Visual Merchandising Display

This new edition of the best-selling text is for

anyone in merchandising, from store planners and
manufacturers to visual merchandisers.

and

SIXTH ED ITI O N

◆◆

Visual Merchandising Display

◆◆

and
◆◆ ËxHSLGKJy010843zv*:+:!:+:! Martin M. Pegler SIXTH EDITION
 Visual
Merchandising
and Display

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 Visual Merchandising
and Display
Sixth Edition

Martin M. Pegler

Fairchild Books
New York

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 Executive Editor: Olga T. Kontzias a Division of Condé Nast Publications.
Senior Associate Acquiring Editor: Jaclyn Bergeron
Assistant Acquisitions Editor: Amanda Breccia All rights reserved. No part of this book covered by the
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Cover Design: Carolyn Eckert
Cover Art: TK
Text Design and layout: Alicia Freile, Tango Media
Illustrations: TK
Copyright © 2012 Fairchild Books,

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 Contents

Preface xiii Part FOUr Visual Merchandising 200

Acknowledgments xiv and Display techniques
Credits xiv
16 Attention-Getting Devices 201

Part One Getting Started— xvi

17 Familiar Symbols 217

Visual Merchandising and Display Basics 18 Masking and Proscenia 233

1 Why Do We Display? 1 19 Sale Ideas 243

2 Color and Texture 9 20 Fashion Accessories 251
3 Line and Composition 21 21 Home Fashions, Hard Goods, and Food Displays 263
4 Light and Lighting 31 22 Graphics and Signage 275
5 Types of Display and Display Settings 49

Part FIVe Visual Merchandising and Planning 28 8

Part twO where to Display 62
23 Visual Merchandise Planning 28 9
6 The Exterior of the Store 63 24 Setting Up a Display Shop 297
7 Display Window Construction 71 25 Store Planning and Design 3 03
8 Store Interiors 87 26 Visual Merchandising and the Changing Face of Retail 321

Part tHree what to Use for Part SIX related areas of Visual 334
Successful Displays 100
Merchandising and Display
9 Mannequins 101
27 Point-of-Purchase Display 33 5
10 Alternatives to the Mannequin 111
28 Exhibit and Trade Show Design—Industrial Display 3 53
11 Dressing the Three-Dimensional Form 123
29 Fashion Shows 375
12 Fixtures 137
30 Trade Organizations and Sources 379
13 Visual Merchandising and Dressing Fixtures 161
31 Career Opportunities in Visual Merchandising 3 87
14 Modular Fixtures and Systems in Store Planning 177
15 Furniture as Props 187
Glossary 3 94
Credits 414
Index 000

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 Extended Contents

Preface xiii Neutral Colors 14

Acknowledgments xiv Using Color to Promote Color 15
Texture 17
Part One Getting Started-
Visual Merchandising and Display Basics xvi 3 Line and Composition 21
Line 22
1 Why Do We Display? 1 Vertical Lines 22
2 Color and Texture 9 Horizontal Lines 22
Physical and Psychological Reactions to Color 11 Curved Lines 22
Yellow 11 Diagonal Lines 23
Orange 11 Composition 23
Red 11 Balance 23
Pink 11 Dominance 26
Green 11 Contrast 26
Blue 11 Proportion 26
Blue-Green 11 Rhythm 27
Peach 12 Repetition 29
Rust 12
Violet/Purple 12 4 Light and Lighting 31
Gray 12 The Color of Light 32
Brown 12 Planning Window Lighting 32
White 12 Lighting the Open-Back Window 33
Black 12 Lighting the Closed-Back Window 34
Color Families 12 Planning Store Interior Lighting 34
Color Mixing 13 New Lighting Trends 35
Color Schemes 13 General, or Primary, Lighting 35
Analogous, or Adjacent, Colors 13 Fluorescent Lighting 36
Complementary Colors 13 Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) 37
Contrasting Colors 14 Incandescent Lighting 37
Monochromatic Colors 14 High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting 38

VI

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 MR16 and MR11 39 7 Display Window Construction 71
Metal Halide Lamps 39 Closed-Back Windows 72
Ceramic Metal Halide Lamps 40 Floor 73
LED (Light-Emitting Diode) 40 Back of the Window 74
Secondary, or Accent, Lighting 41 Ceiling 75
Colored Lights and Filters 41 Sidewalls 77
Planning Store Lighting 43 Proscenia 77
Suggestions for Using Light Effectively 45 Masking 77
Open-Back Windows 78
5 Types of Display and Display Settings 49 Island Windows 80
Types of Displays 51 Special Windows 81
One-Item Display 51 Shadow Boxes 81
Line-of-Goods Display 51 Elevated Windows 82
Related Merchandise Display 51 Deep Windows 82
Variety or Assortment Display 51 Tall Windows 83
Promotional versus Institutional Displays 52 Make-Your-Own-Display Windows 83
Types of Display Settings 55 Runways, Catwalks, and Up-Front Displays 84
Realistic Setting 55
Environmental Setting 55 8 Store Interiors 87
Semirealistic Setting 56 Focal Points 88
Fantasy Setting 56 Island Displays 89
Abstract Setting 57 Risers and Platforms 89
Buildup Display 59 The Runway 89
The Catwalk 90
Part twO where to Display 62 Counters and Display Cases 90
Museum Cases 92
6 The Exterior of the Store 63 Demonstration Cubes 92
Signs 64 Ledges 92
Marquees 64 Shadow Boxes 95
Outdoor Lighting 64 Enclosed Displays 95
Banners 65 Fascia 96
Planters 65 T-Walls 97
Awnings 65 100-Percent Traffic Areas 97
Windows in Storefront Design 66
Straight Front 66 Part tHree what to Use for
Angled Front 67 Successful Displays 100
Arcade Front 67
Corner Window 67 9 Mannequins 101
Mall Storefronts 68 Types of Mannequins 103
Open Façade 68 Realistic Mannequins 103
Glass Façade 69 Semirealistic Mannequins 106
Closed Façade 69 Semi-abstract Mannequins 107
Abstract Mannequins 107

E XTE N D E D C O NTE NTS VII

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 Cartoon/Caricature Mannequins 109 Finishes 152
Headless Mannequins 109 Wood Fixtures and Store Fittings 153
Today’s Fixtures 157
10 Alternatives to the Mannequin 111 Interactive Fixtures 157
Three-Quarter Forms 115
Other Forms 116 13 Visual Merchandising and Dressing Fixtures 161
Soft-Sculpted Figures 119 Visual Merchandising 162
Articulated Artist’s Figure 119 Customer-Oriented Visual Merchandising 162
Dress Forms and Suit Forms 119 Dominance by Color 163
Cutout Figures 121 Dominance by Coordination 163
Inflatables 122 Dominance by Brand Name 165
Drapers 122 Dominance by Size 166
Hangers 123 Dominance by Price 167
Lay-Down Techniques 123 Dominance by End Use 167
Pinup Techniques 125 Front-to-Back Visual Merchandising 167
Flying Techniques 126 Visual Presentation 168
Visual Merchandising and the Retailer 168
11 Dressing the Three-Dimensional Form 129 Dressing Fixtures 169
Dressing a Mannequin 130 T-Stands 169
Rigging a Suit Form 133 Stock Holders 170
Shirt Board 134 Quad Racks 170
Shirt Forms 135 Round Racks 170
Forms and Customer Attitude 135 Back Wall 171
Gondolas 172
12 Fixtures 137 Aisle Tables 173
Stands 139 Clothing on Hang-Rods 174
Platforms and Elevations 139 Shoulder-Out Hanging 174
Costumers, Valets, and Drapers 140 Face-Out Hanging 174
Easels 140 Single-Rod Hanging 174
Pipe Racks 142 Double-Rod Hanging (One Rod Over the Other) 174
Counters or Showcases 142
Assorted Counter Fixtures 143 14 Modular Fixtures and Systems
Ledge Fixtures 145 in Store Planning 177
Floor and Freestanding Fixtures 146 Use of Modular Fixtures 178
Round Racks 147 Use of Systems 179
T-Stands 147 Types of Systems 180
Quad Racks, or Four-Way Faceouts 148 Hollow Tubes with Finger Fittings 180
Other Floor Fixtures 149 Clamps 181
Selecting a Fixture 151 Extruded Uprights 182
Appearance 151 Slotted Joiners 182
Construction 151 Slotted Uprights 182
End Use 151 Selecting a System 182
Upkeep 152 Looks 183

VIII V I S U A L M E R C H A N D I S I N G A N D D I S P L AY

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 End Use 184 Mother’s Day 227
Construction 184 Patriotic 228
Upkeep 184 Spring 228
Adaptability 184 Valentine’s Day 229
Price 184
18 Masking and Proscenia 233
15 Furniture as Props 187 Venetian Blinds 236
Chairs 188 Window Shades 237
Tables 193 Foam Core and Board 238
Armoires and Cabinets 194 Lath-Lattice Panels 239
Drawer Units 195 Plants 239
Ribbons and Streamers 239
Part FOUr Visual Merchandising and Bamboo Blinds 240
Display techniques 200 Wrapping Materials 240
Natural Materials 241
16 Attention-Getting Devices 201
Color 203 19 Sale Ideas 243
Lighting 203 Mannequins 244
Line and Composition 204 Graphics 246
Scale 204 Magic 247
Contrast 205 Cleaning Up 248
Repetition 205
Humor 205 20 Fashion Accessories 251
Mirrors 207 Providing the Setting 252
Nostalgia 207 Importance of Props to Fashion Accessory Display 256
Motion 208 Gloves and Bags 256
Surprise and Shock 210 Jewelry 258
Props 211
21 Home Fashions, Hard Goods,
17 Familiar Symbols 217 and Food Displays 263
Anniversaries 218 Home Fashions 264
Back to School and College 219 Hard Goods 267
Bridal 219 Create Lifestyle Situations 268
Career Fashions 220 Smalls Items 269
Christmas 220 Large Items 269
Clearance Sales 221 Food Displays 270
Cruise Wear, Resort Wear, Sun Wear, and Swimwear 221 Fresh Produce 270
Easter 222 Prepared Foods 272
Fall 223
Father’s Day 224 22 Graphics and Signage 275
Formals 224 What Are Graphics? 276
Halloween 225 Graphics and Lifestyle 276
Lingerie 225 Graphics in Retail Stores 277

E XTE N D E D C O NTE NTS IX

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 Signage 278 Discount and Factory Outlet Stores 324
Drawings 278 Vendor Shops 325
Color and Contrast 279 Kiosks and Retail Merchandising Units (RMUs) 328
Sizes for Signs and Cards 280 Pop-Up Shops 331
Types of Signs and Cards 283
Techniques for Preparing Signage 283 Part SIX related areas of Visual
Silk Screening 283 Merchandising and Display 334
Sign Machines 284
Other Signage Techniques 284 27 Point-of-Purchase Display 335
What Is POP? 336
Part FIVe Visual Merchandising and Planning 288 Why POP? 337
Who Uses POP, and Where? 338
23 Visual Merchandise Planning 289 POP Longevity 339
Display Calendar 290 Designing the POP Unit 340
Planning a Display 291 Product 340
The Visual Merchandiser’s Part in Store Promotion 294 Unit 340
Scheduling the Promotion 294 Timing 341
Tie-Ins 341
24 Setting Up a Display Shop 297 End Usage 341
Physical Requirements 298 Production Run 341
Furniture 298 Shipping 341
Tools and Supplies in the Display Shop 299 Light and Motion 342
Hand Tools 300 Cost 342
Power Tools 300 Specialists in POP Design 342
Basic Trimmings 300 Materials Used in the Construction of POP Displays 343
Lighting Equipment 300 Paper and Cardboard 343
Books, Publications, and Reference Materials 301 Plastics 347
Wood and Metal 350
25 Store Planning and Design 303 POP Design Checklist 350
Functions of the Store Planner 305
Rehabilitations 307 28 Exhibit and Trade Show Design—
Floor Plans 307 Industrial Display 353
Drawing to Scale 308 Types of Exhibits 354
Materials Needed to Draw a Floor Plan 311 Permanent Exhibits 354
Reading a Floor Plan 312 Temporary Exhibits 354
Basic Architectural Symbols 312 Trade Shows 354
Store Planning Symbols 314 Traveling Exhibits 355
Other Types of Dimensional Drawings 317 Outdoor Exhibits 355
Store Planning as a Career 317 Planning the Exhibit 355
Audience 355
26 Visual Merchandising and the Subject 356
Changing Face of Retail 321 Size 357
Big-Box Store, or Superstore 322 Design and Layout: The Traffic Plan 358

X V I S U A L M E R C H A N D I S I N G A N D D I S P L AY

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 Theme 359 Styling 388
Color and Texture 359 Party Design 389
Graphics 359 Special Events 389
Logos and Trademarks 359 Malls 389
Lettering 360 Store Planning and Fixture Design 389
Supergraphics and Line 360 Display Decorative Manufacturing 390
Photomurals and Blowups 360 Mannequins 390
Heights and Elevations 360 Point of Purchase (POP) 390
Exhibit Systems 363 Tools for Getting the Job 390
Theft and Vandalism Control 363 Résumé 390
Lighting 364 Portfolio 390
Daylight 364 An Effective Visual Merchandiser 391
Ambient Lighting 364
Task Lighting 364 Glossary 394
Special Lighting 366 Credits 414
Special Effects 366 Index 000
Movement and Animation 367
Audiovisuals 367
Live Action 367
Audience Involvement 368
Making the Exhibit Special 368
The Amenities 368
Tie-Ins 369

29 Fashion Shows 375

30 Trade Organizations and Sources 379
Major Organizations 380
Association for Retail Environments (ARE) 380
National Association of Display Industries (NADI) 380
Planning and Visual Education Partnership (PAVE) 380
Retail Design Institute (RDI) 381
Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute (POPAI) 381
In-Store Marketing Institute 381
EHI Retail Institute 382
Sources of Information and Ideas 382
Trade Shows 382
Trade Magazines 383
Other Publications 383
Research 383

31 Career Opportunities in Visual Merchandising 387

Trade Show and Exhibit Design 388
Home Fashions and Food Presentation 388

E XTE N D E D C O NTE NTS XI

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 Preface
s display dead? It has been buried so many times and
I in so many ways—especially when times are bad—but
has been resurrected time and time again and oten
with a new name. Whatever you call it, it is about pre-
sentation, about showing to sell—creating a store’s look,
promoting an image or a brand, and shaping the shopper’s
attitude toward the retailer and the product.
Just as the display person became the visual merchan-
diser back in the 1970s, we are seeing new names and
titles showing up, like merchandise presentation, visual
presenter, environmental designer, and so on. Yet, if it is
about showing merchandise at its best, in an attractive
and attracting manner, it is still visual merchandising and
display.
he retail scene is in a constant state of change. We are
hearing that more and more people are shopping online.
We read about and maybe visit e-stores. Does that mean
that the retail store as we know it is inished? Does that
mean that people are going to give up on getting up, getting
dressed, and going out to the store, and instead let their in-
gers do the shopping? Where can they ask themselves, how
does this fabric feel? how does this garment it? What is the
ambiance like as you sit in front of the computer? Is there
the romance, the sense of discovery one feels at inding a
treasure on a rack? What about the surprise and excitement
of inding something you never expected to ind—and it
has been reduced in price as well? How about the chance
to meet and visit and exchange style opinions with friends
and loved ones? Yes! he computer is convenient and a
possible timesaver, but it is not the whole answer. Visual
merchandising and display is not dead; it will always live
00_Pegler_Front_Matter_3pp.indd 12-13
and lourish—no matter what it is called—so long as shop-
pers ind it fun and an adventure to go into a retail store.
Efective visual merchandising and display can be a moti-
vating factor in seeking out such adventure.
Old loyalties to stores and shops are almost nonexis-
tent because customers can no longer be depended upon.
hey want to be wooed, courted, stroked, and serviced;
they want to be entertained, and each sale is a irst sale. If
ever something were needed to distinguish one store from
another, to make one specialty shop seem more special,
more unique, more tuned in to what the market wants—
that something is needed now. hat something is efective
Visual Merchandising and Display. Visual merchandising
is the presentation of merchandise at its best; color coor-
dinated, accessorized, and self-explanatory. Display is the
pizzazz—the theater, the sparkle and shine that surround
a presentation of merchandise and make the shopper stop,
look, and buy what has been assembled with care and
ofered with lair.
During a recession, depression, or in a inancial crunch,
store owners may take money out of the display budget and
put more money into media advertising. However, televi-
sion, radio, and print ads are worthless unless there is some
follow-through at the store. Here, at the point of purchase,
is where display or merchandise presentation becomes
absolutely necessary.
he shopping scene is also changing. Malls are
becoming entertainment centers, and in cities around
the world urban renewal is going on. Downtown, Main
Street, High Street, and Broadway are being revived, and
new retailers are moving in with new brands to introduce
XIII
15/05/11 5:37 PM
 in their street-facing windows. More and more vehicular
traic is being rerouted, and walking streets are emerging,
where shoppers can saunter and study window displays in
a leisurely fashion. Store windows are once again becoming
show windows and places where retailers can make lasting
irst impressions.
hat is what this text is all about: making irst impres-
sions that last. In the various chapters we approach the
ways and means of doing just that. here are no rules to
follow and very few “don’ts”; if something works for you, do
it, whether it seems right or wrong. In its own way, the text
shows you ways to be diferent, individualistic, unique; how
to stand out in the crowd; how to make a lasting impres-
sion. But, it always comes down to what is right and itting
for the retailer, the brand, and the product ofer.
I have tried to make the text as painless as possible—
conversational in tone, with lots and lots of pictures from
retailers large and small: department stores, boutiques,
national chains, and mom-and-pop stores from around
the world to provide a feast for your eyes and to stimulate
your imaginations. So, sit back, relax, and enter this world
of presentation. Enjoy the journey!
ACKNOWLE DG M E NTS
In this display world of tinsel, glitter, sparkle, and larger-
than-life presentations, I wish to thank all those visual
merchandisers, display persons, merchandise presenters,
store planners, and display manufacturers and suppliers
whose work and imagination made such a deep impres-
sion. My thanks to all those for making the merchandise
scene more exciting and fun and for putting more enter-
tainment into this “show-ing” business.
CRE DITS
I would like to especially thank these architects, designers,
store planners, and manufacturers who provided me with
the excellent examples used to illustrate this edition. hey
represent some of the leading retail specialists in the ield,
and their clients are evident throughout the world. Without
their generous contributions, this book would be page
ater page black-and-white copy only: Aarca Exposiciones,
Leon, Mexico; Alma Décor, Warsaw, Poland; Anthem
Worldwide, New York; Bergmeyer, Boston; Blocher Blocher
XIV P R E FA C E
00_Pegler_Front_Matter_3pp.indd 14-15
Partners, Stuttgart, Germany; Giorgio Borruso, Marina
del Rey, California; Burdiilek, Toronto; Callison-RYA,
Seattle; Caulder Moore, Kew, London, UK; Checkland
Kindleysides, Leicester, UK; Chute Gerdeman, Cleveland,
Ohio; Collaborative Architecture, Mumbai, India; Dalziel +
Pow, London, UK; Display Design Group (DDG), Carlstadt,
New Jersey; Eventscape, Toronto; David Gault Architect,
New York; Gensler, USA; Greenberg Farrow, New York;
Wolfgang Gruschwitz, Munich, Germany; Habitat, UK;
International Housewares Association, Rosemont, Illinois.;
JGA, Southield, Michigan.; JHP, London, UK; J. Mayer
H., Germany; Mancini Dufy, New York; Peter Marino,
New York; Nishiwaki Design Group, Tokyo; Pentagram,
San Francisco; Plajer & Franz, Berlin; Pompei AD, New
York; Seyle Putsure, Los Angeles; Riis Retail Design,
Kolding, Denmark; RPA-Fitch; Ruscio Studio, Montreal;
Siteworks, Portland, Oregon; Soldier Design, Cambridge,
Massachusetts; Charles Sparks & Company, Westchester,
Illinois; Sybarite, London; Tobin + Parnes, New York;
Walker Group, New York; Winntech, Kansas City, Missouri;
WKMC Architects, Dallas; Wonderwall, Tokyo.
Also a very special thanks to these visual merchan-
disers, display people, and visual presenters, who are adding
theater to retailing every day, all around the world: Carlos
Aires, at Marketing Jazz, Madrid; Karina Barhumi, Lima,
Peru; James Bellante, of Macy’s San Francisco; Christine
Belch, at Sony Style, New York; Lucy Ann Bouwman, of
Sight, Boston; Polar Buranasatit at Chrisole, New York;
Keith Dillion, at Robert Ellis and Just One LA, Los Angeles;
Simon Doonan, at Barneys New York; Étalage B Design,
Montreal; Linda Fargo, at Bergdorf Goodman, New York;
Ana Fernandes, at he Bay, Toronto; Victor Johnson, at
Ann Taylor and White House/Black Market, New York;
Amy Meadows, at Marshall Field, Chicago; Gert Mueller, at
Schreibmeister, Munich; David New, at Bergdorf Goodman,
New York; Laura O’Connor, at Harvey Nichols, UK; Paul
Olzewski, at Macy’s Herald Square, New York; Peter Rank,
of Deko Rank, Munich; Manoel Renha, at Lord & Taylor,
New York; Clinton Ridgeway, at Le Château, Toronto;
Shawn Schmidt, at Le Château, Toronto; Stacy Suvino, at
Miss Jackson, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Leigh Ann Tischler, at
Sony Style, New York; Janet Wardley, at Harvey Nichols,
UK; and the thousands of display people and “window
15/05/11 5:37 PM
 trimmers,” too numerous to mention, who make window
shopping such a delight.
here are many others whose work is shown here, but
to name them all, the list would be endless.
I would also like to thank John Burr, of RSD Publishing,
New York, and Retail Design International for the use of
many of these photographs and the many unlisted and
unnamed photographers who braved the rain and darkness
to get these images.
My love to all those people who are real and make my
life real and fulilled—to Suzan, my wife, and to my chil-
dren, Karen, Jess, Lysa, John, Risa, and Adam. And here is
to the next generation—Brian, Amanda, Mike, Jake, Sam,
Ben, Marley, and Heather.

Martin M. Pegler

AC K N OWLE D G M E NTS XV

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 Chapter Four
Light and Lighting

After you hAve reAd this chApter,

you will be Able to discuss

F the relationship between color and light

F the term visible light
F techniques for lighting open-backed windows and closed-back windows
F ways in which lighting can be used to draw shoppers to particular areas within a store
F primary and secondary store lighting
F advantages and disadvantages of luorescent light and incandescent light
F locations where luorescent lights are frequently used within a store
F uses and functions of hid lighting and Mr16 and Mr11 lamps
F the effective use of light in visual merchandising
31

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The Color of Light
Color—as color—means little unless it is considered in
relation to the type of light in which the color is seen. It is
light that makes things visible. All colors depend on light.
here is natural daylight and artiicial light, which can
be incandescent, luorescent, or high-intensity discharge
(HID) lighting.
It is not quite that simple, however. hese three broad
classiications of artiicial light are further subdivided. here
are many diferent types of luorescent lamp tubes available,
ranging from a warm white deluxe that attempts to create
an “incandescent” efect, to the cool, bluish “daylight”
quality usually associated with luorescent lighting. HID
lamps are being improved daily and now even approach the
warm end of the colored light scale. Incandescent lamps
(i.e., bulbs) are warm and glowing, but placing ilters or gel
sleeves over them can change the color and quality of the
light. Let us, therefore, consider the color of light, the efect
of light on pigment color, and how light can afect the mer-
chandise and the area that surrounds the merchandise.
Visible light is actually composed of the whole spectrum
of colors, from violet to red. Imagine a beam of light passing
through a glass prism or relecting in a pool of water or oil,
and you will see that spectrum broken up into a rainbow of
colors—from violet, through the blues and greens, to the
yellows and oranges, and inally, red. All light is caused by
waves of radiant energy that vary in length. he shortest
wavelength of the visible spectrum is violet light; then comes
blue light, green light, and so on; and at the other end of the
spectrum, with the longest wavelength, is red light. All these
wavelengths—the entire spectrum—combine to form vis-
ible, or white, light, which is the light we see.
Ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays have shorter
wavelengths than we can see. Infrared and radio waves
are too long for us to perceive. For the purpose of under-
standing light and color in display and store planning,
this discussion will be limited to the colors that appear in
the visible spectrum. We will ind that some light sources
relect the shorter wavelengths and emit cooler, or bluer,
light, whereas others have a warmer light and favor the
longer wavelengths.
32 PA R T 1 : G E T T I N G S TA R T E D — V I S U A L M E R C H A N D I S I N G A N D D I S P L AY B A S I C S
04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 32-33
To comprehend the relationship between color and
light and why an object is perceived by an observer as a
particular color, it is important to understand that light is
capable of being relected and absorbed. he color of an
object is seen as a result of the object’s selective absorption
of light rays. hus, if an object is blue, for example, this
means that it absorbs all the wavelengths of light except
those of blue light, which are relected back to the observer.
he same occurs with other colors, but with a diferent
wavelength being relected.
If the object is pure white, the full visible spectrum of
light is being relected back in approximately equal quanti-
ties. If it is pure black, then all colors in the spectrum are
being absorbed by the object.
Light bounces from one surface to another, and in
this movement it is capable of throwing of new colors.
For example, a wall or panel is painted pink. A wedge-
wood-blue carpet is installed. If warm, incandescent
lights are used, the carpet may turn slightly lavender from
the warm pink relection cast by the walls. he incandes-
cent light may also play up any reds that are in the warm
blue carpet. (A warm blue has some purple in it, i.e.,
red and blue. Incandescent light relects most in the red
end of the spectrum.) If a daylight luorescent light were
switched on instead, the blue of the carpet might seem
more sparkling and cool, and the walls would take on
the lavender tone. he overall light will afect the color
of the walls, the loor, and the ceiling, and bouncing
around as it does, most of all it will afect the color of the
merchandise.
Planning Window Lighting
You walk by a store. It is daylight. You catch a glimpse of the
window, and all you see is yourself relected in the window
of a store that may or may not be open for business. In that
glimpse you can check out what you are wearing, but you
haven’t a single clue as to what lies beyond the glass. What
kind of store is it? What sort of merchandise is sold there?
When a store’s windows are not illuminated, or are illu-
minated improperly, they become a giant one-way mirror
facing the street or the mall.
15/05/11 5:40 PM
 Retailers think of their stock; they think of all the money
they have invested; but, unfortunately, they don’t always
think about how to show and stock the merchandise they
have to sell. hey don’t seem to realize how signiicantly the
shopper’s perception of who and what they are relects on
that shopper’s attitude toward the merchandise. Retailers
think hard and long about their location: hey want a good
address; they want to be where the right traic is; they want
to be where their targeted shoppers are. When it comes to
stopping the shopper with an initial razzle-dazzle impres-
sion, however, the thinking and spending oten stop. Just
being where the action is does not make a retailer part of that
action. he retailer still has to get the shopper’s attention.
he cheapest and most efective starting place in get-
ting attention and recognition is with good lighting. Good
lighting does not have to drain the store’s operating budget.
Lighting can be played like a musical instrument; the
“tune” that results makes the diference in the shopper’s
perception. Without light, there is no color! If there is no
color, then there are no sales in fashion merchandise. he
irst and foremost requisite for a sale is the color and how
appealingly that color has been rendered. How the shopper
perceives color is very important, and lighting can make
red sizzle and shock, make blue appear ethereal or chilly,
allow orange to scream or turn into a rich, earthy shade.
Lighting also makes the irst impression. It is the retailer’s
sign and identiication.
Lighting the Open-Back Window
If the store has an open-back window, the lighting in the dis-
play area up front must be strong enough and bright enough
to attract and keep the shopper’s eye from going past the fea-
tured merchandise in the display directly into the store on
view beyond. he window is not the place for strings of luo-
rescent tubes casting a deadly dull chill over already lifeless
mannequins. Fluorescent lighting also casts a lat, dull, and
lifeless pall over the colors of the garments. Use only a few
sharp spots—incandescent or MR16 miniature low-voltage
tungsten halogen (to be discussed later in this chapter)—and
focus the light away from the glass—not into the store, but
directly down onto the merchandise. (See Figure 4.1.)
04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 32-33
At all times avoid lighting up the mannequin’s face.
Chest lighting is the preferred technique; it shows of the
color of the garment as well as the detailing of the design
while sotly illuminating the mannequin’s face. If the painted
face is viewed in the full glare of the light, it will only point up
that it is a lifeless, painted face. he relected light enhances
the mannequin’s mystique and makes it seem more “human.”
Place the merchandise as far back into the space as possible
so the spotlights can be most efective and not have to battle
the natural glare associated with daylight—and traic lights
at night—on the plateglass windows. Just as a single match lit
in total darkness can become a beacon, a spotlight in a rela-
tively low-lit area becomes a sharp, brilliant point of light.
he efect created will all depend upon the contrast. Setting
the back panel behind the display as far back as possible
and bringing the lights in, away from the window, increases
energy eiciency as well.
A simple length of fabric of the right color, texture, or
pattern, or a combination of these; a screen; a panel of tex-
tured wood; or even a cluster of tall plants can serve as a
partial background in the open-back window. he color of
the divider can either complement the color of the garments
or enhance some value of the color. he divider also efec-
tively separates the display area from the selling loor and the
lighting on that sales loor. By cutting out or minimizing the
Figure 4.1 A series of focusable spots on a track up on the ceiling
bring the light down to the product display in this open back
window. The movable back panel separates the display area from
the rest of the store and from the store lighting, which reduces the
ceiling light’s effect on the display. Schreibmeister, Munich. Design:
Gert Mueller.
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 store’s light, the window light seems stronger. If a shopper
passing by sees the light in the window, he or she will also
see the display of merchandise and be aware of the retail
space viewed to either side of the partial background. he
shopper knows that the store is open; the shopper knows
what kind of merchandise is available. If the retailer is
enlightened enough, he or she will also add some inter-
esting or exciting props—or furniture—to the display,
enhancing the image of the merchandise and the store.

Lighting the Closed-Back Window

If the store has an enclosed display window—three walls, a
loor, and a ceiling—the display person has greater oppor-
tunities for magical lighting efects. Not only can the display
person highlight the featured merchandise and bring to it
the attention it warrants, but he or she can also use light
to “paint” the background a complementary or accenting
color or dramatize the setting by creating a particular ambi-
ence; for example, blue and green lighting to simulate an
underwater look or yellows and oranges mixed with reds
to create the atmosphere of a setting sun or a rich day in
Figure 4.2 With an enclosed window, the display person has more
autumn. Colored lights, colored ilters, and theatrical gels opportunities for effective and theatrical lighting. As shown here, the
all work wonderfully well to achieve these efects. focusable spots are located on a track above the windows, and the
lamps can be targeted at the mannequins. Because the windows
Many theatrical lighting supply stores also carry a variety are fairly deep, there is opportunity for backlighting and the use of
of cut-out, patterned light ilters that create images in light illuminated objects. Lord & Taylor, Fifth Avenue, New York.
on walls, loors, and even on the merchandise. With these
pierced ilters, one can have rain, snow, lightening, or sun-
shine; light streaming through a Gothic window for a bridal Incandescent lighting and MR16s, to be discussed later
setting; palm trees in the tropics for swimwear; a starlit night in this chapter, are the most efective sources for window
for ball gowns; or ireworks for a red, white, and blue pro- display lighting.
motion—or a spectacular sale event. More expensive but
also more efective are the ilters that rotate around the light,
causing movement and animation in the window. Planning Store Interior Lighting
Using these techniques requires great control over the
daylight that might, at certain times of the day, overpower Now that we know the store is open, let us step inside and
the window lighting and the special efects. Awnings drawn see what is to be seen. Light means seeing. Light serves to
down during the sunlight hours can help somewhat, but lead the shopper into and through the store. It directs the
even better is setting the merchandise and the mannequins shopper’s attention from one featured presentation or clas-
as far back as possible in the closed-back window to take siication to another, with stops along the way to appreciate
full advantage of the lighting efects and to overcome the the highlighted focal points and displays. It can separate
efects of glare and relection. (See Figure 4.2.) one area from the next; one boutique or vendor’s shop

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 from another. he light level and the “color” (the warmth
or coldness) of the light in the store create the ambience.
Is it warm, welcoming, and inviting? Is it residential, inti-
mate, and comfortable? Is it cool and aloof or just cold and
depressing? Is it lat and boring, or does it sparkle with the
contrasts of highlights and shadows? A store’s lighting is
composed of many diferent light sources and lamps. It is a
“palette” of lamps, of diferent color variations, intensities,
and wattage, and it can also be afected by natural light that
comes in through skylights or windows.
he store’s lighting plan includes the general, overall
illumination of the retail space and also the accents—the
highlighters that point out what is new, unique, or special.
It can include atmospheric touches, like chandelier, wall,
or column sconces or wall and ceiling washers. Although
these may not all show of the merchandise, they do show
of the attitude of the store. here are also appraisal lights
that allow the shopper to examine things like jewelry,
fashion accessories, or cosmetics.
People, like insects, are attracted to light. It is human
nature to walk toward the area where the light is brightest.
hus, a store designer can reconigure a given loor plan
using light. If the plan is long and narrow, a strong light on
the far wall makes that wall seem closer and encourages
shoppers to head toward the rear of the space. If the long
perimeter walls are illuminated, the shopper is better able
to see the mass display of the wall stock. Bright lights can
be added on the displays or displayers set along the aisle
while the aisle itself is kept in low light. Between the well-
lit back wall and the highlighted aisle displays, the middle
area of the shop or department can function in medium or
general lighting. Using light-colored loor materials on the
aisles may also make lights on the aisle unnecessary. (See
Figures 4.3–4.5.)
here are deinite “moments of truth” that must be con-
sidered in the store’s lighting plan. One of these moments is
when the shopper tries on the garment and stands before
the mirror. he light that complements the garment should
latter the shopper. he cash/wrap desk presents another
such moment. As the shopper sees the selected garment
being boxed or bagged and being paid for, the garment must
reach out in the fullness and richness of color to reassure
the shopper that he or she has made the right decision.
04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 34-35
Let us now consider the diferent types of lights and
the lamps that can be used to create an efective and attrac-
tive store lighting plan.
New Lighting Trends
Just as home and business lighting changed at the close of
the nineteenth century, and electric lights replaced gaslight,
further evolution is taking place in this new century. We
are inding new sources for light that are more energy ei-
cient, lamps that burn longer and brighter, with better color
rendition, that are revolutionizing lighting as we knew it.
Incandescent lamps are on their way out. hey deliver
too much heat, use too much energy, and need con-
stant maintenance because they burn out too quickly.
Fluorescents have long been energy eicient, and now, in
a new form, it is possible to screw a luorescent bulb into
a socket meant for an incandescent bulb, and no ballast is
needed. hese are the compact luorescent bulbs.
he metal halides are still strong contenders for
accent- and spotlighting, and here, too, we are seeing great
improvements in color rendition and in adaption to systems
in use. Lighting solutions are changing daily. Each new issue of
architectural and store design publications brings more news
about newer and better lighting techniques, ixtures, bulbs, il-
ters, and such. he only way to know “what’s new” and “what’s
best” for an installation or lighting plan is to work with a pro-
fessional lighting specialist. It is much too confusing for the
layperson to do on his or her own. he following is current for
today but may be old news by tomorrow, so consider what is
mentioned here as recent, but perhaps no longer “now.”
General, or Primary, Lighting
General, or primary, lighting is the allover level of illumi-
nation in an area. It is usually the light that ills the selling
loor from overhead light ixtures but does not include
accent lights, wall washers, and display highlighting lamps.
(hese are forms of secondary lighting.) Also, it does not
include “glamour,” or decorative, lighting: the sconces,
counter or table lamps, indirect lighting, and so on.
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 Fluorescent Lighting
Some retail operations are illuminated by rows of luores-
cent ixtures that span the length or width of the store. he
luorescent ixture is usually the least expensive and most
eicient ixture to use from the point of initial cost, cost
of energy, and length of lamp life. Although it is oten the
popular choice for the contractor to install and the retailer
to maintain, it is not always the best choice for many cat-
egories of merchandise. Fluorescent lamps can produce a
lat, even, and stultifying blanket of light that ofers few
shadows and provides little depth or textural interest. here
are degrees of “warmth” and “coolness” available in luores-
cent lamps, from the rosy quality of “warm white deluxe”
to the blue of “cool white deluxe”—with many gradations
in between.
he merchandise—or the general type of merchan-
dise to be presented under the lighting—should be tested
under the various types of light bulbs. No one type or

Figure 4.4 The red-tinted luorescent tubes are recessed under the
fascia, along the perimeter walls. The tubes wash the upper wall
area and lend a dramatic and sexy look to the space. The loating
plastic panel, center, is illuminated with clear luorescent tubes and,
as it looms out from the black painted ceiling, dramatizes the space.
Lipsy, London. Design: JHP Design Consultants, London.

color will enhance everything, but the one that is gener-

Figure 4.3 A good lighting plan includes many lighting techniques
and utilizes a variety of lamps or bulbs. Shown here are recessed
loodlights for the ambient light; luorescents in the raised ceiling
area, to wash the focal architectural element; and drop, or pendant,
lights to accentuate an area in the rear. Around the Shoes, Tokyo.
Design: Nishiwaki Design Group, Tokyo.
ally most lattering should be chosen. Some merchandise,
like diamonds, silver, kitchen supplies, and maybe even
furs, may look scintillating in the brittle light of cool
luorescent, but customers and salespeople may appear
drained, haggard, and generally washed out in that same
lighting. A sparkling white diamond on black velvet may
seem all ire and ice, but it would be hard to sell if the
inger onto which a ring is slipped, or the neck that a
necklace caresses, looked waxy or marred by blemishes.
herefore, a sot, glowing incandescent lamp, placed near
a mirror, will enhance the customer’s skin tones as she
looks at herself bejeweled. Even if the diamond itself, at

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 that moment, is not super-blue-white gorgeous, the cus-
tomer’s appearance while wearing the jewelry is at its best.
hat’s salesmanship! hat’s display!
Fluorescent ixtures and lighting can be shielded,
iltered, or sotened with grids, bales, or difusing
panels—all to the good. A bale is any device used to
direct, divert, or disseminate light. It can be a louver over
a light, an egg crate grid, or even an angled panel that
redirects the stream of light. Fluorescent lamps can also
be used in showcases or hidden beneath shelves to add
the required warmth or coolness that the particular mer-
chandise warrants.
In any area, a ceiling may be regarded as another
wall, or the sixth side of a cube, with the walls comprising
four sides, and the loor the ith. As much as it might
be desirable to use diferent colors of luorescent in dif-
ferent areas, to do so would break the ceiling pattern and
call attention to the changes of color overhead. It is advis-
able to test and then select a proper mix of perhaps two
diferent color tubes that can be used in the same ixture
and provide the best overall colored light for the store. A
grid or difuser will hide the fact that in a single ixture,
daylight and warm white tubes are being used in tandem.
(See Figure 4.6.)
Figure 4.5 Fluorescent tubes encased in the long frosted-glass-
fronted ixtures make a strong pattern against the blacked out
ceiling while providing the general, or primary, lighting for this young
people’s store. Pencil luorescent tubes in red plastic sleeves add
to the visual excitement and hectic tempo of the shop. S. Oliver,
Berlin. Design: Plajer & Franz Studio, Berlin.
04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 36-37
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL)
With users of electric lights demanding more energy-
eicient and longer-lasting bulbs, many companies are
now producing compact luorescent bulbs. hese lamps
look somewhat like distorted incandescent bulbs and can
be screwed into sockets traditionally designed to accept
incandescent bulbs. Compact luorescents can burn for a
much longer time and will yield more light for the wattage
consumed. hese lamps are mostly used for general,
ambient lighting, but some will ind the color not as warm
or pleasant as the incandescent. When using compact luo-
rescents, it is important to make sure you are getting the
color of light you want. Oten, these screw-in luorescents
are used to retroit existing ceiling light ixtures and can be
combined with HID lamps for accenting.
Incandescent Lighting
his form of illumination is on its way out! With retailers
and users of electricity becoming more “green” and looking
for more energy-eicient and efective methods of lighting,
they have found that the traditional incandescent uses more
energy than other lamps; gives of more heat, necessitating
the use of additional energy for air cooling; and requires
more frequent bulb replacement. Many incandescent bulbs
are being phased out of production, and we are looking
forward to newer, more eicient, more ecology-favorable
lighting devices—some of which are mentioned on the fol-
lowing pages.
Incandescent spotlights are high voltage lights and are
called Parabolic Aluminized Relector (PAR) bulbs. hey
can be used as a primary light source but are usually used
as secondary lighting. Although these lamps cost more to
purchase, they do have a longer lamp life. A PAR bulb can
burn for 3,000 hours or longer.
An alternative to the PAR bulb is the R, or relector,
bulb, which is lower in wattage (about 150 watts) and
made of clear glass, with a metallic relector surface
mounted behind the bulb. Although it costs less to pur-
chase than the PAR bulb, the relector bulb does not burn
as long.
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Figure 4.6 Rows of round bulbs are lined up over the runway in the
center of this women’s shop and, along with some recessed loods
in the cut out circles in the dropped ceiling panel, serve as the
primary light source. The spotlights, on tracks that run from the front
to the rear of the store, highlight and accentuate the merchandise
display on or off of the wall. Lime, Toronto. Design: GHA Design
Studios, Montreal.
Figure 4.7 The trend toward blacked out or very dark retail spaces
accented only by sharp, bright spots of light is illustrated here. The
lighting is almost all accent lighting, with the light on the product and
none on the setting. Metal halides are used almost exclusively, except
for the luorescent tubes used to wash the walls of the recessed
areas. Levi’s, Berlin. Design: Checkland Kindleysides, London.
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04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 38-39
Floodlights are also incandescent bulbs, but they usu-
ally have frosted glass envelopes, or enclosures, and are less
concentrated, having a wider beam spread than spotlights.
Incandescent bulbs can be set into recessed high-hat
ixtures in the ceiling, clustered in chandeliers, or hung as
droplights. hey can be mounted into housings that ride
back and forth on ceiling tracks and can be directed, or
focused, on merchandise or displays. Bare bulbs, silver-
bottomed bulbs, 5-inch globelike bulbs, or tiny, round
complexion bulbs can be decoratively lined up, clustered, or
“polka dotted” on the ceiling to please the eye, add charm
to the design scheme, and “stroke” the merchandise. (See
Figures 4.6–4.8.)
High-Intensity Discharge (HID)
Lighting
he HID lamp, which is very energy eicient, is becoming
a strong contender in the ield of general, overall store
lighting, in some cases replacing the luorescent with its
long and readily apparent ixtures. HIDs are relatively
small in size (compared with luorescent lamps) and will,
like incandescents, provide shadows and highlights.
he mercury-type HID may be too green, the metal-
halide-type may appear too blue, and the sodium type is
quite yellow, but new developments are producing warmer
and more lattering types of light. General Electric’s Multi-
Vapor is an improved metal-halide-type lamp that produces
a light similar to a standard coolwhite luorescent, which is
satisfactory in some areas. It is still cooler and bluer than an
incandescent lamp, however. Ceramalux has a high-pres-
sure sodium lamp (HPS), which works well at the warm
end of the color wheel, but it is still yellower than an incan-
descent lamp.
Incandescent spotlighting can be used to accent and
highlight with HID overall lighting but may require colored
ilters (like a pale, “daylite” ilter) to go with a MultiVapor
arrangement so that the diferent types of light do not jar
each other. he Ceramalux provides a warm ambience and
mixes well with warm white deluxe luorescent or with
regular incandescent. However, because HID lamps do
15/05/11 5:40 PM
 provide so much light, they are best used in areas where the
ceiling is at least 15-feet high; otherwise, they will create an
excessively bright and sharply lit selling loor.
MR16 and MR11
he MR16 and the MR11 (miniature relector) are two of
the newest and most popular accent/focal lamps currently
in use. hey are miniature, low-voltage tungsten-halogen
lamps that emit sharp, bright light and produce a color bal-
ance that comes close to sunlight. he 75-watt MR16 lamp
will provide a more brilliant light than a traditional 150-watt
incandescent spotlight and will illuminate merchandise at
four or ive times the ambient level of other lamps. Colors
appear truer under the MR16 and MR11, and, once these
low-voltage lamps have been installed, they are eicient,
relatively inexpensive to operate, compact, and clean. Also,
because they are low voltage, they produce much less heat
Figure 4.8 Some examples of the variety of shapes and sizes of
incandescent bulbs (not drawn to scale).
04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 38-39
than the incandescent lamps; they burn cooler and do not
harm the merchandise.
he popularity of the MR16 is based, in part, on its com-
pactness, its 2-inch diameter, and the eicient low-voltage
tungsten-halogen light source. When irst introduced they
did require a rather bulky transformer, but with advancing
technology and the development of lighter and smaller
solid-state transformers, the MR lamps are indeed smaller,
lighter, and more compact. he MR11 is only 13/8 inches in
diameter and requires a much smaller lamp housing than
the MR16, which is still very small when compared with
the standard PAR incandescent lamp.
he MR16 and MR11 are available in a variety of beam-
spread widths, from very narrow spots at 7 to “loods” at 30.
he MR16 is available in 20-, 42-, 50- and 75-watt versions,
whereas the MR11 is currently limited to 12 watts for the
narrow spot and 20 watts for the wider beamspread. here
are optional attachments for the front of the unit, such
as projector lenses to “frame” an object, steel-cut pattern
templates to create decorative shadows on walls or objects,
and attachments to “wash” the wall with light. here are
also special difusion lenses to feather the light beyond the
edges of the beamspread and lenses in gentle colors to bal-
ance the tungsten-halogen light with incandescent lights
that may be used in the same area.
Purchasing and installing the lamps and the housings
for them are expensive, but the results are worth the invest-
ment because they do burn cool, have a long life, and are
very energy eicient.
Metal Halide Lamps
hese lamps are an extension of the HID lighting system
and produce a high output of light, considering their small
size. Like the other HID lamps, these create strong beams
of focused, clear light under high pressure, but they do
also produce heat. he lamps require special light ixtures
as well as electric ballasts to regulate the arc current and
deliver the desired voltage to the arc.
Metal halide lamps are especially efective for spot-
lighting and accenting product displays or creating shop
interiors with pools of dramatic lighting in otherwise dark
C H A P T E R FO U R : L I G H T A N D L I G H T I N G 39
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 interiors—like an Abercrombie & Fitch store. he lamps
are available in correlated color temperatures ranging from
3,000 to more than 20,000 K (kelvin). With “pulse start”
technology, there is improved color rendition, and the K
variance is plus or minus 100 K.
PAR and Ceramic Compact Metal Halide (CDMT)
lamps now produce four times more light than a halogen
lamp of the same energy, and it is also possible to control
glare and focus better with CDMT lamps because they can
be used with relectors and lenses. As of now, the size of the
CDMT lamp makes it diicult to use in some areas, but the
lighting companies are working on making the ixtures and
relectors smaller and more adaptable to other uses.
Ceramic Metal Halide Lamps
his is a variation on the old mercury vapor lamp. A ceramic
tube containing mercury, argon, and metal halides is used,
and the electric charge is introduced. he metal halide salts
are partially vaporized, and inside the hot plasma, the salts
are disassociated into metallic atoms and iodine. he tem-
perature within the tube can be greater than 1,200 K.
he metallic atoms produce a bluish light that is close
to daylight, with a color rendering index (CRI) of 96. It is
also possible to get warm-white lamps with a 78 to 82 CRI.
Some manufacturers, including General Electric, are pro-
ducing ceramic metal halide lamps like the new 23-watt GE
ConstantColor CMH Integral PAR38. his lamp provides
excellent energy savings and can be used for ambient and
display lighting in retail settings. he lamps are available
as 10-degree spots, 25-degree loods, and 36-degree wide
loods with a warm, 3,000 K color temperature.
Eye Lighting International of North Carolina produces
a line of Cera Arc ceramic metal halide lamps with 39-, 70-,
and 150-watt ratings. hese feature an R9 value of 90 and a
CRI rating of 92—high ratings in the industry. According
to the manufacturer, “hese values create rich colors, espe-
cially red, which is the most important color in retailing.”
Rated at 3,600 K, the Cera Arc blends well with luorescents
and, in addition to the brilliant reds, ofers great greens,
blues, and white—all essential in showcasing clothing, jew-
elry, and lowers.
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04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 40-41
LED (Light-Emitting Diode)
LED is the new kid on the block and one to contend with.
It is being heralded and adapted most readily for all sorts
of uses. Its small size, long life expectancy, and adaptability
make it a popular choice, especially when accessibility to
the light source and maintenance are involved.
LEDs are solid-state devices that, unlike an incandes-
cent, do not require heating of a ilament to create light.
he electricity passes through a chemical compound that
is excited and then generates light. LED lighting requires
a circuit board that allows electricity to pass through it
at a speciied current and voltage. he circuit board also
requires the components that allow the LED to operate at
voltages such as 12 Vdc, 24 Vdc, or 120 Vdc.
General Electric has come up with a new LED module
that simpliies LED lighting in directional applications, such
as recessed downlights, tracks, pendants, and sconces. Small
and puck shaped, the twist makes it easy to upgrade LED
lighting with a simple twist of the module into the socket.
he LED’s current popularity is due to its broader life
expectancy. It also has no toxic elements. LEDs can last
30,000 to 100,000 hours, compared with incandescents
and halogens, which last from 2,500 to 5,000 hours. LED
PAR20 loods and spotlights (7 watt) can be used for shop
interiors. Color rendition is improving, and colors in the
white and blue spectrum are getting brighter and warmer.
With its multiple colored light possibilities, LED is being
used for creating color efects in wall washing and signage.
Some of the beneits associated with LED have been
outlined by Environmental Lighting Company, a resource
for these lighting products:
u Extremely low power consumption
u Extremely long life (50,000 to 100,000 hours)
u Durable and insensitive to vibration
u Dimmable and programmable
u Lightweight and compact
u Color without the use of ilters or lenses
u No relectors required to direct light
u Environmentally friendly
u No mercury or other toxic elements
u Recyclable
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 With LED lighting ofering so much, and being so
new, there will be new advances made daily in the uses and
applications of the LED technology for store lighting and
point-of-purchase displays and signage. What is important
is that LED is cost efective, energy eicient, and “green.”
Secondary, or Accent, Lighting
Flat, shadowless, overall lighting can create a lethargic and
boring selling loor. Glare or overly bright, strong light
can be irritating and a detriment to selling. Shadows and
highlights are necessary; they can delight, intrigue, and
pique the imagination. Sparkle and shimmer can stimulate
and titillate. A selling loor, and especially a display, needs
changes from light to dark, from highlights to shadows.
hey need lash and sparkle and should make the viewer’s
eye travel over the area. Secondary, or accent, lighting
should accomplish all this.
Secondary lighting devices can be “candlelit” chandeliers,
wall sconces that suggest warmth and elegance with only a
minimum of actual light, lights on a track that serve to supply
extra light where it is needed, and hidden lights that wash a wall
with light or color and beckon the customer into the depart-
ment for a closer look. Secondary lighting can also difuse a
ledge area with a glow or an aura of light. It can be a spotlight
on a display or the light in a case or under a counter.
Incandescent bulbs—from tiny bee and twinkle lights,
to small, candlelike, or complexion bulbs, and on up to
full-sized globe, pear, or relector-type bulbs—are most fre-
quently used for secondary lighting. he long showcase, or
“sausage,” lamp is an incandescent that somewhat resembles
a small luorescent tube in shape, but it gives of a warm light
and its, almost invisibly, into display cases or under shelves.
When lamps are hidden behind valances or recessed
under grids or bales, and warmer colors are not needed,
luorescent lights may work efectively to provide secondary
lighting. However, incandescent secondary lights will add
highlights, provide shadows, mold and dimensionalize the
merchandise, and latter the customer’s complexion.
Accent or focal lighting not only highlights the product
or the group of merchandise, but also makes it stand out
from its surroundings. Under the accent light, the color of
04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 40-41
the merchandise appears sharper and more brilliant, the
textures are deined, and the details are brought into promi-
nence. he strong, focused light of the accent lamp can make
a product stand out in a highly illuminated selling loor or
in a sunlit window. It works most efectively when the sur-
rounding area is low-keyed and rather dim so that the accent
light seems even more brilliant by contrast. Incandescent
spotlights are used as accent or highlighting lamps in the
showing and selling areas, in display windows, on platform
and ledge displays, and on island setups. (See Figure 4.9.)
Colored Lights and Filters
Just as pigments can be mixed to produce new colors, col-
ored lights can be mixed to create new and diferent color
efects. he primary colors of light are red, green (not
yellow, as with pigments), and blue.
White light can be produced by mixing the three pri-
mary colors of light. Red and blue light together will produce
a magenta or a purplish red. Blue and green will combine
to form cyan or cyan-blue, which is actually a bright blue-
green. Red and green create a yellowish or amber light.
hus, the secondary colors of light are magenta, cyan, and
amber. (See Figure 4.10.)
Figure 4.9 Chandeliers, wall sconces, lamps, and backlit photo panels
are all secondary lighting devices that do not necessarily add much
light to the setting but that do provide a sense of atmosphere. Here,
the decorative, custom-designed chandeliers contrast with the stark
white walls and ceiling and add to the exotic quality of the boutique.
Zainab, Los Angeles. Design: Seyie Putsure, Seyie Design, Los
Angeles.
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 he display person should be especially concerned
with the mixing of colored light on solid, pigmented sur-
faces. his is usually accomplished with colored ilters
and gels. A red ilter placed over a white light on a white
or light neutral surface will turn that surface red. he red
ilter absorbs all the blue and green light waves present in
the white light that is going through the red ilter; only the
red wavelengths will pass through to the painted surface. A
blue ilter will absorb the red and green wavelengths, pro-
ducing a blue light on the white painted area.
Tables 4.1 and 4.2 show the efects of diferent colors of
light on various pigment colors. here are, however, many
colored glass ilters and plastic gelatins on the market, as well
as shades and tints of these colors, that subtly can add to the
intensity of a color or gently neutralize some of its intensity. Figure 4.10 Mixing colored light.
here are all sorts of pinks and blush tones available to
warm up skin tones or suggest a sunset. here are ambers
that go down to pale straw and strained sunlight. A “daylite” changing the actual color. Strong, deep colors are used to
ilter is a clear, light blue that will ill in an area with the sug- create atmosphere—the dramatic side or back lighting; for
gestion of a spring day or will chill shredded Styrofoam with example, the mood lighting of a window or ledge display.
icy blue shadows. he green gels go from the pastel yellow- Deeper-colored lights are mainly reserved for modeling
greens to the deep, atmospheric blue-greens, or cyans. and shaping the merchandise by adding color to the
In most cases, lighter tints are used on displays shadows and folds as well as by relecting color from one
to enrich the color presentation without appreciably surface to another.

Table 4.1 this chart shows the effects of colored lights on primary and secondary colored
pigments. For example, a green colored light on a red fabric or on a red painted
surface will turn the red into a muddy brown, whereas a red light on a green
surface will make the green appear dark gray.
Primary Colored Pigments Secondary Colored Pigments
Red Blue Yellow Green Orange Violet

Primary Colored Lights

Red Brilliant red Brown-purple Almost white Dark gray Pale orange Rich wine
Blue Violet Bright blue Green Turquoise Gray-brown Blue-violet
GReen Brown Turquoise Yellow-green Bright green Old gold Dark gray-green

Secondary Colored Lights

AmBeR Orange-red Dark gray Pale yellow Gray-green Bright orange Brown
CYAn Gray-brown Blue-green Light green Blue-green Brown Deep cold blue
mAGentA Lake or cerise Ultramarine Orange Blue-violet Bright red Red-violet

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 Table 4.2 this chart shows the effects of different lamps on painted surfaces of various
colors. A similar change takes place on similarly colored merchandise displayed
under these various lamps.
Paint Color Approximate Incandescent Warm White White Fluorescent
Relectance Factor Filament Fluorescent
Cherry red .13 Brilliant orange-red Pale orange-red Pale orange-red
Orchid .44 Light pink Pale purplish-pink Gray-pink
Plum .04 Deep orange-red Dull reddish-brown Dark brown
Chestnut brown .19 Medium yellowish-brown Light yellow-brown Gray-brown
Peach .58 Pinkish-yellow Light yellowish-pink Light yellowish-pink
Orange .44 Bright orange Light orange-yellow Pale yellow
Canary yellow .44 Orange-yellow Fair match (sharper) Greenish-yellow
light yellow .58 Vivid orange-yellow Medium yellow Medium yellow
light blue .46 Light yellowish-green Pale grayish-blue Weak greenish-blue
medium blue .23 Blue-green Light gray-blue Purplish-blue
Silver gray .97 Light yellow-gray Light yellowish-gray Light brownish-gray

Paint Color Standard Cool Daylight Fluorescent Warm White Deluxe Cool White Deluxe
White Filament Fluorescent Fluorescent
Cherry red Yellowish-red Light red Orange-red Good match
Orchid Light pink Good match (grayer) Pale pink Light pink
Plum Light reddish-brown Deep bluish-purple Reddish-purple Darker brown
Chestnut brown Light brownish-gray Light gray Dark brown Good match
Peach Very light pink Fair match (lighter) Light orange Good match (yellower)
Orange Light yellow Gray-yellow Yellowish-orange Good match
Canary yellow Light yellow Fair match Good match (brighter) Good match
light yellow Light bright yellow Light greenish-yellow Deep yellow Bright yellow
light blue Blue-gray Fair match (lighter) Grayish-blue Grayish-blue
medium blue Light gray-blue Fair match (lighter) Purple-blue Reddish-blue
Silver gray Very light gray Bluish-gray Yellowish-gray Light gray

A word of advice for the display person on the use of
light on skin tones—both of mannequins and customers:
Green light should be avoided. It plays havoc with the color
of cheeks and lips and with blond and red hair, as well as
enhancing every skin blemish. Cyan is even worse, although
it may work for Halloween or an “out-of-this-world” pre-
sentation. Pinks and rose tints are becoming to most skin
tones, from the palest white to the darkest browns, and they
enhance the warm colors in merchandise. (See Figure 4.11.)
Planning Store Lighting
Shoppers respond to light, to the quality of light and the
color of light, to the brightness and intensity of light.
Light makes the colors of a shop come alive and creates
the overall ambience. It leads and directs the shoppers
around the selling space and makes them stop to see the
highlighted displays or merchandise. Light also forms the
shadows that add depth and texture to the retail setting and

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 Figure 4.11 Bee lights, neon, and other novelty lights can be added to a lighting plan for assorted effects. Here, a green neon strip runs
just under the ceiling to effect a tinted wall wash and play up the brick textured wall in the men’s jeans area. In addition, neon signage
is decoratively employed throughout this store to designate the shops within the shop and to highlight them with color. River Island,
Amsterdam. Design: Dalziel & Pow, London.

to the merchandise. With the great variations in state and
city codes, the ever-increasing desire for an upscale image,
and the specialization of areas on the selling loor, a trained
lighting specialist is required to perform the lighting magic
needed to bring the store to life.
David A. Mintz, a lighting authority, has lighted more
than 40 million square feet of retail space for many of this
country’s largest department and specialty stores. According
to Mintz, “Perception is what the lighting actually enhances.
It is the customer’s perceived attitude toward lighting and
merchandise.” Lower levels of illumination usually suggest to
the upscale customer better or more expensive merchandise.
Retailers too, feel that incandescent light means that soter,
iner merchandise is being ofered. However, a light level that
is too low may not necessarily make a shop look elegant and
exclusive; it might just look dull and gloomy. Mintz personally
opts for an “upbeat, brighter rather than duller luminosity in
the retail ambience.” In low light, people tend to whisper in
hushed tones and move as though they were in a museum. he
merchandise becomes untouchable and remote. he shopper
can be inhibited, and that’s not good for selling.
Properly lighting a store requires a palette of lamps
and light sources to create the total efect. It requires incan-
descent plus luorescent lights, tungsten-halogen lamps,
and even novelties, like neon strips. According to Mintz,
there is no single ideal or best lighting design for a store.
here are too many variables: the changing feeling, texture,
and look of the merchandise; the location of a department
and what type of merchandise it carries; how the adjacent
areas or shops relate to one another. he lighting design is
also afected by neighboring establishments (especially in
malls), the nature of the clientele and their perceptions, the
colors and textures that comprise the decorative scheme,
and the height and type of ceiling.

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 With respect to which light source and types of ixtures
are best for a store, Mintz feels that the choice of light source
is determined by many considerations, including the mer-
chandise, for which there are certain guidelines. Cosmetics
areas are almost always lighted with incandescent—warm,
glowing, lattering light. Better dresses and gowns and
designer shops usually use incandescents, but not always.
Menswear areas are oten illed with luorescents for the
general light but supplemented with incandescents or low-
voltage tungsten-halogen lamps for accents or focal light.
he standards, codes, and energy restrictions are all inte-
gral elements in the lighting design. he lights and types
of lamps can be changed to accommodate these codes and
standards. Mintz suggests that visual merchandisers use
lamps that will be similar to the light ambience that the
objects will ultimately be used in; for example, furs are used
out of doors; refrigerators are in kitchens; gowns in incan-
descent-lighted rooms. “It’s very important to have diferent
lights from diferent sources for diferent looks. he selling
space needs variety and interest, but try to minimize the
number of lamp types used so that the store will maintain
the established light design by replacing burnt-out lamps
with the same original lamp for color, light and wattage.”
Another light authority, Joseph A. DiBernardo, has
been extensively involved in lighting hotels, restaurants,
and public spaces and brings a new perspective to the
lighting of retail spaces. DiBernardo sees lighting as a vital
part of the store’s image. “he department store visit is usu-
ally of short duration. It isn’t like you live there or spend
many hours there. he lighting has to get the customers
immediately, grab their interest, hold their attention, and
show them what they should see.
“We use accent lights to deine selling spaces, or the
aisles, and in some cases we may use the accent lights to
light up the entire store.” Some shops today are almost
completely illuminated by the MR16 low-voltage tungsten-
halogen lamps. DiBernardo also feels the luorescents are
a part of retail lighting. How much they are used and how
they are used depends on the fashion level or attitude of the
store and the type and class of the merchandise. He will use
them to light surfaces, to wash walls or ceilings, or for cove
lighting. He also likes to keep them recessed and incon-
spicuous, and he uses them for indirect lighting.
04_Pegler_Chapter_4_3pp.indd 44-45
Store lighting should be lashier and more exciting and
stimulating than home lighting. he lighting designer’s job
is to create an interesting space rather than simply light up
the loor, walls, and ixtures. When lighting a selling loor,
there should be variations of light intensity from shop to
shop, from area to area, from a low-keyed “living room”
ambience to a brilliant, high-tech attitude. he shopper
seeks warmth and security, and the smart retailer knows
that a customer who looks good in the store mirror will buy
the garment. In those areas where the shopper and the gar-
ment come together, in front of mirrors, in itting rooms,
in places where the real selling takes place, the lighting is
vital and must be carefully balanced between animate and
inanimate objects.
Lighting is what shows, directs, points out, and makes
selling possible. It is part of the store’s image; it shapes the
customer’s perception of the store’s fashion attitude and
the value of the merchandise being ofered. Lighting must
be planned and lighting experts and consultants help with
the planning.
Suggestions for Using Light
Effectively
1. Avoid bright, white lights directly on a mannequin’s
face, elbows, or shoes. Save the brightest lights for
the merchandise, and avoid anything that will detract
from the merchandise.
2. Use colored light to create the right setting for the
merchandise. Save it for props and backgrounds. If
colored light is used on a garment to intensify the
color, stay with the pastel ilters: pale pinks for the
reds and red-violets, pale straw for the yellows and
oranges, daylight blue for the cool colors, and Nile
green for the greens.
3. It is more efective to light across a display than
directly down on it. Direct downlighting can create
unpleasant and unattractive shadows. he upper let
light can be directed over to the lower right side of the
display; the upper right light is then directed over to
the lower let. his creates a crossover of light, a more
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 or image. Similarly, sensors that turn on the lights of
a display setup when they “sense” the presence of a
person nearby can be used to save energy—and as a
dramatic plus.

Just as you would seek help from a professional health

care provider if you had an ailment, so should you con-
sult with a professional lighting designer/planner when it
comes to lighting a retail space. he retailer needs help in
planning not only the most efective use of energy required
by law, but also the best way to use the energy to enhance
the merchandise presentation and displays and create the
desired image for the store. (See Figures 4.12 and 4.13.)
Let there be light: the best light you can aford. his is
Figure 4.12 To create a more intimate, human-scaled feeling to a not the place to economize.
space with a high ceiling, designers may paint the ceiling a dark
color, drop loating panels down from the ceiling, stretch panels
across the space, or even, as shown here, drop the lighting ixtures.
The white boxes with bafled bottoms light up the tabletop displays
while adding to the sense of intimacy. Note the dark brown canvas
bafles stretched across the shop and the dropped light tracks.
Stark & Whyte, Toronto. Design: Ruscio Studio, Montreal.

even, more difused light, and nulliies areas in the

display space that are too bright or too dark.
4. he lighting in a window display should be checked at
night. Many imperfections, such as wrinkles, are more
apparent under the artiicial light when the sotening
inluence of daylight does not enter the window.
Colored lights will also look diferent when there is no
other source of light with which to contend. What may
have seemed perfect during the daylight hours at night
may appear harsh or garish. It is also advisable to check
that the lights are not “looding over” into the street—
into the eyes of passersby and the road traic.
5. here is nothing particularly attractive about
electric wires unless they are meant to be part of the
decorative scheme. Find ways to “lose” them—hide
and disguise them.
Figure 4.13 Daylight, long kept out of the retail environment, is now
6. Display lights are expensive to use. hey use up making a welcome entrance into stores, and not only through all-
energy. It is wise to set up a timer device that will glass façades and storefronts—daylight is also coming in through
automatically turn of all lights sometime during the skylights and glassed-in ceilings. In an effort to cut down on energy
costs, designers are going “green” and adding natural light into
night ater the street traic has diminished and the the lighting plans. Zara, Bratislava, Slovakia. Design: Gruschwitz
store lighting no longer serves any purpose of display GmbH, Munich.

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 Light and Lighting: Trade Talk

baffle highlights secondary, or accent, lighting

colored lights incandescent light secondary colors of light
color of an object led shadows
filters light spotlights
floodlights Mr16 and Mr11 store’s lighting plan
fluorescent light pAr bulbs visible light
general, or primary, lighting primary colors of light
hid r, or reflector, bulb

Light and Lighting: A Recap

F in an open-back window, the lighting up front must be strong
enough to keep the shopper’s eye from going past the display,
into the interior of the store.
F in a closed-back window, the display person can use a range
of lighting effects, including colored lights and light filters, to
create a more theatrical display.
F the most effective sources for window display lighting are
incandescent lighting and Mr16s.
F when planning a store’s interior lighting, a variety of light
sources and lamps can be used to create a particular interior
lighting “palette” and to draw shoppers to various areas within
the store.
F General, or primary, lighting is the overall ceiling light of
a selling area. it does not include the accent or decorative
lighting.
F secondary lighting is the accent and decorative lighting:
chandeliers; sconces; wall washers; indirect lighting;
spotlights; and lights under shelves, in cases, and in counters.
F fluorescent lighting is efficient and relatively inexpensive to
install and maintain. the tubes are available in a wide range of
“white” light, from cool bluish to warm white deluxe, which has
more of a peach tone. smaller tubes can be used in showcases,
under shelves, and behind baffles as wall washers.
F incandescent bulbs produce warmer and more flattering light
than the fluorescent but emit more heat. the lamps do not
burn as long or as efficiently as the fluorescents. they are
available in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and wattages. the
lamps can be decorative as well as useful. the incandescent
spotlight is a display “must.”
F the hid lamp is an efficient and relatively inexpensive light
source that is being color improved for use inside the store.
F leds are solid-state devices that do not require heating of a
filament. they are cost efficient, energy efficient, and green.
F different light sources can be used on the same selling floor.
it is possible to highlight and accent a fluorescent primary
lighting scheme with incandescent secondary lighting.
F white light is composed of a rainbow of colors of different
wavelengths, from violet to red.
F the primary colors of light are red, blue, and green.
F the secondary colors of light are magenta, cyan, and amber.
F A colored filter produces a particular color of light by filtering
out or absorbing all the other colors in the white light except
the color of the filter or gel.

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 Questions for Review and Discussion

1. what is the relationship between color and light? explain
your answer by detailing the reason why when looking at a
red dress, we see red, rather than some other color.
2. why can wavelengths of light be seen by humans, but not
ultraviolet light, X-rays, gamma rays, infrared light, and radio
waves?
3. explain how you might plan lighting for a menswear store
that is shallow and wide and where a great deal of natural
light floods the space.
4. define general, or primary, lighting, and provide examples of
this category of lighting.
5. provide examples of the differing effects that various types of
lighting have on merchandise and skin tones.
6. highlight the advantages and disadvantages of incandescent
lighting.
7. why has it been said that incandescent lights do the “selling”
in the store?
8. what are the special qualities of hid lighting?
9. what types of light sources would you select for a lingerie
department or shop? why?
10. why have Mr16 and Mr11 lamps gained favor in visual
merchandising and display?
11. what advice would you give to someone regarding the use of
colored lights in display?
12. in selecting the types of lighting and light fixtures for a store,
what factors should be taken into consideration?
13. where should the brightest light be focused within a display?
14. what adjustments, if any, should be made to the lighting
within a display window for day and night?

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 Chapter Twenty-Six
Visual Merchandising and the Changing Face of Retail

After you hAve reAd this chApter,

you will be Able to discuss

F three retail store formats that have been taking an increasing

“slice” of the retail pie over the past two decades
F speciic visual merchandising considerations for a big-box store,
or superstore; discount/factory outlet store; and vendor shop
F ways in which large, hanger-style stores can be “warmed up”
through effective store planning and display

321

26_Pegler_Chapter_26_3pp.indd 321 15/05/11 5:59 PM

 d
uring much of the twentieth century, most people
in the United States shopped in department stores,
large specialty stores, and small mom-and-pop
stores that usually were geared to local neighbor-
hood trade. he 1950s saw the start and eventual spread of
malls and shopping centers and the small specialty chain
stores that began to proliferate across the country. It was the
late 1960s and early 1970s that ushered in the “boutique”
phenomenon: small, specialized shops within a shop that
began to show up in the major department stores, targeted
at speciic markets and age groups. Designer shops also
appeared on the better fashion streets in the larger cities
as the “prêt-à-porter” concept became a viable opportunity
for designers to spread their wares about.
Americans have always been brand conscious and
responded to names in advertising. With the growth of
TV, and more nationally distributed magazines, name
brands featured in ads and commercials became a draw
when those names appeared in department and speciality
stores. People through the ages must have waited for sale
events to shop “discount,” though they didn’t know that
that was what they were doing. It wasn’t until the 1970s
that discount shopping, factory outlet stores, and value-
oriented malls became a considered competition to the
traditional retail stores.
he 1980s were a decade of expansion—and of con-
solidation. Speciality stores, like Banana Republic, Gap,
Benetton, and he Limited, seemed to pop up in malls and
on shopping streets across the country, while department
stores were disappearing, changing names and identities.
Many mom-and-pop shops and small, independent stores
gave up the ight against the spread of the specialty chains.
The 1990s has witnessed the growth of a new phe-
nomenon: the big-box store, or superstore. In giant,
hangar-like constructions of concrete, cement, steel, and
glass—covering areas ranging from 20,000 to more than
100,000 square feet—retailers collect a vast assortment
of usually one specific kind of product and then turn
these monster spaces into category killers—so called
because their greater selection and generally better
prices (not to mention, easy-to-shop spaces) allow them
to “kill off ” the smaller stores carrying that same cat-
egory of merchandise.
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26_Pegler_Chapter_26_3pp.indd 322-323
Another recent addition to the retail format vocabu-
lary is the vendor shop. Although the concept of brand
name shops within a shop is not new, the recent approach
is. Today’s vendor shops are miniatures of the designers’
or brand names’ own retail stores and though located
in department and speciality stores, the brand name
manufacturer controls how the shop looks and how the
merchandise is presented.
In this chapter we consider how these new retail con-
cepts rely on visual merchandising and display—on the
selection of ixtures, graphics, signage, and decoratives to
create the desired image for the buying public. Visual mer-
chandising and display more than just attracts customers—it
keeps them in the store as well.
Big-Box Store, or Superstore
It is all size and selection. hese giant retail boxes are
oten located along main highways and feature bold
graphics, signage, and colors on their façades to attract
the traic and invite the shoppers into their open parking
lots. Everything here is done to make the shopping expe-
rience appear to be easy and fun; the shopper isn’t actually
aware of the miles of walking that is involved. Concrete
loors may be tiled, there may be areas of carpeting or an
occasional wood loor, but mostly the loors are painted
in colors to help the shopper move around the space and
to deine diferent areas in the store. he open, exposed
ceiling is almost always illed with pipes, ducts, and vents
that control and carry the electricity, water, heating, and
air-conditioning apparatus. Sometimes, the high ceilings
are pierced with skylights that allow the natural daylight
to mingle with the many sources of artiicial light pro-
vided to illuminate the space properly.
Today’s shopper wants comfort, convenience, and
value. he shopper also wants selection, service, and enter-
tainment. He or she wants to enjoy the time spent in the
store, so the retailer, the architect/designer, the visual mer-
chandiser, and the display person have to “warm up” and
personalize the vast space into smaller, more comfortable,
life-size spaces that have a feeling of intimacy. Also, the
retailer’s goal is to prolong the shopper’s stay in the store,
15/05/11 5:59 PM
 so the retailer has to provide reasons to stay. Cafés and food
courts, interactive displays, video monitors, music, aromas,
lighting efects, and places where children can be safely let
to play and be amused while the parents are free to shop are
some of the best “reasons.” (See Figures 26.1 and 26.2.)
he big-boxes are humanized by lifestyle displays on the
drive aisles, or major aisles. Drive aisles are main aisles that
lead and direct shoppers. hese displays feature the mer-
chandise that is stocked behind, oten on giant industrial
ixtures that may reach up 10 to 12 feet from the ground.
he merchandise might be home appliances, computers
and electronic equipment, home repair, or home fashion
accessories. he displays will show compatible pieces of the
merchandise arranged in “live-in” settings that oten suggest
a particular lifestyle. here could be a vignette setting of a
sophisticated kitchen for a working couple, a rustic hunting
lodge kitchen for a weekend house, or even a kitchen for a
person who would rather paint or play an instrument than
cook. hese are settings with personality and the vignettes
add life, vitality, and color to the warehouse setting as well
as humanize the products.
In these wide open spaces, signage is very important.
From the entrance, the would-be shopper wants to know
where to go to ind whatever he or she is looking for. It is
the oversized signage, and sometimes the giant graphics,
that serves as directional guidepost. Color-keyed banners,
streamers, and pennants add spice and color as they hang
down from the exposed ceiling, and they can also help
divide the space into speciic areas—all coded by color: for
example, blue = home, green = oice, red = travel, yellow
= entertainment. he on-the-aisle displays and the com-
puterized kiosks stop the shopper and reveal the things he
or she hadn’t planned to look at or consider. A centrally
located and well-identiied information or service desk is
essential for those who are too impatient or unwilling to
read signs or follow luttering lags.

Figure 26.1 Blacked-out exposed ceilings and lowered ceilings that carry the lighting, clearly deined walk areas, and dramatically lit and
well-displayed merchandise deine the newer big-box stores. Merchandise displays and focal point presentations make the excursion around
these large spaces more of an adventure than a chore. Habitat, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

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Figure 26.2 Category killers must visually reduce their tremendous
selection into easy-to-view, easy-to-select, and eye-pleasing areas
of merchandise presentation if they are to encourage a shopper to
make a selection. In the multilevel Hamleys store on Regent Street,
in London, the display team has organized the hundreds of stuffed
bears into easy-to-shop clusters and enhanced the setting with
the giant tree and the imaginative tree house.
he lighting in the store must reinforce the displays
along the way—highlight them and turn them into focal
points that will attract and stop the shopper on his or her
way. he graphics should not only set the lifestyle concept
for the product, but also help explain how, when, and where
the product will work. Some big-box operations have elec-
tronic stations near the entrance where shoppers can punch
in what they want and be shown, on a monitor, the quickest
way to get to the product. Some computerized stations, in
the departments, will provide answers to speciic questions
about the products contained in this area.
Although merchandise in the big-box stores is oten
crated and boxed and stacked ceiling high, samples must
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be available to be seen, touched, tested, and tried. Easy-to-
read, easy-to-understand signage should be provided near
or on the sample product to make it self-explanatory. Here,
too, a simple display, a prop, a background panel, a graphic,
or a loor pad—whatever—can enhance the product and
make it more relevant to the shopper: a wicker basket over-
loaded with colorful T-shirts standing next to a washing
machine, a stufed toy dog with a doggie bowl standing and
staring at a refrigerator, bags of popcorn and pizza boxes
piled up on the loor in front of a TV set, and so on.
he big-box phenomenon is now moving into town
and taking over old, no-longer-used movie houses,
deserted supermarkets, and—quite naturally—unten-
anted warehouses. he major problem is providing
suicient parking spaces, especially when shoppers have
to pick up and move large, clumsy, and oten heavy crates
or cartons. Big-box stores are not only for hard goods. he
two- and three-story Borders and Barnes & Noble book-
stores, for example, have a vast selection of books for all
ages and interests, as well as magazines, writing materials,
reading-related gits, CDs, DVDs, and computer sotware.
hey seem to have everything and anything anybody
would hope to ind regarding literature, how-to, hobbies,
and entertainment. Here, too, the café/cofee shop has
become the add-on “entertainment” factor, along with
celebrity appearances. hese attractions do prolong visits
to the bookstores. In some instances, the café has become
the primary reason for the visit, and the book-related
purchase is the afterthought.
Discount and
Factory Outlet Stores
Discount, factory outlet, and value-oriented shopping:
These are buzzwords that get the shopper’s instant atten-
tion and are often enough to bring on a shopping spree.
These magical terms seem, more and more, to be the
“open sesame” to sales. Time- and money-conscious
shoppers all have the same goal in mind: they want the
best for the least and preferably in the most comfortable
and convenient stores.
15/05/11 5:59 PM
 Unfortunately, some retailers haven’t learned that just
ofering merchandise at reduced prices is not enough. he
merchandise has to look good; it has to look as though
it is worth more. here is a big diference between a dis-
counted dress and a distressed, “as is” garment. Showing
the discounted merchandise in a cold, sterile warehouse
setting doesn’t necessarily work, either. Harsh bright
lights, cold luorescent ceiling tubes, shiny chrome ix-
tures, screaming signs, and garish decor do not add stature
to the fashion image or the product of the store. hey only
say, “cheap,” and shoppers are not looking for cheap. hey
are in search of value.
here has been a proliferation of factory outlet malls,
centers, and strips across the United States, and the concept
is being introduced abroad. It is not unusual in these “value-
oriented” shopping clusters to ind famous fashion names,
like Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren/Polo, and
Anne Klein, or respected, well-advertized brand names, like
Timberland, Mikasa, Bass Shoes, Bogner, and London Fog.
Shoppers arrive by the carloads; tour busses can be found
illing the parking lots like a herd of lumbering elephants as
they disgorge thousands of bargain hunters daily. he hunt
is on! Oten these factory outlet/discount malls will rival the
regular malls for ambiance, amenities, and for the comforts
and conveniences they provide. hese are attractively land-
scaped areas, sometimes with interesting themed buildings
and a plethora of inexpensive fast foods available in well-lit
and well-cared for food courts. he only thing that is “dis-
count” is the price of the merchandise. Because many of these
individual shops bear illustrious names, as much care, efort,
thought, and taste go into the design and merchandise pre-
sentation inside as go into the boutique, of the same name, in
a department store or on a fashionable shopping street. he
materials and detailing may be less elegant or reined, but
the shopper is still aware of the fashion attitude—the image
behind the name on the front of the retail space.
As important as the lighting and the overall design of
the shop is the visual presentation. he shoppers who are
attracted to these outposts of savings are also looking to save
time and conserve energy—as well as money. Although it
can sometimes be fun and an adventure to go rummaging
through piles of garments heaped indiscriminately atop
lopsided tables, it is certainly simpler and less of a hassle to
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ind the desired color, size, style, and price range in neatly
and intelligently organized groupings. Just as these shoppers
are likely to frequent upscale malls and better department
stores, they expect to see displays showing the garments
arranged, accessorized and coordinated, and given dramatic
life via dimensional forms and arresting props. Shoppers
will understand the absence of chic, of-the-moment man-
nequins, but they cannot accept the worn, weary, and wigless
forms of a generation ago. Again, simple and smart manne-
quin alternatives will do nicely to suggest the body and form
and carry of the whole ensemble.
Although more energy-eicient and economical luo-
rescent lamps may be used in the lighting plan, the plan
should also include the atmospheric and accent lighting
necessary for the store’s image and for accentuating the
featured merchandise. he display person must always
remember to latter the shopper as he or she tries on a new
garment. Within spending or budgetary restrictions, these
discount and factory outlet stores are still promoting the
fashion images the shopper associates with the designer or
the brand name as these images appear in ads in magazines
and on TV. (See Figure 26.3.)
Vendor Shops
Levi’s, Coach, Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren/
Polo, Tommy Hiliger, and so many other well-known and
nationally advertized brand names and fashion designers
share a unique situation in retailing today. hey are not
only the manufacturers and suppliers of the merchandise
that carries their names, but they are also the retailers. It is
not unusual to see free-standing stores—even superstores—
bearing these illustrious names on major fashion streets,
sometimes next to stores that also carry those brand name
products. Backed up by the image created by their national
campaigns on TV, in magazines, and on giant billboards,
they have further enhanced their image with a store design
and merchandise presentation that becomes as much a part
of their design signature as the photos and graphics used
in the ads.
However, these major suppliers of fashion have in the
past and probably will in the future continue to sell their
325
15/05/11 5:59 PM
 products in major department and speciality stores. he
brand name/designer supplier has oten tried, and not
always successfully, to establish its own look and identity
within the department where it is located. By featuring the
graphics and signage, and the fashion attitude of the line,
the supplier tried to promote the brand name by separating
this line from the others around it. Today, we ind, more
and more, small distinctly diferent “shops” or “boutiques”
within a single department, each with its own ixtures and
furniture; graphics, signage, and lifestyle imagery; mer-
chandise presentation, and sometimes even lighting. We
are seeing more of these vendor shops taking over whole
departments in stores.
he vendor shop will oten be a miniature of the brand
name/designer’s freestanding store or will try to recreate, in
the limited space, the essence of that retail image. he ix-
tures, the lighting, the use of graphics, and merchandising
techniques will attempt to establish immediately a conti-
nuity with the brand name/designer’s freestanding stores.
It is a fully realized shop within a shop, carrying a selection
of the brand name/designer’s products. here are excep-
tions, but usually the supplier will provide the ixtures and
décor for this space, specify the lighting requirements, and
also dictate how the merchandise will be visually presented.
he retailer (the department or specialty store) yields up
some of the precious sales loor space in exchange for the

Figure 26.3 The old-time “pipe rack and luorescent ixtures” company outlet store has been replaced by smart and sophisticated settings more
in keeping with the brand and the product. The Cole Haan shop, though minimal in décor and ambiance, bears a resemblance to the taste
level of the product, whereas the simple, unpretentious design is a relection of the discounted price offer. Cole Haan outlet store.

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 Figure 26.4 For this Timberland vendor shop, FRCH Design created a selection of tables, loor ixtures, and displayers and a modular wall
system so that the pieces could be combined in a variety of ways to show off the Timberland collection. The modularity of the elements
means that the ixtures and graphics can be reconigured to it into a space of any size or shape. The graphics and signage units are all
part of the vendor’s package to the retailer. The vendor shop is the “ultimate” in point-of-purchase design. Timberland vendor shop.
Design: FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati.

national or worldwide advertising campaigns and special
promotions sponsored by the brand name/designer. he
right mix of brand names in a department can add stature
to the store’s fashion image and create a magnet for certain
target markets. he brand name can be a bankable asset for
the store. (See Figure 26.4.)
he new vendor shops are being designed by store
designers who are accustomed to working with retail space
as a total entity. hey are sensitive to the retailer’s image
even as they create the speciic and signature look for the
brand name/designer. he designers create lexible and
adaptable modular components that can be integrated
into most retail settings. he basic pieces are like building
blocks; they can be added on, subtracted from, rearranged,
and changed to suit spaces ranging from 100 square feet
to more than 1,000 square feet. Gerald Birnbach, of Retail
Design & Display of Granite Falls, New York, notes, “When
a retailer willingly gives up some real estate to a brand name
marketer, that vendor is also able to display its full range
of products in a tailored environment that helps eliminate
some of the competition. In return, the vendor participates
in the cost of the shop.”
hese upscale, well-designed, beautifully ixtured
shops are, in a way, demanding that retailers live up to
the design standards being set by the vendor shops. here
are many valid reasons for including vendor shops within

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 larger retail stores, but there are problems as well. he big-
gest problem is that the retailer is inviting stif competition
into his or her sphere of retailing and opening up how the
store’s own lines are being presented in comparison with
the slick, professional look of most vendor shops. If the
retailer’s lines don’t look as good—or better—then the
retailer’s proit line can sufer.
he answer is to look to the visual aspects of the
business: the store’s design and the lighting; the visual
merchandising of the stock; the displays that add interest,
image, and personality; and the amenities provided for the
customer’s comfort and convenience.

Kiosks and Retail Merchandising

Units (RMUs)
Big-box stores and category killer stores are part of today’s
retail scene, but there is also action at the other end of
the retail scale. We are seeing small and compact retail
stores making an appearance, and some of them are on
wheels. hey are moveable and can be brought to where
the shopper is.
Carts have been around since the advent of wheels. All
it takes to make a cart is a lat bed, a railing or fence to
keep the wares from tumbling of, a pair of wheels, and a
vertical post to keep the cart standing upright when not in
motion. Today the cart has evolved for more speciic uses
and become a retail merchandising unit, or RMU. his new
hybrid has been appearing with more and more frequency
not only in the wide open aisles of malls and shopping cen-
ters, but also in air terminals, train stations, movie houses,
ballparks, sporting arenas, museums, and a multitude of
other public spaces where people can gather and indulge in
browsing and shopping for fun.
he advantages of the kiosk/RMU are manifold: It is
moveable, adaptable, and compact and can go almost any-
where and show of almost anything. he unit is readily
open for business and just as simply closed up at the end
of the business day. What makes it especially important
is that in a relatively small space—maybe 5 by 5 feet—it
is possible for a startup entrepreneur to test out a con-
Figure 26.5 The simplest cart combines a pair of large wheels with
legs that will help keep the unit upright when at rest. It is readily
moveable and can show merchandise on all four sides. There
is even a cash drawer in the compact design. Lighting here
would probably be battery operated. Design: Custom Woodcraft,
Little Elm, Texas.
cept or a new product and its possibilities for success in
the market without having to rent a store and furnish and
insure it. Neither does he have to stock much more mer-
chandise than needed on an RMU. If the RMU succeeds,
the next stop can be a move into an actual retail space.
In addition to being an incubator for a concept that can
grow and develop, it is also a means of bringing more vis-
ibility to an existing brand name or product by having
it appear in malls and traic centers in readily identii-
able and recognizable kiosks. Most ballparks and sporting
arenas have souvenir stores where team-endorsed prod-
ucts can be purchased, but the management has found
that several RMUs spread around the park or arena are

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 even more efective in bringing the branded merchandise
out to the fans. (See Figure 26.5.)
RMUs have found great favor with mall operators. he
advantages are many, but the most important one is that
RMUs add to the tenant mix and the sense of excitement
one feels in a mall where the small, colorful kiosks-on-
casters ill the wide, spacious aisles with color, light and a
new selection of arts, crats, and small impulse items. he
design of the retail merchandising unit can be individual-
ized and specialized for a branded product, or the kiosk
can be designed as an integral part of the architecture of the
mall—or the ballpark, train station, or museum. Although
mall management may dictate the style of the kiosk/RMU
it provides to freelance vendors, franchisees, and licensees,
it will oten have only limited control—mainly size—on the
RMUs brought in by national brands that rent loor space
in the mall. Jim Allen, of Simon Property Group, one of the
largest mall management companies in the United States,
says, “he primary method of tailoring the units is through
colors, materials and surfaces that are used in the mall. We
also tailor the design of the top of the unit to it in with the
property.” According to Tony Horton, a designer of RMUs,
“With the focus on successfully presenting merchandise,
the wagon wheel (of the cart) was eliminated, and lower
shelving was added. Fluorescent lights were replaced with
low-voltage halogen ixtures. Kiosks became taller, and
identiication became more prominent. Support columns
were slotted to allow for additional merchandising.” Many
of these rolling kiosks feature wraparound shelving and
storage areas for additional stock within the space.
he usual RMU is 5 by 5 feet in footpad, and most malls
restrict the height to between 7 and 9 feet. hus, the signage
on top can be seen from a distance over the heads of the
mall strollers. he unit’s superstructure or roof is vital for
purposes of identiication and recognition. It is here that
the designer can add decorative elements and materials to
the unit that will tie in with the design of the mall—or the
brand’s retail image. It is also here that the all-important
lighting is concentrated. he lighting can be in the form
of electriied tracks that carry the adjustable lamp holders,
or the low-voltage halogen or incandescent lamps may be
extended out on brackets to illuminate the merchandise on
the unit. Gooseneck ixtures can be used and bent to target
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26_Pegler_Chapter_26_3pp.indd 328-329
special areas. Sometimes, the superstructure will contain
plastic panels that carry the tenant’s name or the brand
name, which is illuminated by luorescent tubes set behind
the panels. he internal illumination makes the signage,
and the kiosk, even more visible in the mall aisle.
With the 5- by 5-foot loor space and the wraparound
shelves on the lower portion of the RMU, there is oten a
central, vertical display area that rises up from the counter
height to show of merchandise at eye level. he slotted
uprights make shelving and face-out hanging possible. With
this format the vendor is usually stationed beside the unit and
thus available to serve shoppers on all sides. Some kiosks are
designed larger and may take up spaces 5 to 7 feet in width
and up to 10 feet in length. In these designs the attendant is
oten positioned inside the unit and surrounded by counters
on four sides, with vertical displays at the ends.
hese larger units are designed as modules with parts
and pieces that can be added or subtracted as needed.
here may also be auxiliary units that stand beside the
RMU that can, if desired, be incorporated into the unit.
Some designs include corner elements that can be moved
in where rounded shelves might ordinarily be and used for
storage or as cash/wrap surfaces. In those RMUs that have
the salesperson surrounded by the modules, usually one
section will roll out or slide back to allow the server to get
in and out of the unit. (See Figure 26.6.)
Figure 26.6 The basic RMU, or kiosk, is shown here both with the
stock on view and closed up for the night. The doors that close up
the unit swing out during business hours, and the grids attached to
the doors are used to display product. The lighting is self-contained
in the unit. Design: Creations at Dallas, Dallas, Texas.
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Figure 26.7 An RMU with lower shelves on three sides and a cash/
wrap counter that its into the rear of the unit. This kiosk was
designed exclusively for the South Park Mall so that there would
be a consistent look to the portable minishops on the main aisles of
the mall. Each shop carries the vendor’s name under the mall’s logo.
Design: TL Horton Design, Dallas, Texas.
Figure 26.8 This illustration shows the kiosk’s several individual
modular pieces, which can be combined in a variety of ways; it all
depends on the size and shape of the space the kiosk/RMU will
occupy on the loor and the type of merchandise to be displayed.
The central core of four uprights anchors the design, carries the
overhead lighting and signage, and can be capped with a “roof,”
or ceiling, or slotted to accept brackets or shelves, and so on.
Design: Creations of Dallas, Dallas, Texas.
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26_Pegler_Chapter_26_3pp.indd 330-331
Although the big wheels are gone, there are casters with
stoppers on them to allow the RMU to be moved from area
to area. he out-of-door units may be designed with larger
casters and greater mobility, as they may be moved more
frequently and over greater distances. Security is always a
serious consideration in an RMU design. Obviously, the
tenant will not be removing all the products nightly, only
to restock each morning. As the merchandise needs to be
protected when the vendor leaves, the kiosk may feature
roll-down canvas covers that can be lashed and locked
or wraparound wire mesh guards that “disappear” into a
hidden slot during the daytime hours. Some kiosks are
Figure 26.9 The RMU goes out to meet the shopper. This unit is part
of the out-of-door excitement that is the Fremont Street experience
in Las Vegas. The casters on the bottom make this unit easy to
move, and the awnings are necessary to shield the shopper and
the merchandise from the strong Vegas sunlight. Design: TL Horton
Design, Dallas, Texas.
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Figure 26.10 The Nau pop-up/green store is shown in its Soho,
New York, setting. The concrete loor and whitewashed walls
are complemented by the skylight at the back of the store.
Visible are the tables and wall treatment constructed of reclaimed
corrugated cardboard. Nau, New York.
designed with sliding doors that can be locked to close
of the merchandise on the upright displayers while the
shelves below fold up against the body of the RMU, and the
displayed stock is locked in cabinets built into the lower
part of the RMU.
With branding becoming more and more important,
and the desire to take the brand name and merchandise up
front to the buying public, the RMU is growing as a retail
venue. All sorts of spaces are opening up and inviting
kiosks/RMUs in as viable vending setups. Being able to
merchandise where shoppers are is key. What the RMU
does is show a selection of what is available, switly satis-
fying the impulse shopper. It is all about impulse; about
seeing something where you ordinarily would not expect
to ind it and buying it in a hassle-free situation. he RMU
allows a concept to have an “out-of-town” tryout before
hitting the “big time.” It is also the fastest way for the
brand name retailer to get exposure in many markets and
in a signature vehicle that can become as recognizable as
the brand name or logo. (See Figures 26.7–26.9.)
Pop-Up Shops
Now you see them—now you don’t! hey were here—on
Main Street—in a real store for just a few days or a week
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or two and then gone! Disappeared! Vanished! It was not
an illusion; it was a pop-up shop, a relatively new retail
phenomenon. Pop-up shops (known as guerilla shops in
Europe) are retail spaces designed to last for a very lim-
ited time. No matter how successful they are, their days are
numbered. hey make an entrance—an appearance—and
fulill a particular purpose, like introducing a product or
some new designer, and then—poof—gone!
An excellent example of the pop-up shop phenom-
enon is the Nau store that opened just for the 2009 holiday
season in Soho, in New York City. As designed by Jean-
Pierre Veillet, of Siteworks, in Portland, Oregon, Nau was
not only a successful pop-up shop, but—because of Veillet’s
commitment—also a ine example of greening. Although
the design work Siteworks usually creates is meant to last
for decades, Veillet accepted the challenge of creating a
store that would exist for just a few weeks—and did it on
a budget of $4,500! During a pop-up store’s lifespan it is
designed, built, used, disassembled, and discarded, with
many of its materials added to landills. Veillet opted for
an ecofriendly approach instead, creating the store with
materials and objects that he found on sidewalks, along
train tracks, on the sides of roads, and in garbage heaps:
Figure 26.11 A close-up on the clever rack ixture created out of found
materials for the Nau pop-up shop. The makeshift ixture not only
served its purpose, but also added to the casual look of the Nau
products shown on it. Nau, New York.
331
15/05/11 6:00 PM
 scraps of wood, metal, cardboard boxes, and cable. All
these rescued materials from New York City’s waste stream
were reclaimed and reused. In addition, designer-quality
clothing racks were fashioned from metal pipes, casters,
old beams, and tense cable. Furniture was crated from
discarded cardboard, tossed crates, and repurposed lad-
ders. Much of the actual space was original, and the loors
and ceilings showed the age of the building. (See Figures
26.10–26.12.)
What made the Nau pop-up unique is that another
retailer took over the space shortly ater it closed. he new
retailer hired Veillet and his Siteworks team to refashion the
already-recycled materials into a permanent showroom/
retail store for its natural sleep products. Figure 26.12 Discarded pieces of metal and wire, plus inexpensive
Big retailers like Target are also great believers in the items purchased out of the limited budget, were recycled once
again in a new shop that opened in the same location. Note how
efectiveness of pop-up shops and frequently use them to the bare bulb ixtures accentuate and decorate the simple wall rack
introduce new designers or lines of merchandise. system. Nau, New York.

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 Visual Merchandising and the Changing Face of Retail: Trade Talk

big-box store, or superstore drive aisle pop-up store

category killer factory outlet store shop within a shop
discount store mom-and-pop store vendor shop

Visual Merchandising and the Changing Face of Retail: A Recap

F during the twentieth century, retail store formats have evolved
from department stores, large specialty stores, and small
mom-and-pop shops, to malls and shopping centers, and finally
to the emergence of big-box stores, or superstores; discount/
factory outlet stores; and vendor shops. these new formats
offer new challenges to the display person/visual merchandiser.
F big-box stores are giant retail boxes that need to be “warmed
up” through layout, lighting, and display techniques into
smaller, more comfortable, life-size spaces. lifestyle vignettes
are an effective way to personalize a display and lead the
shopper into a selection of nearby merchandise.
F large, legible signage or graphics are needed to help shoppers
navigate within the big-box stores. some stores include
electronic or computerized stations that provide directions
to merchandise within the store or answers to specific
questions about products.
F discount and factory outlet stores are oriented to time- and
money-conscious shoppers who want the best for the least,
but in a store that is still comfortable and convenient. the
store layout, lighting, and merchandise displays here should
emphasize “value,” not “cheap.”
F Although the emphasis in a discount/factory outlet store is
on energy efficiency and economy, atmospheric and accent
lighting can be used to supplement fluorescents to create
an image for the store, to accentuate featured merchandise,
or to flatter the shopper as he or she tries on a garment.
F vendor shops are shops within a shop—retail formats that offer
brand name or designer merchandise in a boutique setting
within a larger retail or department store setting. often these
shops are miniatures of freestanding designer stores.
F New vendor shops are designed to provide a signature
look that can be accommodated to various dimensions and
settings. Modular components provide the store designer
with flexibility, allowing very small or very large spaces
to present merchandise in a visually consistent way.
F pop-up shops are design spaces meant to last for a very
limited time. the 2009 Nau pop-up store, in New york city’s
soho district, used recycled and repurposed materials in
the creation of its temporary space.

Questions for Review and Discussion

1. Name a specific big-box store or superstore with which
you are familiar. how does this store use lighting, graphics,
signage, or lifestyle displays to enhance the merchandising
of its products?
2. why would a discount or factory outlet store want to consider
ambiance, amenities, and the comfort and convenience of
shoppers in its design and merchandise displays when people
who shop in these stores are looking for a less expensive
alternative to mall and department stores?
3. list the advantages and disadvantages to a brand name
supplier/designer of presenting its merchandise in a vendor
shop within a larger department or retail store.

C H A P T E R 2 6 : V I S U A L M E R C H A N D I S I N G A N D T H E C H A N G I N G FA C E O F R E TA I L 333

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