The Dubai upper-class enjoy their pets and pet shop has become a “to be seen at” destination “Doggy Diner” situated in one of up-market shopping malls creates a theatrical window display by having shampoo grooming parlor in window.

Japanese Pet Retailing In Japan, taking dog for a romp in park is a real challenge, due to lack of space, but pet sales are booming and as a result lifestyle retailing for pet industry is expanding. The Japanese have moved from artificial pets such as Tamagotchi (the egg shaped key ring that hatched an LCD chicken or alien and sold 20 million) to real live pets. As a result in Japan alone there are 33 magazines (at last count) purely devoted to cat and dog care and entertainment.

In Japan there are pet café’s, pet clothing designer shops, pet insurance shops and list goes on. You can even arrange a pet wedding! Or rent a pet for $100(US) a night if you feel lonely. If you already have a pet you can take it to Dog Forrest in Shizuoka, which is a Disneyland for dogs and then there are dog vacation resorts such as Dog Petit Resort, country’s first hot springs for dogs.

Are you selling pet products or are you in fashion retailing?

Keep it Simple Sells

Customers have only just walked into store and are not ready for complex messages.

To make power display work they need one story. This may be a one-product display or alternatively a one-story display.

The key is it must be a simple message for customer to understand at this location. Remember, power display must be topical. I would advise changing display based on average number of visits a customer makes to store e.g. if average consumer visits store 12 times a year, then change displays 12 times a year in power location.

Build and Spoil

If customers compliment you on your great displays, it may mean they are not working. The key is to build a display and then make it look as if it has already been shopped by taking one product away. A spoilt display gives consumers confidence to shop display, an unspoilt display may stay that way for longer than you want.

All displays must have signs. In a future article I will discuss signage in some depth, but remember a display without a sign is not a display; you have not finished job.

If You Cannot Measure it, You Cannot Manage it!

All displays should be measured for their performance. If a display is not working, it is because it is wrong product in wrong place at wrong time and only thing to do is change display. I would recommend someone be appointed to manage displays, as they are so important to success of business.

If you are not involved in power displays, now is time, before someone else grabs power position.

Power Display Tips

•Locate 4 steps into store

•Make them circular

•Make them conical

•Be topical

•Dummy up base

•Spoil display

•Change regularly

•Don’t forget sign

•Keep it simple