Fixtures

What are fixtures ?

Fixtures could be any thing that can hold merchandise
Fixtures are furniture of retail store. A Selling space with fixtures is called a store.Mannequins figures,
forms are also fixtures. Accept, hold, stock and show merchandise. Used in window displays, on top of
counters, within floor arrangements, in department. Contribute to store brand image and ambiance.
Expected to last a long time.

A wide variety of fixtures is available for the presentation of products. Like the furniture in your home,
each fixture type has a useful purpose (holding quantities of merchandise) and a decorative purpose
(reinforcing retail decor decisions). Store fixtures include
Conventional metal fixtures
Furniture fixtures
"Found" objects
Vendor fixtures
Custom fixtures

Purchasing the store's fixtures is a long-term and expensive investment – much like furnishing a home.
Just as you wouldn't buy a new sofa simply because you’ve had one for a while, visual merchandisers
expect the store fixtures they select to perform effiectively and efficiently for as long as possible. They
must choose carefully, taking purpose function, and durability into consideration along with style and
fabrication.

Capacity, Feature & Signature Fixtures

In addition to the various types of fixtures retailers may choose from, each fixture category can be
further differentiated by its end use. ​Capacity fixtures ​hold large quantities-usually showing one style
bought in depth, like several dozen sweatshirts, in assorted sizes from S to XXL, trimmed with a variety
of colorful cartoon characters. Because capacity fixtures are the largest floor fixtures in the store, they
should be positioned primarily in the rear of a department or store layout.

A capacity fixture ​holds large quantities of merchandise, usually showing a single style in several colors
and in a complete range of sizes.

Feature fixtures ​are designed to hold fewer items and are used to highlight category groupings or
smaller coordinate groups. You might see a four-way fixture with a dozen cotton sweaters in bright
yarns paired with matching polo shirts and walking shorts. Feature fixtures bring together coordinated
outfits to make shopping easier. They are best used as lead-in fixtures to any department, but may also
be interspersed throughout a department to add interest and variation to the layout.

Signature fixtures ​are one-of-a-kind units that are positioned at the entrance to a store or department.
Their unusual, unique design is created specifically to attract shoppers' attention. The signature fixture's
design must reflect the brand image of the store, both in fabrication and style.

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Conventional Metal Floor Fixtures

● Round Racks
● Superquads
● Gondolas
● Bins and Cubes

Simple metal fixtures like round racks and T-stands have been used in retail stores through-out the
twentieth century. Their design forms the basis from which custom fixtures are created, so it is
important to have a solid understanding of their function. Early fixtures were fabricated in chrome, and
they are still widely used today. In the 1980s and 1990s, some retailers used brushed bright black,
brushed satin black, and even white finishes. Today, brushed stainless steel and buffed satin are often
preferred for their softer, less reflective look, which is easier to maintain because fingerprints are less
visible.

Round Racks

A ​round rack ​(rounder) is a capacity fixture. Its chief function is stocking basic items that have been
purchased in depth. Round racks are also used to stock broken assortment ​(broken refers to
assortments with missing sizes, styles, and colors after sell down) and clearance merchandise. This
fixture is available in several diameters and adjustable heights so that dresses and slacks can be
presented with their hems an adequate distance from the floor.

You can easily determine fixture fill for a round rack by measuring the circumference. A 36 inch diameter
round rack is 118 inches in circumference. It can comfortably hold 118 tops or bottoms. A 42-inch
diameter round rack is 136 inches in circumference, and it hold 136 tops or bottoms. If garments are
thinner, like T-shirts, the quantities increase; if they are thicker, like winter coats, the capacity will
decrease.

Presentation Guidelines for Round Racks

Round racks should ​not be positioned at the store entrance or along aisles except during special
promotional and clearance events. At those times it may be effective to line them up along the aisles or
down the center of the store. Sleeve lengths and hem lengths should be the same on the entire fixture,
unless the rack is being used for clearance merchandise. A single rack should hold products from just
one of the seven color groups, for the presentation. Neutrals may be combined with any group.

Arrange colors in a sequence that follows the natural color order of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, violet. Begin the color sequence at the nine o’clock position as you stand in front of a round
rack and work ​counterclockwise.​ If there are neutral colors, they should be added so that they follow
the rainbow assortment, and range from lightest to darkest tints.

The round rack has one variation the trilevel round rack. This fixture has three levels that are all
height-adjustable. It's an ideal fixture to separate garments with differing sleeve lengths or show a group

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of top and bottom coordinates. Each of the three sections provides 39 inches of hanging capacity, so the
trilevel could hold 117 garments (1 inch per garment). The lowest level of the trilevel round races should
always face the front of the department or an aisle. Like the round rack, this capacity fixture should be
positioned primarily toward the rear of any department.

Superquads

The superquad ​is a four-armed capacity fixture designed to hold basic items that have been purchased
in depth. It allows display of items with different sleeve or hem lengths and works extremely well to
feature coordinate groupings composed of pants, skirts , blouses, and sweaters or jackets. The
superquad is useful to show broken or unrelated assortments and can be used for a collection of
clearance merchandise, as well.

The arms of a superquad can be set at a variety of heights. One technique is to start low in the front of
the fixture, setting each level a few inches higher as you move around from left to right. Another
method is to set the arms with tops higher than the arms with bottoms. This is a natural look, because
that's the way tops and bottoms are worn. The arms of a superquad should be colorized from left to
right. Begin with the arm that is in the 9 o'clock position and move counterclockwise around the fixture.

Gondolas

In a plan view (view from above), ​gondolas ​resemble the Roman numeral one or capital letter I. The
ends of the gondola are called ​endcaps. ​A gondola's length can range from as short as 48 inches in a
small specialty store to 60 feet or more in a superstore. Approachable from all four sides, these versatile
capacity fixtures are used by discount stores to house basic merchandise like socks and intimate
apparel- usually faced-out on pegs.

Foldable and boxed merchandise can be stacked on gondola shelves. Large gondolas must be
disassembled in order to be moved. Consequently, floor layout seldom change. Specialty stores use
shorter gondolas that often have locking wheels or casters so that they're easy to move when resetting
the selling floor. Gandolas can be colorized from left to right, using Roy G. Bv. Product should be
arranged with​-​smaller items on the top shelves, moving to larger items on the bottom shelves.

Bins and Cubes

Bins and cubes are interchangeable terms, define cube as containers that are open on their sides and
define bins as containers that are open from their tops. You might see tilted bins used for bulk items like
candy or filled with nuts and bolts in a hardware store, while cubes are reserved for use in fashion stores
as wall treatments or in stand-alone floor fixtures.

When used as selling floor fixtures holding folded fashion merchandise, cubes are permanently stacked
on gondola bases and ranked in pairs so that they are “shoppable” from both sides. It isn't unusual to
find entire walls of folded basics arrayed in banks of cubes.The visual impact of a cubed wall with a
rainbow array of goods stacked from ceiling floor is tremendous. It tells shoppers that the store has a
wide selection of merchandise.

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Basic fashion items that come in several colors and straightforward sizing the cube fixtures. A floor
fixture with basic turtlenecks in four colors and three size. This is an extremely adaptable fixture from a
merchandising point of view - systematic and uniform. The cubes you see in the denim presentation can
be merchandised by fabric finishes, colors (stone-washed to black), waist and inseam sizes, and leg
styles. Similarly, the shirts in Figure are presented by size and color. That’s exactly the kind of versatility
retailers need from a fixture.

Guidelines for Fashion Cubes

Arrange Roy G. By colors vertically. Begin with one vertical column of red by one column each of orange,
yellow, green, blue, and violet. Work from left to right . If stock quantities are too low to support an
entire vertical column, use vertical colorization in at least the top two or three cubes that are most
visible in the department.
Size the cubes with the smallest size at the top moving down to the largest sizes.

Conventional Floor Feature Fixtures

Presentation Guidelines for Feature Fixtures

There are several styles of conventional floor feature fixtures, but those used most commonly in retail
stores today are two-ways (T-Stands), and four-ways (costumers). They are used to feature small
quantities of trend merchandise, test merchandise, and coordinates and separates that are being
presented as coordinated outfits. Feature fixtures presented coordinated fashion looks that will build
multiple sales – an opportunity for silent selling. Shoppers look to feature fixtures for fashion advice.In a
way, you’re selecting the best for shoppers to see and try.

Standard two-way (T-stand) and four-way feature fixtures may have either straight arms or slant
(waterfall) arms providing flexible configurations for merchandisers. Additional arms may be added to
double or triple hang intimate apparel or children’s wear. On some fixtures' arm styles are
interchangeable; others are fixed In either case , the following guidelines will ensure the best use of
these fixtures:

​Use feature fixtures to highlight only the newest and most exciting items in stock_
Basic items like turtlenecks should not be presented on a feature fixture.

Present a single color story on each fixture.​ Choose just one of the seven groups for a single fixture.
Neutrals may be combined with any group. Pastels should not be presented with brights.

Use feature fixtures to hold products from similar merchandising classifications that have the same
end uses. ​You would never feature career suits on two arms of a four-way fixture along with two arms of
shorts and T-shirts.
For maximum visual impact, ​use two-way and four-way fixtures to feature only one style of garment per
single arm faceout; only one color of garment per single arm face out, and only one fabrication per
single arm faceout. For example, an arm with six red cardigan sweaters is correct. An arm with three red
cardigan sweaters and three yellow cardigan sweaters is incorrect.

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 Use​ feature fixtures to show outfits,​ that is, tops and bottoms that coordinate. This device facilitates
silent selling, creating opportunities for multiple sales.
Reset feature fixtures with new items weekly or biweekly.
Position feature fixtures in front of the store and along major aisles.​ If there are no major aisles, they
should be positioned at the front of each department.

Adjust​ feature fixtures heights​ as needed. To determine the correct fixture height, the product on the
fixture should be hung at a height that reflects the way a customer might wear it. For example, pant
hemlines should be set about 3 inches from the floor. Set any higher, the pants do not look natural.
Knee length dresses should skim about 17 inches from the floor.

Midcalf hems could be shown lower; perhaps 8-12 inches from the floor. In any case, garment hems
should ​never touch the floor. All other fixtures in the store should be adjusted to reflect hemline
uniformity. Keep in mind that tops should be hung on arms that are set several inches higher than arms
with pants.
Present pants only on straight arms, never slant arms. This is because slant arms would have to be set
too high to accommodate the cascading leg lengths. The feature fixtures' job is to lead shoppers' eyes
into the department. They should never block sightlines.

Conventional Wall Capacity Fixtures

● Garment Rods and Crossbars
● Slatwall and Gridwall
● Wall System Accessories
● Shelving

Garment Rods and Crossbars

Round garment rods and flat metal crossbars are basic fixtures used to show large quantities of goods
on hangers in walls. To keep the store's image crisp and uniform, only one style should be used
throughout a store.
Garment rods and crossbars are secured to walls by inserting them into wall standards with 14-inch
brackets. These wall standards are mounted at regular intervals-from 2 to 4 apart depending on the
span of the wall and its structural underpinnings. The entire assembly is sometimes referred to as a ​wall
system.

A rubber mallet is essential for inserting brackets into wall standards. A gentle tap with rubber mallet
will secure the bracket and prevent the unsightly nicks that will occur with use of an ordinary hammer.
Ends of the rods or bars are always "capped" with special snap-in ​hardware inserts to prevent
merchandise from sliding off as shoppers push hangers back and forth. The mallet is a useful tool for
tapping snap-in caps into place and later removing them.

Some garment rods and crossbars have caps already welded in place; with others, caps are separate
accessories. Removable snap-in caps allow the merchandiser to join lengths of rod or bar with adapters

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to create longer wall presentations. Rods and crossbars can be purchased in several lengths (2-12 feet)
and combined as needed. They can be a store’s least expensive and most versatile fixturing device.
However, they must be properly installed and supported every few feet for safety-protecting both
merchandise and shoppers.

In addition to being used to hang merchandise, a crossbar can be applied to spans between wall system
standards as a "bridge" when merchandisers want to use waterfalls and straight arms in spaces that
don't have enough standards in the desired places. To secure the crossbar to wall standards, you'd use
3-inch brackets (rather than the 14-inch brackets used when products are hung "shoulder-out"). Once in
place, waterfalls and straight arms can be slipped over the crossbar and positioned exactly where the
merchandiser wants them.

Slatwall and Gridwall

There are two other common wall system options known as ​slatwall ​and ​gridwall. ​the slatwall system, a
series of painted wood or laminate-covered horizontally grooved panels is applied directly to a wall.
They look somewhat like wooden siding on a home. Gridwall is a series of wire panels fabricated in a
variety of gridlike patterns permanently fastened to store walls by brackets and screws. Both slatwall
and gridwall systems require a unique type of hardware bracket on each garment rod, crossbar, straight
or waterfall.

Wall System Accessories

Shelving

Additional wall system fixturing options include specialized fixture accessories like 12 inch pegs that
hold prepackaged items on cards (i.e., packages of shoelace_ socks, shrink-packed cosmetic products),
handbag hooks, plus a variety of shoe, hat, and belt displayers. New designs in wall system accessories
appear in trade magazines and catalogs every year.

Shelving

Glass, wood, or colored plastic laminate shelving holds folded products like sweaters and jeans or
accessories like handbags and hats. Shelves are generally 2 to 4 feet in length and are secured to wall
standards with sturdy metal brackets. The number used per span of shelving will depend on the weight
of the product load. Safety is a critical factor. Some retailers add transparent plastic edge moldings to
keep items from slipping off accidentally. They may also add a plastic channel to the shelf edge for size ,
and pricing information. Both gridwall and slatwall will accept shelving when the proper brackets are
employed.

When presenting merchandise on wall system shelving, many retailers reserve the top shelves to feature
displays of merchandise in combination with wall graphics. This practice adds eye-catching variety and

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height to the back of the departmental “skyline”. It also enhances shoppers' views from the front of the
store or edge of the department, drawing them farther in to inspect merchandise.

Conventional Wall Feature Fixtures

● Waterfalls
● Straight Arms
● Waterfalls

Waterfall ​fixtures (slant arms) display products on a wall, facing outward, so that the full front of the
garment is visible. This device employs 5 to 12 decorative (and functional) knobs or "stops" to space
garments on hangers evenly. The waterfall best used to feature tops, jackets, suits, or dresses. Pants
and skirts do not merchandise well on waterfalls because the hanger tops are so prominent-all you see
at fixture level is a cascade of plastic. When bottoms are shown as a straight –armed accompaniment to
waterfalls of tops, their hangers are much less obvious.

Straight Arms

Straight arms ​serve the same purpose as waterfalls to make the full front of a single garment visible to
shoppers. They are available in square and rectangular versions, in addition to round tubing. Either tops
or bottoms may be featured on straight arms. Straight arms are available with different styles of fittings
so that they fit into gridwall and slatwall standards or clip over crossbars.

Furniture Fixtures and Antiques

● Tables
● “Found” Objects as Fixtures
● Vendor Fixtures and Shops
● Custom Fixtures

Furniture like hutches, desks, curio cabinets, tables, and armoires can be used as merchandising. Also
called ​case pieces or ​case goods, residential furnishings as fixtures may be "borrowed" from any design
era, period, or style- from French provincial elegance to 1960s American sitcom. The only requirement is
that each piece must fit the brand image of the store.

Antique furniture pieces may find new lives as capacity, feature, or premier fixtures. Shoppers enjoy
seeing traditional furnishings . The addition of decorative an functional hardware to the inside doors of
an old armoire, for example, can create a clever merchandising fixture for a jewelry presentation.
Picture a marble-topped gentleman's dresser with several drawers pulled out at random filled with
artfully rolled-up silk ties.

Furniture fixtures may also be used exclusively as display props, creating focal points and highlighting
special products. They may serve a dual purpose and actually be a part of the store's merchandise
inventory. For example, an antique armoire filled with ancient bed linens, lace doilies, and pillows may
be for sale as well. The cupboard sells the linens and the linens sell the cupboard. Finally, it's also
possible that furniture pieces may be used as nonmerchandising atmospheric elements- to add to the
store’s overall ambience.

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Tables
The single most important fixture in the retail industry is the table. Tables of some type greet shoppers
at the entrances to most stores or departments. Such display tables may be permanent fixtures or
temporary installations with a mission. They can be circular and skirted to the floor, rectangular and as
substantial as any fine wooden furniture, or a multilevel grouping of nested serving tables.

A table is an ideal introductory fixture because it has a low profile. It shows merchandise effectively at
the front of a department while providing clear sight lines into the rest of the area-where more
merchandise is presented.
Tables set out in midaisle also offer a great way to test or feature new items or offer regular products at
special prices, enticing passers-by to stop and stop on impluse. Sale tables are effective during clearance
periods because customers are conditioned to finding bargains on temporary tables. However, do not
overuse the bargain table device. If you do, your bargain table strategy will lose impact and credibility
with shoppers.

Special sale table tops that look like shallow boxes on legs are called "jumble" or “dump” tables because
they will hold all types of sale items that might normally slide in all directions when shoppers sort
through them. Stores that have tracked sales results for products presented on tables versus round
racks have often found that tables are more productive. Perhaps it's the possibility of discovering a
treasure that draws shoppers to them.

Tables that look "jumbled" and "shopped" must be sorted, inspected for lost tickets or damage from
rough handling, and rearranged periodically to keep the area attractive-looking and to assist shoppers in
their search for legitimate values.

“Found” Objects as Fixtures

There is another source of store fixtures that bears mention in this ​section-found objects, such as
wooden packing crates, antique trunks, wooden barrels, buckets, and washtubs. 1950s kitchen tables
and chairs, even sections of car or truck bodies. Large and substantial, these items may fit very well into
certain stores' atmospheric or thematic plans.
Found object fixtures are not for everybody ... and probably not for an entire store. Used strictly as
accent pieces, they can add that magical element of whimsy or surprise that every designer delights in
using-a signature statement. However, fixtures like these must fit the store's atmospheric intent, and
overuse may limit their appeal. The principal benefits of found objects as fixtures are their novelty,
price, and disposability. Since they're not as expensive as conventional store furnishings, found objects
are easy to discard when they are no longer effective as merchandising tools.

Vendor Fixtures and Shops

Merchandise manufacturers sometimes supply retailers with fixtures that are designed specifically for
their company's products. They may even offer to provide the store with décor elements, signing, and
fixtures to create an entire shop for their brand. By doing this, manufacturers hope to control how their
products are presented and thereby strengthen their brand image.

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This business arrangement may look like a bargain to retailers because they do not have to pay for the
shops, but they must also accept the fact that they may have to give control of that new shop's
appearance and merchandising over to the vendor. Accepting such an arrangement may compromise (or
at least challenge) the store's brand image. The retailer also faces the possibility that competitors may
have identical shops in their stores.

These are issues to consider carefully before entering into a shop fixture agreement with a vendor. On a
smaller scale, these same issues apply to accepting even smaller vendor countertop or floor-standing
merchandising units (selling fixtures that hold merchandise and bear the manufacturer's logo, signing
style, and other brand identity marks).

Custom Fixtures

Intense retail competition has led to the development of a custom fixture industry that enables retailers
to create exclusive store images through one-of-a-kind fixture fabrications. The industrywide retail trend
today favors use of custom fixtures throughout a store. Small retailers who cannot incur the expense of
an entire store filled with custom fixtures could consider positioning a few special fixtures in the most
visible areas of their store.

This would include the store entrance and the entrance to each department. To develop custom
fixtures, retailers work with design teams from their own companies or from outside sources (the term
outsourcinq refers to work performed by another company). Fixture manufacturers interested in
producing the custom fixtures may also participate and even offer the services of their own in-house
designers.

This can be particularly helpful in translating the retail team's design ideal into practical terms for the
eventual manufacturing process. The design phase of the project may be handle as a separate project
for a fee, or the manufacturer may provide this service at no charge, if the company is assured that it
will be awarded the contract to build the fixtures.

Custom Fixture Guidelines

Design ​the style of the fixture to fit into the existing store environment. Fabricate the fixture in
materials and styles currently in use in the industry. The life span of custom fixtures is about 8 years, at
which point they begin to dated. This span shrinks even more rapidly as customers are continually know
newer concepts in competing retail environments. In other words, do not choose a look that your
competitors already have.

Design the fixture to hold the type of product that will be shown on the fixture. Designers should test
any design with the intended merchandise to avoid the need for revisions after the fixture has been
fabricated in its final form.
Design the fixture to be compatible with the type of hardware accessories already used by the store.
Store designers must be aware of the type and number of shelves, bins, crossbars, and face-outs that
the store already uses in day-to-day merchandising. It can be very expensive and time-consuming to
have to stock two sets of hardware for a store's fixtures.

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Fixturing the Accessory Department

There are many merchandise classifications in fashion accessory department -jewelry, scarves, belts,
gloves, handbags, hosiery, socks, and shoes. From a customer service point of view, availability of
accessories adds value to the store’s presentations.The best location for an accessory department is
adjacent to fitting rooms, so that sales associates can easily select a variety of coordinating accessory
pieces for customers who are trying on clothes.
This is simple to accomplish in specialty stores,but department stores typically have very large accessory
areas that may not be located on the same floor as clothing departments. If adjacency isn't possible,
department store sales associates in clothing departments should check accessory departments
regularly to see what is in stock, so they can suggest fashionable add-ons that will complement garment
purchases.
Accessory Presentation Guidelines

Separate merchandise by end use. For example, earrings could be separated into career wear, and
formal wear categories.

Divide each accessory classification by fabrication. Items in different fabrications (material used to make
the product) should be presented on separate fixtures, if possible,at least on different sides of one
fixture. For example, earrings could be placed on a Triangular jewelry spinner presenting two sides of
wooden earrings and one side of shell earrings.

Divide the items by style within each fabrication.​ For example, wooden earrings on one side of an
earring spinner could be assorted and presented by style-round wooden earrings and square wooden
earrings. Notice that the earrings are also also arranged from small styles to large styles.
On a wall section, you might show canvas handbags on face-outs and assort them by style -shoulder
bags and totes. These handbags would also be arranged from large.

Within each style, separate the items by color group. Present a single color group on each side of a
fixture. Bright earrings are presented on one side of the jewelry spinner, pastels on another side. Keep
in mind that it would be even better to present just one color group for the entire fixture. Bright and
neutral color canvas bags are presented together in a wall area. Each section of wall should feature just
one color group with neutrals; never mix two groups like brights and pastels together in a section of
wall.
Within each color group, present the same colors together vertically. Colors may also be arranged
according to Roy G. By for all color groups, simply deleting colors that are not in stock at that time.
Neutrals follow the other color groups. Both earrings and handbags are colorized vertically.
Arrange all accessory items in straight rows, keeping items of similar length together.
Present accessories as sets whenever possible. . This teaches shoppers how to put accessories together
in current fashion looks and encourages multiple purchases. You can group and coordinate (a) hats,
scarves,handbags; (b) belts, scarves, and handbags; and (c) earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.
Accessory presentations must be maintained during ​sell-down. ​Ideally , there ​will be new items coming
into the department at regular intervals during the season.In the meantime, closely monitor sales
activity and consolidate or remerchandise frequently to keep the fixture filled. See this as a professional
challenge and make broken assortments seem new again.

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Actually, shifting items within the accessory area can give your regular weekly shoppers the impression
that you have just brought new merchandise into the department. Follow that guidelines whenever you
can to create dynamic presentations that make shopping and selection easier for your customers.

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