Start your end (cap)

Last month I mentioned that taking action by exploring your due diligence was one of the most thoughtful things you can do to determine what to stock, how much, when, and what amount of space should be dedicated to brands, categories and products. You and your staff, with this information about your stores sales info, should be deep in resetting the entire showroom and making sure the best pieces of real estate are going to make a big statement!

The top real estate is usually found in end caps, walls behind parts or service counters and any space that is likely to have the most amount of shopper traffic. Think of end caps as leaders in a theme or category. Your end caps should be set to effectively turn a profit with new products each month or two weeks. End caps can be set up with new products, new technology, hot seasonal products, or just a product that needs a little TLC in visual merchandising to boost interest.

Don’t get lazy and let these zones sit without a fresh look often! It makes no difference if you’re a small store or large store fresh displays with fresh themes, tell your customers that you are in the business of products, that your store is the place to shop and that its worth the trip.

Action plan for end caps

• Update end caps every two weeks to 30 days.
• Make sure your display includes signs, branding, POP and inventory.
• Use the end cap for the product or selection of brand products in a user theme.
• Launch new products or showcase top products.
• Create themes related to products in the rest of the aisle behind the end caps.
• Use promotions and incentives for brands or products on end caps.
• Make sure end caps stay full during display period.
• Make sure the end cap display is a theme you can understand in a few seconds.
• Never use end caps for stocking points. These are to valuable real estate to waste.

Do you have a retail or merchandising question about your dealership? Email Jennifer at jrobison@tuckerrocky.com or PSB Managing Editor Liz Hochstedler at ehochstedler@powersportsbusiness.com.

Jennifer Robison’s career began in 1987 when she served as a service writer/parts sales for a high-end import auto dealer before becoming one of the first generation of Harley-Davidson Motorclothes managers at a Northwest dealership (1991-2000). From 2002 on, Jennifer has been with Tucker Rocky Distributing. Jennifer has educated the Tucker Rocky sales force and dealers about the powersports apparel business and powersports retailing. Jennifer’s expertise is in powersports retailing, merchandising and display, promotions and in-store marketing. She has lectured and written about powersports retailing and continues to perform dealer educational workshops and seminars across the United States.

Contact: jrobison@tuckerrocky.com
Website: www.tuckerrocky.com