spring is here...get ready!

 You may remember Linda from her previous article: http://www.shoebizness.com/?p=958. Linda gives great ideas and advice this time around and we are so happy to have her contributions! Thanks Linda!!

Welcoming Spring 

Spring brings out the optimist in all of us. Leaves bud, flowers blossom and people want new shoes. It’s time to exercise, get a new job, clean the house or, find new love.

It’s amazing how we can invest our futures into a pair of new shoes as if they have the power to change our lives. But, in a way, they do. Putting our “best foot forward” takes good shoes both metaphorically and literally. We move forward into our future on our feet (if we’re lucky). Spring shopping is about new beginnings and every store needs to acknowledge the power of Spring and what it represents.

VM TIP:

Flower pots and watering cans make great props. Shoes with heels can hang over the sides of the pots – and if you paint each pot to work with the color of the shoes – or use a contrasting color it can make a very effective window display. Some color ideas:  Orange shoes on a pink pot; red shoes on a yellow pot; blue shoes on a purple pot, white shoes on a bright green pot and black shoes on a white pot.

Another idea is to have some shoes popping out of a watering can and then line the shoes up as if they are in a flower garden. Use some silk flowers lined up behind the shoes – making sure the flowers don’t block the view of the shoes.

One last idea with the same theme is to use a colorful garden hose with plastic wrap (to simulate water) “pouring” out of the end of the hose. Have flowers growing where the water hits.  Use the natural loops and whirls of the hose across the window to showcase different Spring styles. Don’t use this kind of display for your basic blacks and browns. This is fun and deserves fun shoes.

VM & Feng Shui TIP:

One very easy way to use the power of Spring is to clear out all the clutter in your stockroom, office, bathroom, hallways, desks, counters, nooks and crannies. This is a free fix that has a major impact on the overall look and feel of your store. While it may seem like a cliché, there’s a reason cliché’s exist and that’s because they are true.

Clutter traps energy and trapped energy feels stagnant. Stagnant energy feels dull and slow. Your store should never feel that way – ever!     A friend of mine had a shoe store in Connecticut where I used to live. While the selling floor always looked fabulous, her stockroom was disorganized and messy. Every seasonal display prop was hanging around in the corners, tripping up the sales staff as they tried to quickly find shoes for their customers. A salesperson would walk into the stockroom optimistic and walk out aggravated and frustrated by the simple process of getting through the aisles. One person was hit on the head by a falling wreath from the top shelf on one aisle.  Her mood wasn’t pretty – either were the dust bunnies hanging from her hair.

The bad moods were difficult to hide when the salesperson emerged from the stockroom and customers started to notice. Business fell off and my friend asked me to figure out why. From a visual merchandising standpoint her selling floor was perfect. The window displays were creative and appealing and everything flowed nicely. I was about to give up but I had to use the restroom. When I went into the stock area I knew immediately what the problem was and we discussed how to make it work better. Two weeks later my friend called and her sales were up. Customers are mood barometers. They know if your salespeople are happy or not and don’t want to “bother” someone by asking for another size if it’s obvious that going into the stockroom annoys that person in some way.Find the optimism in Spring and remind yourself everyday that your part of the world is growing, blossoming and bringing forth new life and new adventures!

Linda Cahan, Cahan & Company, West Linn, OR, is a retail design consultant with 38 years of experience working with all types and sizes of retailers from Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller, American Express Travel, United Rentals, Meijer, Lancome, Singer and Intel to main street independent shops.  Linda travels around the world giving seminars, consulting and training retailers on all aspects of Visual Merchandising and Store Design. Her most current book is “Feng Shui for Retailers” which covers practical and logical ways to use the concepts of Feng Shui in a retail environment. She also believes a good shoe is a work of art!

www.lindacahan.com

lindacahan@verizon.net