Retailers roll their dice
to gain market spotlight for their merchandise. A well planned and managed
space in a retail store is the touchstone for a retailers success in business.
Apparel retailing is a mature
and extremely competitive arena which has to deal with demanding, diverse and
well-informed consumers. The changing retail landscape is now adding more
pressure on the retailers to retain their slice of the pie in the global, as
well as the domestic market. Apparel retailers require a proper understanding
of the consumers psychology, and play their cards right. Attracting shoppers
and converting potential clientele into long term and loyal customers depends
upon how the retailer is able to portray his merchandise, and the quality of
his customer service. Therefore, it is more important for a retailer to make
optimum utilization of the space available in his store so as to create an
appealing in store arrangement.
Space planning had been in the
retail structure since the time of inception of the retail business, but its
applications, benefits, and dimensions keep evolving, reaching new heights with
the passage of time. A well arranged store display attracts the shoppers,
making them to check out the apparel merchandise, and influencing them to buy
the clothing. Using the available space in a right manner will enable the
retailer to accentuate his merchandise and arrange them in an optimum position.
Space allocation tools:
Space allocation tools are
available that enables retailers to determine the optimum space for fixtures,
and merchandise based on the analysis of product placement, usage and
performance. Space allotment is done hierarchically with both top and bottom
views of performance. A detailed planning for space allocation can be done
through any of the following ways:
- Exact floor plans can be obtained through CAD drawing with
precise measurements.
- Appropriate square footage can be assigned for each merchandise
category.
- Detailed planograms can be prepared striking a happy balance of
available space, and merchandise.
- A detailed plan can be prepared, considering detailed fixture,
and component dimensions.
Benefits of Space Planning:
Adequate space planning
techniques enable the retailer to have end-to-end control of merchandise. This display
will attract more customers, minimizes stockouts and operating costs, enables
inventory productivity, and increases the financial performance and ultimately
more profits for the retail outlet. Retailers can drive top line sales, and achieve
good overall returns on their invested amount of capital.
The traditional space planning
process is altered meeting with the localized needs of customers. Retailers
should move away from developing prototype store layouts, as no two stores look
alike. They should maintain store specific plans by gaining more knowledge about
their stores.
Effective planning of the retail space
and managing it in a right way is the key factor in the lifecycle of
merchandise planning and execution. More retailers are adopting the fact that space
management is an integral part of any retail business.
References:
- "Lifecycle Space Planning", White Paper of Oracle Retail,
Images Business of Fashion, Vol: XI, No: 8, August 2010.
- http://retail.about.com/
- http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com
