Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com

Do retailers expect more from their vendors in tough times? Can a fixture ever truly be “green”? Our panel of fixture manufacturers tackles these questions in VMSD’s exclusive report.

By Mary Scoviak

All the panelists in VMSD’s Fixture Manufacturers’ Roundtable are in agreement: In this downturn, no one’s going to make it alone. Retailers are looking to manufacturers for 360-degree help in controlling product costs and maximizing their merchandising impact. And vendors are responding with a new range of support services designed to help get shoppers back through the retailers’ doors.

In a conversation with VMSD’s editorial staff held in early April, these industry players (see list of participants, below) zeroed in on what they’ve done for retailers lately, how things are shaping up for the rest of the year and the particular challenges of green fixturing. What follows are some highlights from the conversation. (Below the Q&A, see VMSD's exclusive Resource Directory of fixture manufacturers.)

From what sectors are your orders coming these days?

Robert Frackelton, Reeve Store Equipment: Some sporting goods companies are doing fairly well. We have a consumer electronics account that’s forging ahead.

Karin Pryor, Leggett & Platt: Discount is still very strong, as is the mass merchant business. The department store and specialty sectors are where we view the most fall-off.

Mark Pritchard, idX: The off-pricers should do well in this sort of economy. They’re taking advantage of some extremely good lease deals to get into upgraded locations and/or new markets. And we’re seeing significant growth in the financial sector. Financial may sound a little surprising, but whoever buys whom wants to completely rebrand.

How has the downturn changed what retailers want, and how is that affecting your business model?

Stacey Santoro, Fleetwood: Across the board, retailers have smaller staffs. In many instances, our client may be the last person standing in his or her department. So our customers are looking to us to provide the services to help them do their jobs: design support, creative energy, value engineering, more prototyping, logistics coordination, project management and/or inventory management.

Pritchard: We’ve added architectural, design, construction and installation services as part of our in-house capabilities. And we’ve found that retailers are willing to pay for them because their departments have been decimated. They simply don’t have the people to do it. These services are necessities, not extras.

Frackelton: Because of all the staff reductions on the client side, there are a lot of people in new roles who really don’t know much about fixtures. So they’re asking us to work up a list of what we think could be changed, adjusted, re-engineered. In that sense, retailers now view vendors more as consultants.