Spring Cleaning

While it doesn’t look or feel like it here in Wisconsin, spring has finally sprung. Last Thursday marked the beginning of the new season and thus the beginning of that crazy phenomenon known as spring cleaning. Now, I’m a clean person and I keep a tidy apartment, but for whatever reason, I just can’t seem to get excited about the “big clean.” I suspect there are others that share my lack of motivation.

Knowing how important cleanliness is to shoppers but how hard it is to get motivated to clean, a panel of retail experts, including F.C. Dadson’s very own Larry Myer, gathered at last year’s Retail Construction Expo to discuss how retailers might be able to achieve attractive store interiors that require little maintenance. In honor of spring and its cleaning, I dug out Larry’s notes to share with you. Here are a few of his thoughts on how low-maintenance design can be achieved:

• Keep in mind the fixture’s purpose and choose materials and hardware that can stand up to the challenge.
  “Fixtures are an important part of a store interior. Next to the floor, they’ll probably take the biggest beating from your customers. They also tend to be in plain eyesight –if your fixtures are in a state of disrepair, shoppers are going to notice. Keeping a fresh face of your retail displays begins in the design phase. For instance, I was working with a tanning franchise that was having a problem keeping their walls clean. The tanning oils were being absorbed by the material and becoming nearly impossible to remove. The new melamine walls that were introduced featured a protective coating that kept the oils from being absorbed, allowing salon workers to remove the oil stains with a damp cloth.”

• If something isn’t installed properly, it’s more likely to break.
  “Once your displays are designed and built, another important aspect to great-looking, low maintenance fixtures is installation. Ask your manufacturer to provide detailed installation instructions with your fixture order and select an experienced installation crew. Make sure the installation supervisor has all the instructions, space plans and drawings, and the contact information for your manufacturer, architect, and those who can help if problems arise. The key is to make sure that everyone involved is as familiar with the project at they can be.”

• Design for the anticipated life expectancy of the concept.
  “Designing a store is a lot to think about, so if you only remember one piece of advice, let it be this: high design, low maintenance stores are achieved by designing for the anticipated life expectancy of the design concept. Don’t let your interiors tell you when they need to be replaced. Choose materials and components that will last as long as you want them to. Need a display for 2 months? Cardboard might be the way to go, but need that display for 2 years? It’s probably not the best choice.”

Happy Spring!