Eastern National

1. Eastern National Visual Merchandising Basics

2. What is Visual Merchandising? • Visual merchandising is the way one displays goods for sale in an attractive manner with the end purpose of making a sale.

3. The purpose of this PowerPoint is to give you the basics of visual merchandising so that you can create attractive sales displays in your store. Employees are expected to adhere to these basic principles of visual merchandising when stocking and creating displays in any Eastern National store.

4. Books • Books should be displayed cover out. The price tag should be affixed to the back cover. At times you may need to display a small number of books spine out because of space restrictions but this should be a rare occurrence.

5. Display Merchandise Vertically as much as possible All products easy to see Hard to shop

6. MERCHANDISE DISPLAYED ON DIFFERENT LEVELS CREATES A MORE INTERESTING DISPLAY Use risers to display items at different levels. Risers can be made out of boxes covered with fabric, glass blocks from the hardware store and even bricks. A branch found at the park creates an interesting display with Audubon birds and butterfly puppets

7. Easels Book Easels are available by transfer from the Eastern National Warehouse Book Easels 4"W x 5-3/4"H x 2-1/2"D Wood 6"W x 10"H x 2-1/2"D Wood 4 7/8"H x 3 5/8"W x 4 1/4"D Acrylic 7 1/4" H x 6" W x 5 1/4" D Acrylic 10 3/4"H x 8 1/4"W x 7 3/4"D Acrylic Please remember that we are only allowed a small supply, so only order them as replacements for broken ones, not to replace an entire store. Also, in order to keep freight costs down, please wait until you need other supplies before ordering so they can be packed together.  

8. Keep display shelves full Nothing to see here Wow - look at all those great Passport items Avoid sparsely filled shelves. Even if you have to repeat titles or items to fill the space. An empty look does not excite, interest or prompt purchases.

9. Empty hooks and shelving • Remove any empty hooks and replace them when new product comes in. • When inventory is low it may be necessary to remove shelves from a sales fixture. Reposition the remaining shelves so that the shelves are evenly spaced.

10. Top 30 and Eastern National product • Always make sure to keep top 30 items and EN product in stock. • Contact your regional manager to reorder top 30 items if you run out before the next trial report. • Eastern National product can be obtained by transfer from the warehouse. • Make sure that these products are easy for visitors to locate in the store.

11. Seasonal Displays The first 10 feet in at the entrance of the store is the best place to create a seasonal display

12. FABRIC Use contrasting fabric to highlight your merchandise. Fabric can be a great visual merchandising tool if used correctly. The bust of George Washington is easy to see against the dark fabric. The blue candle holders are difficult to see when displayed with blue fabric.

13. FABRIC When using fabric make sure that rough edges are not visible. Use iron on fabric tape such as Stitch – Witchery to make a neat hem.

14. Broken Fixtures and Acrylic Notify your regional Manager when you have broken or damaged store fixtures. Don’t wait until they make a visit and discover it on their own. Throw away any broken acrylic shelving that have sharp edges that could potentially cut a visitor or staff member.

15. NO TAPE! Packing tape is not a merchandising aid. tape If tape is used it should never be visible. Secure display merchandise with clear silicone caulk or Stick Tac – both can easily be removed .

16. How to hang pictures on historic walls 3M makes a variety of hooks that won’t harm historic walls and are easy to remove. The hook shown above was used to hang heavy framed pictures at Appomattox. Be sure to follow the recommended number of hooks needed for the weight of picture and frame.

17. Cleaning is part of merchandising • Nothing takes away the perceived value of your merchandise more then a dusty display. Change displays a least once a month to keep them fresh. • Use Goo Gone to clean sticky residue left from price tags and tape.

18. Signage Do display computer generated signs in a sign holder Don’t display shop worn signs taped to the wall

19. Sources for Sign holders • Staples sells a 3 pack of 8 ½ x 11 sign holders for under $10.00 and can be ordered with your other office supplies. • You can also make requests to your regional manager for slatwall acrylic sign holders.

20. All High end merchandise should have interpretive signage Interpretive signage on high end merchandise informs the visitor that the item is special and enhances the item perceived value.

21. Framing All posters and prints should be displayed framed or laminated. Custom framing can be very expensive. Stock frames purchased at Wal – mart, Hobby Lobby or Michaels are a cost effective alternative. For the most part posters and prints come in standard sizes and it is not difficult to find the size frame you need. If you have an odd size poster or print and can’t find a stock frame to fit use a stock frame one size larger. Cut a piece of poster board to fit the frame. Choose a color that compliments the poster – black or dark colors work the best. Mount the poster on the poster board using a glue stick. Using a glue sick will allow you to reposition the poster on the poster board in case you don’t get it straight the first time.

22. And last but not least the sales counter is not part of the stockroom Don’t Do Keep the desk neat and ready for making the sale.

23. Eastern National visual merchandising checklist • Top 30 and EN products in stock • Shelves and floor fixtures are fully stocked – no empty shelves or pegs • Fabric is clean and in good condition – no visible ragged edges • Shelves and displays are dust free • Store signage is computer generated, in good condition and information is correct • High end merchandise is displayed with interpretive text • Sales counter and desk are neat and free of clutter