Andrews novel.)
Customers are buying $10 at a time, but they are buying, and they keep coming back. Collins shops the Atlanta gift show for textiles, the New York gift show for accessories and the High Point market for furniture. She says emotion drivers her purchasing decisions. "If I love it, I buy it."
Chester is a tourist destination in northern New Jersey, between New York City and Allentown, Pa. The Whistling Elk is in a 19th century two-story house. Furniture and accessories are displayed in vignettes.
Collins will celebrate 20 years as a retailer next year. She takes care of her good customers, giving them a 10% discount on all purchases. She collects customer information for her mailing lists, and notes the day when they were in the store. She does not use direct mail as much as she used to. Instead, the retailer e-mails her customers every one or two months, and buys a full-page color advertisement in the local paper regularly. Collins creates her own ads, takes the pictures and writes the copy. Another of her strengths, she said, is that she is a "great merchandiser."
Her use of social media includes Facebook and Twitter (follow TheWhistlingElk).
This December, Collins will again hold an in-store fundraiser to benefit a leukemia and lymphoma society. Last year, she invited two other retailers to participate in the evening event; one carries jewelry and the other chocolates. The event attracted 150 guests, who paid $10 a person and received one raffle entry. (Collins is increasing the ticket to $20 this year.) The two grand prizes (valued at $3,000) were a set of top-of-bed linens and a sofa.
Collins has adapted her business practices and is winding up another year. With signs that the national economy is improving, maybe in 2010, as Collins celebrates her 20th year in business, The Whistling Elk will be whistling a happier tune.

This article originally appeared on The Gift and Home Channel.

Getting to know Candace Carr

Candace Carr has been retailing since 1994, first on the south side of Chicago, then just over the border in Blue Island, Ill. What started out as a garden shop run by herself and her husband has become CARR home, garden and holiday. Carr operates the store now that her husband is involved in another business.
These days, she is doing all she can do to keep the store going. To survive the recession, she has cut back on inventory and is careful with re-orders. When she sells out of an item, that's it. Rarely does she re-order the same product. Carr doesn't keep a lot of back stock in her 2,500-square-foot store.
Her five best-selling categories are jewelry, Christmas items, bath and body lines, live plants, and clothing (accessories, scarves and socks). She shops the Chicago market and subscribes to the Giftbeat newsletter and bulletin board service to keep track of top-selling items nationally and regionally.
Carr sells live plants just twice a year. This month, she is taking orders for mums, which are delivered on Thursdays and sold on Fridays and Saturdays.
Her store is at the edge of the business district on Western Avenue. Consequently, she does not see a lot of foot traffic. She calls her store is a "destination" and she says her customer base is the repeat shopper. When a new customer comes in, Carr captures her name, address and e-mail address for marketing purposes.
Color ads in one local newspaper are effective. So are direct mail and e-mail pieces. Once a week Carr sends e-mails featuring a product or an event. The direct mail is less frequent, and typically advertises an event. Carr is vigilant about maintaining her lists. When mail is returned, she deletes or updates the address.
In August she staged an autumn open house and Halloween event with refreshments and a raffle. Shoppers rolled their own discount with a pair of dice at check out. This "shake, rattle and roll dem bones!" idea is one Carr said she learned from another retailer. In October, she'll have a witches night event.
On her website, Carr shares humorous stories about interactions with shoppers. One customer wanted a unique hostess gift—a praying mantis egg case—but decided against that for fear the eggs would hatch in her suitcase en route to her destination. Carr writes a blog, "Blue Island On $5.00 A Day." That idea started nearly two years ago when, in frustration, she challenged the board members of the (now defunct) Main Street organization, and later her fellow citizens, to spend $5 a day with a local downtown retailer in order to support independent business owners.
Lately, she has being using Twitter (follow her at carrgardens) to publicize new merchandise in her store, and events in the community at large. She is tireless in promoting Blue Island and independent retailers. Carr joined the 3/50 Project and is promoting the idea to her business neighbors. The library gives out bookmarks promoting the cause. A local hospital is also supportive of Carr's store and efforts. It has volunteered to send a cancer-screening unit to her store in conjunction with an in-store event. Carr said she needs to figure out the logistics to make that happen.
Carr has learned a lot of survival lessons in her 15 years of retailing. Like many U.S. storeowners, Carr is feeling the effects of the recession. She says she is like a shark; instead of looking back, she will only move forward.

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This article first appeared on The Gift & Home Channel, a website focusing on the independent retailer. The site includes a deep library of instructional videos on topics including visual merchandising, buying, hiring and marketing.

Part Five: Vignettes

Christine Sisson concludes her five-part series about visual merchandising and the great retail displays she found in Portland, OR. Find links to her previous posts at the end of today's article.
With feet firmly planted in the design world, Christine is a freelance writer and public relations consultant. She blogs about style, found objects and her European adventures at christinesisson.wordpress.com. Here is her report:

Staged vignettes take the guesswork out of the shopping experience, as customers are able to visualize how they would show merchandise in their homes. Inviting displays like the ones below incorporate merchandise that can easily be mixed and matched—and that look natural, functional and pleasing. Why buy just the sofa, when that end table looks so nice next to it?


Intricate teak and wool animals—more art objects than playthings—seem at home on Canoe’s simple/modern shelving unit. The message? Though they look cute and toy-like, these whimsical, handcrafted items are meant to be displayed front and center.


A perfectly decorated living room—complete with sofas, a console, a chair and tables--is staged in one section of Hive Modern. It offers up an aesthetic—modern minimalist—that customers can try on for size. Seeing the whole “look” may also incite indecisive shoppers to buy more than one item.

Be sure to read the other four parts of this series.
Part 1, Effective Retail Displays
Part 2, Retail 101
Part 3, Branded Displays
Part 4. Fixtures.

Visual merchandising, part 4: Fixtures

Christine Sisson is back, guest blogging today about more great retail displays she found in Portland, OR. With feet firmly planted in the design world, Christine is a freelance writer and public relations consultant. She blogs about style, found objects and her European adventures at christinesisson.wordpress.com. Here is her report:

Fixtures come in all forms, from traditional shelves to repurposed vintage furniture and more creative interpretations (twigs, ladders, hat boxes, you name it). If you can use it to display your merchandise, and it fits with your store’s aesthetic, it’s fair game.

Canoe took a practical approach when displaying its merchandise. Rather than limiting itself to shelves and tables, the retailer used all available space—including these benches (on which they placed perfectly arranged place settings of flatware and glasses). The multilevel display is both efficient and visually interesting.

These futuristic, orb-like fixtures along one wall at Relish are both fun and eye-catching. They also serve a practical purpose--containing small, easy-to-miss items like jewelry and elevating them to eye level.

Read more about what Christine saw in Portland:
Part 1, Effective Retail Displays
Part 2, Retail 101
Part 3, Branded Displays

Visual Merchandising: Branded Displays

Christine Sisson is back, guest blogging today about more great retail displays she found in Portland, OR. With feet firmly planted in the design world, Christine is a freelance writer and public relations consultant. She blogs about style, found objects and her European adventures at christinesisson.wordpress.com. Here is her report:

Use the power of brand recognition to your advantage. At Relish, manufacturers are highlighted in a variety of ways: Items by local designers are displayed with placards; merchandise from larger, recognizable brands are shown with custom fixtures and signage.

Marimekko, the Finnish textile company distinguished by bold patterns and bright colors, undoubtedly has a following. This signage, along with the coffee table book showing the merchandise on display, draws in loyalists. For shoppers new to Marimekko, the display lends credibility and prestige to the items for sale.




Known for its distinctive woven vinyl mats and other textiles, Chilewich, as a brand, is modern, chic and no-fuss. This custom fixture complements the streamlined, muted merchandise and signals to shoppers who recognize the brand. Those unfamiliar with the line can see it all in one place, understand its key features and mix and match items.

Also in this series: "Effective Retail Displays," from Aug. 27 and part 2, "Retail 101" from Sept. 2.

Visual merchandsing

Christine Sisson is back, guest blogging today about more great retail displays she found in Portland, OR. In case you missed it, part one of her report was published on Aug. 27.
With feet firmly planted in the design world, Christine is a freelance writer and public relations consultant. She blogs about style, found objects and her European adventures at christinesisson.wordpress.com. Here is her report:

Retail 101: Catch the customer’s eye with an attention-grabbing display. Here’s how a few Portland retailers made me stop and take notice.

Selling a true conversation piece? Put it up front—or even better, in the window—like Hive Modern did with its life-sized pig table by Moooi. Capture the attention of passing shoppers, and there’s a chance they’ll stop in—or, at the very least, remember your store for next time.



Hive Modern’s wall of aqua Verner Panton chairs creates a memorably striking display that nicely offsets the neutral-toned vignette in front of it. What better way for the retailer to make an impression on the shopper and promote the product than create an art installation in its honor?

At Relish, bright, candy-colored glassware at eye level draws in customers as soon as they enter the store. Placing interesting merchandise front and center creates a captive audience that’s apt to linger on the rest of the items on the fixture or in the vignette.