Retail Trends

Ideas come from surprising places. I worked with Farm-A-Rama a farm supply store in the hinterland of East London. I thought their way of merchandising brooms was novel. Since the building had a high ceiling, he placed two wires, 300mm apart, across the building and hung the brooms. Not only did it save space, but it was an effective merchandising solution for a product that is difficult to merchandise. Autozone supplies, as the name suggests, auto parts. One of their stores puts the team names on car number plates by their service desks. A great way of ensuring team members become heroes and in keeping with the auto image of the store. The Comic Coffee Shop in Durban is a one side small retail store, but where else can you order a coffee, sandwich and read a complimentary comic. A collection of comics and cartoon characters on the wall can turn a coffee shop into a destination. John Stanley is an internationally recognised conference speaker and retail consultant with over 25 years experience in 18 countries. He has authored several successful marketing and retail books including the best seller Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know. John’s retail experience covers hands-on retailing in supermarkets, hardware stores, garden centres, farmers markets and drug stores. For more information John Stanley and his services visit his website www.johnstanley.cc