Retail SOP

There are records as early as 1300 BC of mannequin forms in ancient Egyptian tombs. There were life-size, miniature and oversized replicas of the human form. Some imitated kings and others the forms of gods. The purpose of these was obviously not the display of clothing, but rather they held deep religious and historical significance. Though these tomb vigils were not designed for the purpose of clothing, other very early mannequins were used exclusively for tailoring and storing clothing items. Though they were not used for display purposes, these early mannequins of wood, wire, wicker, leather, and fabric were very close to the purpose of their descendants.

As human development and commercialism progressed the need for sales displays grew. Charles Worth created the first recorded mannequins for the use of display in Paris, France, sometime in the 1840’s. His goal was to make mannequin forms that resembled his customers so that they could truly observe the clothing from an exterior vantage. These developed into mannequin forms made from wax, wood and heavy fabric that were kept standing by heavy iron feet, planting them to the floor. Sometimes they were shaped with papier-mch or filled with sawdust. These forms were costly to produce, but as the market for expensive clothing climbed, so the production of mannequins increased and became the center stage for clothing display.

By the 1930’s, plaster sculptures were being developed for department stores in New York City. Mannequin forms grew hair or wore glasses to create realistic portrayals, while other less detailed versions drew more attention to physique. As large glass display windows and expensive store lighting became a common trend, mannequins became an essential part of retail window shopping as well as centerpiece displays, and so display mannequins evolved again into fiberglass models that could be easily mass produced. In the 1960’s, detailed and lightweight mannequin forms were manufactured by the thousands. This abundance allowed some manufacturers and designers the freedom to create abstract forms and styles of all shapes and sizes.

Today, the mannequin is an essential part of any retail store display. Shoppers expect to see clothes modeled by these unspeaking models to show them the vision of today’s fashion. Like many things, mannequins have developed from the human desire to create and copy and have developed into a vital part of modern commercial society.

Mannequins are among the most effective sales tools in a retail clothing environment. But mannequins dont just sell the clothes they are wearing. They are actually important tools for selling all of the clothes around them as well. Mannequins show customers what the store is all about and they create an image within the mind of what to expect from the clothes the store carries.

The biggest thing that mannequins provide is a beacon to certain areas of the store. Mannequins dressed a certain way tell people who are in tune with that particular style that this area of the store is for them. They also are the most visible elements of the store from the outside. This is especially important in large malls where window shopping is the name of the game.

It is important that retailers think of their mannequins as an element of interior design within the store. Mannequins are important tools for all clothing retailers because they contribute to the stores overall ambience and personality. More than any other element of the store, the way mannequins are positioned and dressed tells passersby and shoppers what type of customer your store caters to. Be sure that the mannequins appearance supports the mood and flavor you seek to create in the store.

Mannequins have been around for thousands of years but their use in store display is more recent. Kings and Queens who were concerned about their appearance, like the ancient pharaohs, would have a dress form made to their body dimensions. The court dress maker or tailor would use the dress form to display and make the clothes thus avoiding any royal embarrassment during the course of a fitting.

The evolution of this ancient crude dress form through the middle ages and up until just before the industrial revolution is unknown because there are so few written records and no museum examples to study. Wickerwork mannequins were certainly around in the late 1700s and were probably filled with stuffing and leather. Wire-framed versions came into existence in 1835 but mannequins were still not in use for store display. The invention of plate glass, the filament lamp and the sewing machine were the catalysts that put mannequins in the store.

In the 1880s window panes began to be installed in retail establishments and street lights started to appear. The improvement of sewing machines enabled ready to wear clothing to be made in large quantities. The industrial revolution also created a new middle class with money to spend on what was previously only available to royalty and landed gentry – fashionable clothes! More retail stores opened and the store owners needed mannequins to display the latest fashions.

These early mannequins were made of wax, wood or heavy fabric and because they needed to stay upright their feet were made of iron. To give them shape papier-mch and sawdust were used. Consequently the result was an expensive, hard to maintain and very heavy object. However such was the interest in fashion that by the turn of the century the mannequin was already the center of a fledgling industry called ‘window trimming’ which later became known as ‘visual merchandising’.

Many retail businesses fail because of bad planning when they first open their store. They dont take precautions or manage their budget according what they actually need in office leasing. When youre looking for retail space, there are plenty of things to keep in mind. Like how many shelves you will need to display your product. How much aisle space you want to give the customer so they feel comfortable?

You need to take these things into consideration because if a customer is browsing down your aisle and they start to feel claustrophobic because of the space between aisles, then that is a lost customer. When people dont feel comfortable in your store, youve lost business and also repeatable business. When you go to any major retail outlet, you will see that there is enough space to comfortably with yourself, others, and a shopping cart.

The amount of space that you decide on will make or break the starting success of your business. If you get too much space, then youre wasting money, and it will be harder to fill up the store. Customers dont like to see vacant space. Imagine walking into a store where only half of it was filled with product. Would you trust the venue? If you get too little of space then you run into the claustrophobia problem. What you want to look for is something just above the middle so you can allow yourself to expand.

When you lease just a little more space than you need, its easy to fill up the holes with banners and advertisements for great deals or offers. Then when your business starts ramping up, you can fill those holes with more product and ability to sell.

Top stock is a very important thing to consider when you have a retail outlet. Some of your inventory may not sell as well as you were hoping. You bought too much of it and you need to put it somewhere. Usually on the shelves in retail stores, you will notice the very top of the shelf is where the overflow or top stock goes. Make sure you have room for overflow, because if you have product lying around your store, people will not take you seriously.

As time goes by and you the amount of space that you have supersedes where you are now, be sure to keep all of these values in mind. When you become successful and profit is high, you may feel like you want more and more space, but you need to be sure you arent taking more than you can handle. People dont like to see empty space no matter how big of a chain you are, and it only helps you when you take these kinds of things into consideration. Absolutely do not take the amount of space that you have in retail over the amount of space that you have for customers.

Security equipment for your retail store must be consistently updated to stay ahead of even the most technologically advanced thieves. To help you get started, here is some basic security equipment your retail store must be in possession of.

Entry Alert Door Chime
During non-operating hours, most thieves would still use the conventional mode of entry and go through the front door of your retail store. Thats why its important you have the necessary security equipment on every door you have in your store. Use entry alert door chimes for doors leading to your main store, backroom, storage, and every other door in the room.

Entry alert door chimes are easy to install; you just have to mount them on a wall or ceiling. No complicated wiring is involved. These chimes are light sensitive and motion activated and able to operate at a maximum of fifteen feet. They run on an AC adapter but they also operate on batteries in case theres a power blackout.

Convex Security Mirror
They can go as wide as 36 inches now to ensure that you see everything thats happening at every corner in your retail store. The best security mirrors are made of shatter-proof acrylic, allowing them to withstand damage from frustrated vandals or thieves when they found out theyve been caught.

These security mirrors also serve a secondary purpose and thats to let you see if there are any customers or clients having trouble so that you could send assistance for them immediately. When shopping for convex security mirrors, be sure that your purchase comes with the necessary mounting hardware and guarantee easy DIY installation.

Under Counter Safe
Dont rely on your cash registrar alone to keep your money safe. Instead of leaving large amounts of money in your cash registrar, immediately store the larger bills in your under-counter safe. The best models feature safety bolts, cash slot baffles, and multiple keys for more stringent security.

When shopping for under counter safes, be sure that its dimensions fit its designated space in your retail store.

Counterfeit Detector Pen
Criminal attacks are not always violent in nature. Sometimes, theyre subtle but this doesnt mean theyre any less damaging if you still end up losing thousands of dollars when youre paid counterfeit money.

Simply use the pen to mark the dollar bills youre having second thoughts of accepting. If the mark shows up a light color then its real but if it comes out dark then youve got fake money in your hands. Be sure to contact the police immediately and save other retail store owners future headache.

With large stores continuously slashing prices, its pretty hard to lower the prices any further. With the accessibility of these low prices to everyone the question arises how important is offering value-added promotions to the client? Clare Rayner, writer of the Retail Acumen blog made an interesting observation from the Multi-Channel Retail Summit that he attended in England. The keynote speaker was Doug Gurr from Walmart. In his speech Mr. Gurr noted that in Japan, mobile technology allows shoppers to scan barcodes of items in stores and that an app provided by Amazon allows shoppers to compare the in-store price with Amazons price. This kind of pricing transparency is a reality and will become available to everyone carrying a smart mobile device.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the National Retail Conference was taking place and Winston Weber, a speaker, cited a study that showed 50%-60% of all shopping decisions are made at the retail store. Therefore, the store remains important to retailers. He also feels that while value-added promotions may not be effective, retailers must begin to promote what he calls solutions. That is, retailers must become their own retail consultants and begin to develop a shopper centric retailing model. This requires developing a shopper solution strategy so that the shopper feels that the trip to the store has been productive. The trick is that this requires a new creative approach to the merchandising process.

Merchants and their category managers should refocus their efforts from obtaining the best deal from suppliers to developing retail solutions for customers that may transcend categories. To accomplish this, Mr. Weber states category managers cant be forced to focus solely on their own key performance indicators, but focus on the overall profit of the retailer. Then they could create product bundling that would increase overall sales and improve satisfaction for the customer. To become retail consultants an element of cooperation is required to satisfy the customer and achieve results that are best for the company.

This might be difficult to accomplish considering the longstanding culture in retailers where category management operates in silos. That is why it is imperative for retailers to become retail consultants. If a shopper centric model is implemented, category managers can work together to focus on whats most important to each of their customers and make their lives easier. How many times have parents bought a basketball for their kids, but forgot to buy them a jersey that would be in a different aisle. Now life will be easy since they are bundled together for a promotional price. The way to convince the retailer that this is a good idea is to introduce analytics to the process.

In a research report published by IDC, they cite a case study where a manufacturer of high-tech electronic devices and components managed to reform the R&D allocation process by promoting cooperation between competing R&D labs in allocating resources when the data showed that it was in the best interest of the company to do so. Retailers can follow this example and link analytics, merchandising allocation and promotions systems to offer the customer timely and compelling solution-based offerings across multiple channels that will make the shopping experience satisfying to consumers. If this can be accomplished, then retailers truly become retail consultants for their customers.

There are very few things in this world that people consider essential or needs of human beings. Food, water, shelter and clothing are the four main necessities that humans have are will always be in constant need of. Due to the need of clothing for hundreds of millions of people, the clothing industry has always managed to thrive no matter the financial situation of a country or any specified area. All of the success of the industry has led to the industry becoming one of the most competitive in the world. Clothing retail stores have no choice but to advertise to promote their business if they want to remain competitive with their competitors. This means that clothing stores need to be advertising their business both on and off the internet to reach as many potential customers as possible.

Lets start with how a retail clothing store owner can advertise their business off the internet. The most effective form of advertising they can use is making television commercials and having them displayed in the local area of their store. This is a very effective method but also very costly and many businesses cannot afford to make commercials to advertise. Luckily, there are other, cheaper ways that they can advertise. Advertisements can be placed in the classified section of newspapers at little to no cost to the advertiser. They can also send out weekly coupons in magazines in the mail and only pay for the cost of paper and mass shipping which is very cheap.

Making brochures is also a very effective method of advertising off the internet for clothing stores. Brochures give the company the opportunity to show several different styles and types of clothing to all different kinds of people in order to reach the most potential customers possible.

Now that you know how to advertise off the internet, lets talk about what you can do to advertise and promote your offline clothing store on the internet. The best way to advertise online for clothing stores is to use banner advertisements. These are the ads that you see every day when browsing the internet. They are usually at the top of a webpage and stretch out across the top of almost an entire page. When a user clicks on one of them, they are automatically redirected to the advertisers website. These kinds of advertisements can significantly benefit an offline clothing store.

The best part about banner ads is the amount of targeting that they allow an advertiser to use when displaying their ads. When using these ads, an advertiser can choose to target the ads by location and the specific interests and internet behavior of specific users. Obviously for an offline business, location is the best way to target their audience. They can choose to target by continent, country, city, town, county, state, zip code, district, latitude and longitude, ip address or within a certain amount of miles from their stores location. Targeting ads towards interested users in specific locations will reach a stores target market and create new and repeat customers for the store owner.