I have received considerable offline feedback following my post earlier this week about our new display around the Scotch brand. The month common questions is: where can I get the range since my warehouse does not have this? The question has come from various states and not just one warehouse.
We have done some more work on our Scotch story. Here is where we are at today:
While there is plenty more work to do, already the broader offering is working for us.
Brands offer newsagents a wonderful point of difference opportunity. It is important that our suppliers – wholesalers – support brands and allow us to engage in this point of difference.
why would you hang small packs of tapes below a large display?? makes no sense.. Newsagencys kill themselves
Thanks Merch, the display was a work in progress. Since my August 11 post we have played more and the new display looks better. Hey – interested in writing a merchandise layout guide for newsagents? They/we can use all the help we can get.
Mark,
Merchandising guide for newsagents? It is not as silly as it sounds. There is not enough emphasis on this topic in our industry. Professional merchandising takes years of practice. Too many newsagencies think merchandising is simply putting posters all over your front windows.
It also makes me laugh when some of the card companies call their shelf stackers merchandisers.
I regularly send my staff to any course that has to do with merchandising, it empowers them and makes them feel fantastic when their displays result in significant sales increases.
I would welcome such a guide into the industry.
Vaughan Lawrence
Beechworth Newsagency
Vaughan I see this as something category suppliers could take care of – lime the MPA did for magazines. It is also something marketing groups could (are) develop (ing) as part of their IP.
Vaughan & Mark,
There are companies out there dedicated to developing planograms. They can develop suggested planograms on a modular basis or develop individual layouts for stores. Unfortunatly they would require detailed sales data from the store as well as data from wholesalers.
A merchandising guide may be helpful but would nevertheless be extremely limited. There are so many variables to take into account. There is also the question of the content of such a guide, there will inevidably by disagreements as to what reccomendation is correct.
And Vaughan, come to think of it, it is quite funny “when some of the card companies call their shelf stackers merchandisers”.