The Nike objective: floor and counter merchandisers that would serve to display both the new avant-garde line of watches and “a really cool line” of designer sunglasses with the company’s distinct brand identification.
“Think space age, think out of the box, think off the wall,” was the directive that came to designer and manufacturer fixturethis (a division of Creative Displayworks Corp., Vaughan, Ont.), according to marketing vp Phil Gilbert. “Just do it!”
The Nike slogan for this campaign, “Time and Vision,” wasn’t just a slick marketing term. It was meant to incorporate the two new Nike product lines, watches (time) and sunglasses (vision). Nike Canada (Toronto) was looking to merchandise the new products in about 600 department stores, specialty stores and sporting goods stores across the country.
Specifically, the test was to design something that could accommodate these two normally distinct merchandise categories. The broader challenge was to do so under the sophisticated Nike banner.
“We were told to create a design concept that would support Nike’s image of a worldwide leader in brand marketing,” according to Gilbert.
Another goal was to ensure security for the relatively high-price-point items, but still make the merchandise accessible.
Central to the fixture is an acrylic panel with a prominent blue Nike logo. The merchandise sits in tubular acrylic showcases with injection-molded domed enclosures at either end.
Held in position by simulated-aluminum end gables, each tubular showcase has a clear slide-out acrylic shelf. When the shelf slides back inside the showcase, the individual showcase is secured with a cam lock. The trays themselves are treated to create a non-slip surface that holds the merchandise in place.
The revolving, two-sided floor unit, with four showcases per side, includes a 30-inch-high pedestal storage cabinet. (Without the pedestal, the unit can be placed on a counter.)
Client: Nike Canada, Toronto
Design: fixturethis, divison of Creative Displayworks Corp., Vaughan, Ont. &endash; Richard Hamori, vp
Supplier: fixturethis, Vaughan, Ont. (fixtures)