A Good Floor Plan Enhances the Selling Environment

A well-executed store layout maximizes the sales per square foot of your retail environment. Among other considerations, good store plans include traffic patterns, type of products sold, permanent structures within the space, as well as the type and location of fixtures.

Choosing retail display systems that invite customers to shop also creates a winning retail space. In fact, surveys show that almost 50 percent of the US population “loves to shop” and considers it as a relaxing leisure activity. A quick scan of many of today’s top reality shows demonstrates society’s love affair with shopping as a pastime activity. As retailers, you have an audience eager to shop and buy your products.The real competition in vying for the shopper’s attention is not just the products you offer, but the appeal of the atmosphere your retail environment exudes. Just like the décor of a home, the retail setting requires shopper appeal and employee functionality.

It is critical that the floor plan maximizes available space and presents merchandise in the best visual display. Some floor plan considerations are:

1. TRAFFIC FLOW Customers should be able to move easily along clearly defined walkways throughout the store. The location of checkout points, restrooms and exits should be apparent.

2. MAXIMIZED SPACE Without appearing crowded or jammed to capacity, both the type of fixture and the fixture location can make the best utilization of space to present merchandise. The floor plan indicates where to take advantage of wall space, perhaps with shelving or wall units, and where floor displays group like merchandise.

3. BEHIND THE SCENES To avoid disrupting the selling space, planning for areas to receive, inventory and price goods is crucial. All of this should occur outside the view of the customer.

4. RESTROOMS Today’s customer friendly environment really needs to offer separate customer/employee restrooms. Keeping all restrooms close to the building’s primary plumbing installation saves on cost.

If your current retail space is not yielding the numbers you think it should, consider contacting Cormans to take advantage of our Floor Plan offer. Ready to open a new space? We’re just a click http://www.cormans.com/ or http://www.cormanmarketplace.com/ or a phone call 888.849.0926 away. Call today to get started on a new and improved retail selling environment.

Consumers Drawn to Wood Merchandisers

Wood fixtures create a warm and inviting atmosphere that consumers unconsciously gravitate to.  After more than a year and one half of denial, many shoppers are once3 again filling malls and stores across the nation. People simply need to replenish.

Indicators are, says The New York Times, that consumers are buying clothes, jewelry and even cars.  More than fulfilling basic needs, shoppers are also going to the store for an experience, to be entertained and to just do something that doesn't cost a lot of money like a vacation.

One sure way to attract shoppers is with wood retail store fixtures. In an unstable economy, wood fixtures create an atmosphere of stability, reliability and longevity. A wood display is easy to see and a magnet to shoppers for your merchandise in the middle of a sea of chrome and glass. The wall unit shown above is a perfect example of the gone set at Lexington's historic Idle Hour Country Club where Cormans outfitted the club's Pro Shop.

Whether a wood floor in a new home or the beautiful wood grain of an elegant dining table, wood makes a lasting impression.  So will your store and your merchandise when presented on wood display units. 

Check our the Corman and Associates Core Line at www.cormanmarketplace.com for a complete line of wood products to refresh or remodel your store.  Visit www.cormans.com for many exciting solutions to create retail environments that attract shoppers.

Home Organization Made Easy with Slatwall

Can't get your car into the tool-stuffed garage?  Is your favorite blouse buried under a mountain of clothing piled high in the cluttered laundry room?  Perhaps your water got cut off in the middle of a hot shower because you lost last month's bill in a disorganized mess.

Wherever your problems areas are in your home, Corman and Associates has a simple solution to getting organized with Slat Wall for the Home.  We offer it at a fraction of the cost from leading big box retailers and we have a wide range of accessories in stock.

Most organizational experts agree that you have to approach your home in a businesslike way to keep things running smoothly.  Organization is often the key.  With Slat Wall for the Home you can put into practice that old axiom " a place for everything and everything in its place."

Making use of often overlooked vertical space, slat wall and accessories makes an attractive way to put up shelving for displaying personal items and photos, utilizing baskets for storage and generally organizing books, paperwork, DVDs or CDs.  The same vertical space in a garage helps you organize places for tools, gardening implements and other often used home maintenance items.

Starting at $45.00 per unfinished 4' x 8' sheet, our slat wall is highly durable and can easily be cut into custom sizes. Then add a wide variety of cost effective hooks, shelves and baskets.  All a lot less expensive than pre-packaged systems or kits with extras you may not need.

When you're ready to whip things into shape without breaking the bank, just give Christy as call at 1-800-849-0926. We stock slat wall in several colors of melamine finishes or paintable MDF.

Retail Mannequins Bring Life to Fashion and Sell

One of the first fashion instructions I remember as a young shopper was: “Clothes that look awful on the hanger are often the best buy in the shop when you put them on.”
Visualizing the garment on is why mannequins can be one of your best selling tools in the retail setting. Mannequins bring life to your window displays, bring shoppers in to shop and experience your retail setting. In the current lagging economy, more and more shoppers may be opening up their pocketbooks at retail rather than enjoying extended vacations. All the more reason to put your mannequins in a social scene which appeals to buyers.

Long recognized as the most prominent selling tool in your retail display arsenal. First, they assist customers in visualizing a garment’s appearance when worn. The trick to featuring the clothing on a mannequin is to give the mannequin movement that attracts attention. Soft fabrics especially look lifeless and uninteresting on a hanger. Draped on a mannequin, even a torso form, the garment is given shape, movement and texture.

The idea in bringing movement, particularly in window displays, is to engage the customer in a familiar setting where they can see themselves wearing the item. Mannequins have the power to hold the shopper’s interest long enough to further lead to making the important purchase.

Testing the "Six Pixel" Theory in Retail Store Fixtures

For almost 40 years now, OMG I am getting old, I have been a marketing director in health care, broadcasting and now manufacturing retail store fixtures. I don't remember in all those years feeling to the degree that I do that marketing is such an up hill battle. Perhaps it is my age; perhaps it is the economy or a combination of both. Can't really say.

However, when I read Mitch Joel's Six Pixels of Separation, I was hopeful and skeptical all in one breath. Hopeful that if our company dared to 'enter the social media conversation', we might stand a chance to ride this wave of economic uncertainty. Sceptical after all these years that this concept would work for a small company in Lexington, Kentucky competing for an ever-decreasing piece of the pie.

Corman and Associates is a small custom store fixture manufacturing company. Since 1947 we have been competing very well nationally for what now seems a shrinking target audience of consumers for retail store fixtures.

We're in the same position many other small businesses find themselves right now--fighting for our lives. The business is out there for B2B. But, reaching them seems overwhelming at times when we have had to squeeze the last ounce of blood from our budget. Then, with the 6 pixel theory a ray of hope. We can blog. We can greet on facebook. We can tweet and feed. We can linkin. And, maybe, just maybe, we can reach our target specialty market of specialty gift shops, museum shops, amusement parks, national parks retail, and other retail settings around the country on the internet.

I am trusting that the subtitle of Joel's book is true: "Everyone is connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone." Even though those 6 little pixels feel a million miles apart. Even though I am expending every ounce of energy to get the phone to ring at our corporate headquarters. We are joining the social media mix to reach out to establish a voice with our audience. We want to connect with other small business owners. We want to talk to other marketing directors and CEOs who feel overwhelmed, even hopeless, right now.

Most importantly, we want to reach retailers and visual merchandisers who want good value for their fixture budget dollars in reaching shoppers in a difficult economy.

And, Mitch Joel, we respectfully want to see just how long it will take to connect with YOU! LOL.

Affordable Fixtures Equal Recession-Busting Strategy

Retailers concerned about changing the environment of their stores to attract shoppers should consider the exclusive offering of the K-Line designed and engineered by Corman and Associates.

This new line is: easy on the budget, easy to ship, and easy to assemble. What could be easier? You can refresh and refit a retail setting without sacrificing style and durability using this new concept in fixturing. They are more affordable because they ship flat. More affordable because they have a custom fixture look at a standard, in stock price. And, more affordable because they easily assemble without hardware, saving on installation costs.

Other cost effective advantages of updating your retail space on an "economy-friendly" budget include:

• Increased merchandise ROI.
• Multiple standard melamine finishes including maple, grey, black and white or two-tone combinations.
• Paint finishes for easy adaptation to new products or locations.
• Modular flexibility.
• Sturdy, durable construction.
• Adaptable for POP, slots, accessories etc.

To view the full K-Line by product item visit www.cormanmarketplace.com and click Custom Manufacturing/K-Line.

Copyright 2010/All engineering and production property of Corman and Associates Inc.

Cormans To Build Yellowstone Store

The gift shop at the Yosemite National
Park in California is just one
of many retail settings built
by Corman and Associates. 
A similar type project is planned
for Yellowstone National Park.




As Kentucky residents travel the U.S. this summer, what they may not know is that a local company has outfitted the retail shops for most of the amusement parks throughout the country.  Weary travelers who make a stop for pizza at Chuck-E-Cheese might not know that Corman's has designed and manufactured the stage for the franchisee all over the US. Shopping from a store at Disney World?  Chances are one of the themed fixtures was created right her in Central Kentucky.

Corman and Associates, the Lexington-based company nationally known for its expertise in developing retail environments for many high profile companies around the country, has just signed on to build the new retail store at the iconic Old Faithful Visitors Center in Yellowstone National Park.  The new store is being built for the non-profit Yellowstone Association that operates many of the retail shops throughout Yellowstone National Park.  Corman is working with Black River Architects, Cambridge, MA to bring their unique design to fulfillment.  Corman's has previously built stores at Yosemite National Park in California and Canyonlands in Moab, Utah, as well as multiple retail venues for all types of other cultural facilities nationwide.

So, whether you may be a Kentucky resident or not, somewhere during this year's summer travels, you are likely to encounter a retail space fabricated here in Lexington.