In Peter Pan, James M. Barrie asks children to clap their hands if they believe in fairies.  The equivalent in retailing is often buying a whole lot of one item to show how strongly you believe that the merchandise is a winner.   Do you believe enough to do that?

 This display, from the Japanese department store Takashimaya  on Fifth Avenue in New York, shows that the store believes that even though the soap in the vases is very expensive, customers will like it well enough to want many bars.  Whether you are selling rubber duckies or expensive watches, occasionally “massing” your display can demonstrate a commitment to what you are offering.  This is especially true if you use a container or context other than the standard shelf fixture.

 The Swedish furniture chain IKEA  used the “massing” concept in almost all its non-furniture displays. They have large bins of each item, creating an excitement that six on a shelf just can’t match.  You are almost magnetically drawn to a huge, freestanding display of inexpensive candleholders.  “I must need a few of these,” you can’t help but think.

 Mass merchandisers, of course, offer mass quantities of everything, which has the opposite effect.  If you want to highlight something, you need to set it apart from other items.  You also need to create some space around the display, which mass merchandisers never do.  The key is to create a focus.

 Takashimaya makes equally good use of the idea of focusing on select merchandise by only featuring one or two of something special. Unlike many American department stores that cram as much merchandise as possible into their square footage, Takashimaya tries to create “a shopping environment with the feeling of a personal home, featuring soaring ceilings, residential lighting, and artfully decorated stone floors. Takashimaya is a store temple of uniquely curated merchandise and gifts.”

 Although Takashimaya is hardly a small, independent retailer, I like the idea of their merchandise selection being “curated.”  Like an art museum, we need to use care to select our merchandise, and to give some thought to whether it is best displayed in splendid isolation like the Mona Lisa, or in a festive grouping like Dale Chihuly’s blown glass flowers.

 

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder