Visual Victuals

It’s no stretch to believe that small retailers feel the fear over the economy more deeply than others. An e-mail we received certainly hammers that point home. When reading VMSD, this reader says, “Sometimes I feel as if it were roast beef being dangled in front of a starving man. We all love the pictures and newest, juiciest presentations and props, but in these dark days of retail it would be advantageous to have some alternative ideas on what can be done to keep the fire going … without having to fire your VM team and dust off your faded décor only to have it stapled to the walls by a near-sighted assistant manager.

“Yes, the big companies will cut costs and jobs to keep the company culture supported,” he continues. “It’s the smaller companies I worry about. … With staffing and budgets being so wildly cut, I have seen stores all over the world drag out the old ‘dump’ bins and plop them in the middle of the aisles to induce sales. … If some of these people do not get help soon, I’m afraid that the retail market, on all levels, will resemble a garage sale.”

Point taken. And to that end, VMSD wants to hear about (and see, if you can provide photos) examples of great visual merchandising happening today in the small shops and boutiques you’ve seen. Not just the glamorous stuff, either: Fashion and accessory boutiques are great, but we’d also like to see hardware store displays, pharmacies and grocers, specialty shops, and the like. It’s as easy as snapping a photo with your cell phone, typing up what and where the store is, and sending it to us at vmsd@stmediagroup.com with the subject line “small store VM.” We’d love to share your finds with the rest of our readers and give this starving industry something to sink its teeth into.