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6 Factors for a Successful VM Rollout

Now that you’ve developed a visual merchandising concept that rocks, how do you roll it out to all your stores?

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When rolling out a national visual merchandising concept, successful brands and retailers have one characteristic in common: a comprehensive field visual merchandising strategy.  This is a detailed plan of action designed to achieve an overall aim using VM principles in the field. It’s a well-calculated process of implementing strategies that involve the selection of best steps to accomplish a specific goal. In this case, the goal is executing a new visual concept nationally. And why a strategy? It’s much more in-depth than a plan. A plan is simply a list of steps, but a strategy involves identifying risk, using insight and thinking creatively on each step to reach the destination.

Once a visual concept has developed, the execution transforms into a field VM strategy. This strategy utilizes numerous methods of field communications to ensure the concept is carried out in a consistent manner.

So, what initial processes should be in place before rolling out a VM concept?

1. 3-D Concept Renderings
Technology is instrumental in improving efficiency in rolling out national visual concepts. 3-D concept renderings are becoming an industry standard, using pictures as opposed to words. Although this is not new to the industry, having a system in place where detailed store layouts can be created rapidly and proficiently is paramount. 3-D renderings guarantee instructions are presented clearly and consistently. Visual retailing software allows the user to create virtual stores of any size and shape using custom or standard fixturing that can be uploaded to the system, as well as product or signage. These software packages serve as a foundation for developing other field communication elements such as visual directives and training manuals.    

2. Visual Directives
To eliminate the confusion associated with field communications, many retailers and brands are developing 3-D visual directives and planograms to provide instructions on implementing visual concepts. To achieve greater proficiency, additional directives are developed. This provides various views of the drawings, like a front view, a top-down view, as well as individual views of specific store sections. These sectional drawings may be accompanied by planograms that present views of specific products in the 3-D renderings, along with style numbers to identify each item in the presentation. Directives for window presentations also include a product list and visuals of specific props and kits to be applied.

3. Merchandising Standards Manual
A critical success factor for retailers and brands are addressing is the development of merchandising standards. Customers today need easy access to the products they want. They expect to locate the appropriate size, be it folded or hung, without aimlessly walking throughout a store to find a sales associate. With this in mind, every item in your shop should have a merchandising standard and every employee should be trained on maintaining these presentation standards at all times. Standards are normally produced by the VM department and passed to field organizations through a merchandising standards manual.

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Within an apparel organization, a merchandising standards manual generally provides basic instructions on folding apparel, hanging guidelines, sizing and placing signage. Standards enforced and monitored by field management teams are vital to the continued consistency of the brand or retail experience. Training is conducted in a group setting, online or sometimes one-on-one to ensure all employees comply with all standards.

4. VM Training Manual
Directives and planograms make it possible for the VM managers and field team to know the corporate objective, how it should be completed, when it should be finished and the time allocated to accomplish the task. These documents and processes are the gold standard for creating continuity in a national visual concept, but having a well-trained field VM team is vital to a dominant leader in the marketplace.

The most valuable asset an organization has when rolling out any national strategy is highly skilled employees. When a product sells out after a successful visual concept has been put into practice, well-trained managers should take the lead in providing direction on merchandising wall presentations, fixturing and styling mannequins that are consistent with brand standards until new directives are provided from corporate. VM training manuals make it possible for all VM managers and field teams to gain an understanding of the visual presentation philosophy of the organization and to aid in providing a consistent message on a national level.

VM training manuals should provide how-to instructions, such as product grouping, storytelling in visual presentations, clothing coordination, mannequin styling and rigging bust forms. In addition, everyone on the team should have a comprehensive understanding of floor layouts, space planning, creating balance in a wall presentation and merchandising floor fixtures.

5. Project Management Schedules
Brands and retailers alike strive to be on time and on budget when rolling out visual concepts. Many have embraced project management software in order to maximize productivity and keep field organizations informed on every aspect in the process.  A project management timeline or schedule is a document that provides everyone involved with a quick visual on what task should be taking place at a particular time, and who should be executing those tasks. All stakeholders involved will be able to use this document to identify where their task is located in the process and the time allotted for execution of their task. Also, once this document has been developed, it can be used to identify risk associated with the rollout execution. It is possible to glean insight for developing procedures to address those risks that may have surfaced. Overall, this document becomes a roadmap to staying on time, on schedule and on budget. 

6. Outsourcing Field Merchandising Services
Brands and retailers are using companies that perform merchandising and VM services called Merchandising Service Organizations (MSO) to assist with installing VM concepts. Outsourcing merchandising services is not new to retail. It is a global enterprise that has evolved into a critical part of the industry and has proved to be an asset to manufacturers and retailers alike. In the past, these companies focused on manufacturers and provided services to a few distribution channels such as grocery, convenience and drug stores. Retailers within these channels began to see the benefits of using MSOs to apply their in-store strategies and have jumped on-board as well. Manufacturers and retailers in the fashion industry followed the trend and began using MSOs to execute visual concepts globally.

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This comprehensive field VM strategy will ensure consistency and efficiency as you seek to organize your retail environment and succeed in 2015 and beyond.

Paul Russell is a visual merchandising and retail marketing executive, with a background in developing and executing integrated customer-focused programs for companies such as Williamson-Dickie Clothing, Adidas America and Reebok International. He has developed award-winning concepts for Super Bowl XXXI, The Reebok Cup and The Olympic Games, and has provided consulting services to specialty retailers such as Universal Studios, Hansgrohe Inc., Jos A Bank Clothiers and Britches of Georgetown. Russell is the author of “Field Visual Merchandising Strategy.” He serves on the Manufacturers Advisory Council for the World Alliance for Retail Excellence and Standards. Contact him at paul8402@sbcglobal.net.

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