Friday, May 30, 2008

Grocery Store Fixtures Central to Store Marketing

When it comes to grocery shopping, everybody has their own way of doing things. Some make a list before hand, determined to turn on the tunnel vision and focus only on the family?s predetermined ?needs.? Others go up and down every aisle, sans a list, picking and choosing as they go. There are hundreds of strategies, but they all rely heavily on store layout to work. In an ever competitive age with super stores popping up everywhere, it?s essential that independent grocery store owners consider their store fixtures and layout as a critical component of their marketing strategy.

Grocery store fixtures and store layout are essentially the core of a grocer?s marketing. You can greet them at the door, have amazing service at the register, bag and even carry their groceries for them. But from the time they walk in, until they get to the register, they?re on their own. So it is important for grocers to put an extra effort into the design process to give their store that ?something? that makes shoppers connect, relate and return to that store.

Grocers need to take a step back, and really get into the mindset of their typical customer. Think about what times of the day are peak hours for your store. Consider what times of day people do their heavy shopping, as well as when they are more likely to stop in for just a few items. All of these details are important, because they tell you who your audience is and what matters to them. Armed with that information, a retailer has a lot of power and an opportunity to turn their store into a destination for target customers.

Grocery store layouts have always relied heavily on marketing. Nobody has to be told why bread and milk are typically found in the opposite back corners of the store. They?re the two items people are most likely to ?run in for.? So grocers have decided over the years that if you only want bread and milk, you?re going to have to walk past every other product in the store to get them. But that may not be the right approach, in this day and age where convenience stores are selling bread and milk as well.

Here are a few examples of how grocery store design can speak to target customers:

Move it on Up:

Everybody?s doing the ?back of the store? thing. But what if a retailer took the flip side approach, understanding that no matter where the bread and milk are, you?re eventually going to need to come in to do your heavy shopping? What if they moved a small milk cooler and a shelving unit to the front of the store, filled with some quick stop items? Chances are, they would become known as the convenient alternative, making them a favorite among shoppers for all grocery stops.

Show ?Em How It?s Done:

Add recipe card holders on fixtures throughout the grocery store. Stock them with free recipes cards that use a particular ingredient right there for shoppers to see. An even better option is to feature one to three recipes a week in a prominent area of the store. Have all of the ingredients necessary laid out there for purchase. It makes for a convenient buy for the customer and an easy multi-item sale for you!

Make them Comfortable:

Wouldn?t it be nice to walk into your local grocery store on a cold winter day and be served a pastry and a hot chocolate at the door? Or to come in on a hot summer afternoon and be greeted with a glass of lemonade? Shopping carts can be fitted with cup holders pretty affordably. What a unique and affordable way to show customers you appreciate their business! And being hospitable has its benefits. By offering your customers relief from the elements, you make them comfortable and slow them down a bit, so they?re more likely to spend more time at the store.

Nu-Era and nu-era.com are services of The Nu-Era Group, LLC -the industry leader in store fixtures, supplies, and fulfillment. Nu-Era has been providing its customers with competitively priced quality products with customer-oriented service since 1949. Nu-Era has an entire section of nu-era.com dedicated to Abstracta modular display systems. For more information, visit them online at http://www.nu-era.com

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Saturday, May 24, 2008

Church Lighting Fixtures

Traditionally, churches have used lighting designs that have scrollers with separate colors, which are attached to each other to create white light. These can also be adjusted to produce different colors, other than white. This type of lighting fixture does have many disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is the fact that they offer limited choices regarding colors. Another one is that these fixtures are very expensive to operate. Because of the many different disadvantages the lighting system had, many churches opted to switch to a much more updated form of lighting fixture. With the availability of new technology, they were able to implement a much more advanced form of lighting.

New Fixtures

Many churches today use lighting fixtures that produce very bright and intense lighting. This new lighting system is generally automated to be able to change colors at will. They have one function, and they accomplish their task rather well. They are designed to produce light, and change color, if needed, using a remote control.

Light Quality

The new lighting fixtures most churches use today have a far better light production capability than the old system they once used. Unlike the old system, the new lighting fixtures produce a high quality light, which will not have any contamination on the sides of other colors. The old lighting fixtures did not do this very well. In most cases, the edges of the light beam will have traces of different colors.

Cost

The cost of these systems is not small, however. The price for this type of fixture will cost about $1,500. The power supply will add an additional $1,200 to the overall price.

Lighting Fixtures provides detailed information on Lighting Fixtures, Bathroom Lighting Fixtures, Ceiling Lighting Fixtures, Outdoor Lighting Fixtures and more. Lighting Fixtures is affiliated with Outdoor Lighting.

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Kid's Lighting Fixtures

The way your child's room is designed needs to be done very carefully due to the fact that if you design it wrong, your child will not want to stay in that room. The lighting in your child's room is a very important part of the entire room's decor

Type of Lighting to Use

The first thing you should do before you decide what type of lighting fixture you can use for your child's room is to ask them what they want. You should remember that it is their room, and that if they do not enjoy it, they will more than likely want to sleep in your room instead of their own.

Children develop their personality at a very young age. They already know what they want and have a developed sense of taste. Forcing them to endure room decorations they do not want will only make them unhappy and make you spend unnecessary money.

It would not be a good idea to use a lighting fixture that produces too many shadows. Children have a very active imagination. All of the shadows the light fixtures will create will scare your child, which will cause her to not want to go into her room.

The best type of lighting fixture to use in your child's room is a simple direct light that will significantly illuminate the entire room brightly.

Gimmicks and Specialized Light Fixture

Do not spend the money to install lighting fixtures with a theme of a current popular television character. Children are very fickle when it comes to which television character they like. If you give their room a theme of a cartoon character, you will only be spending unnecessary money due to the fact that they will loose interest in that character very quickly.

Lighting Fixtures provides detailed information on Lighting Fixtures, Bathroom Lighting Fixtures, Ceiling Lighting Fixtures, Outdoor Lighting Fixtures and more. Lighting Fixtures is affiliated with Outdoor Lighting.

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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Bathroom fixtures are very appealing for a new home


When you seeking exciting places to find ideas on bathroom fixtures you sure have a lot of choices out there. Bathroom renovation is very popular to most consumers as they like to showcase a new looking home after they have put their blood, sweat and tears into it.

There are many things to take into consideration when you are looking for ways to improve your existing home thru home decor. One way of making a statement is by the use of custom or nice looking bathroom fixtures. These items would include bathtubs, showers, faucets, sinks, lighting accessories and more. Modern bathroom sinks can give your home that amazing new look that you are seeking. A factor that you want to take into consideration is the color in order to make this whole room match beautifully.

An excellent way to give your bathroom a new look is just to simply get some modern looking bathroom cabinets. There is a wide range of products that are very stylish that can match your needs. Bathroom vanity cabinets are characterized by being located above the sink. Many vanities have mirrored doors so it serves the function of both a looking glass and a place for storage.

Larger bathrooms with enough room may benefit from the addition of bathroom linen cabinets. Always consider the amount of space available, as this will be one of the major determining factors as to whether or not to add bathroom linen cabinets. Installation is slightly more involved than smaller vanity's or medicine cabinets, but very real do it yourself potential still exists.

Whatever you do, be sure to control your budget wisely. It sure is easy to get carried away with home d?cor and renovation. Always factor in the cost of time versus money also.

Get ideas, tips and information on bathroom accessories thru http://www.bathrooms-shower-curtains.com/bathroom-fixtures.html.

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Commercial Lighting Fixtures

The lighting requirements of a commercial business are far different that what you would need in a home. At your home, you are using your lighting as a way to set the mood to relax as well as possibly entertain your guests. In a commercial business, your goal is to make people want to buy things and spend their money.

Use of Colors

Studies have indicated that certain combination of colors have been known to entice people to shop more. The lighting in the home can all be the same color of you wish. Most homes stick to the standard incandescent lighting for their home and allow the positioning of the lighting fixtures to dictate the way it will look. The lighting used in businesses must use multiple colors, designs, and intensity. This will keep the customers lively, as well as excited about being there. If you use the lighting style of the home in a business, more than likely your customers will get easily bored in your store, and you will not be able to capture their attention.

Studies have shown that the use of the color green in combination of red will excite people and make people want to spend more money than they normally would. This is the reason why most Las Vegas casinos have lighting with these combinations all over their buildings. While at the same time, the use of blue in combination of some other colors will adjust their mood so that they will not want to spend more money than normal. This is the reason why those casinos avoid using those colors near their buildings.

Businesses actually spend money to conduct studies on how the arrangement of lighting fixtures, as well as the colors used in their lighting will affect the mood of their customers. The wrong lighting combination could potentially cost them valuable revenue.

Lighting Fixtures provides detailed information on Lighting Fixtures, Bathroom Lighting Fixtures, Ceiling Lighting Fixtures, Outdoor Lighting Fixtures and more. Lighting Fixtures is affiliated with Outdoor Lighting.

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Monday, May 12, 2008

Discount Lighting Fixtures

Several stores offer discount lighting fixtures of various well-known brands. Lighting fixtures for a room should be decided upon keeping in mind the activities that will be performed in the room and the purpose of the lighting fixtures. Displays like works of art etc., need focus lamps. Focus lamps are generally available at discount lighting outlets. This is because the number of pieces needed in a home is few. So odd pieces left over from larger stocks are offered at discounts.

Most shops dealing in discount lighting fixtures source their material directly from manufacturers. This eliminates the role of the middleman and brings down the cost incurred by the dealer. In an attempt to build customer loyalty, the dealers pass on the cost savings to customers in the form of discounts. Thus, buying discount lighting fixtures will get you good quality fixtures at lesser prices.

On the flip side, the choices available at such stores are limited. Manufacturers do not offer discounted prices for the latest designs. As a result, such designs are not stocked by stores dealing in discount lighting fixtures. In order to get good quality inexpensively, the customer might have to forgo certain specifications regarding the latest designs.

General lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting are the three broad categories pertaining to the lighting needs of a home. Lighting fixtures for all these needs may be either simple or ornate. Simple designs can be easily sourced from discount lighting fixture stores. However, procuring ornate discount lighting fixtures will depend entirely on a customer?s luck.

Lighting fixtures is not all about looks. One also needs to consider compatibility of sockets with the electrical wiring in the home. It would thus be advisable to seek the opinion of an expert before buying an off beat lighting fixture just for its looks.

All the functional lighting fixtures of a home or office can be sourced from a discount lighting store, as standard designs would serve the purpose well.

Lighting Fixtures provides detailed information on Lighting Fixtures, Bathroom Lighting Fixtures, Ceiling Lighting Fixtures, Outdoor Lighting Fixtures and more. Lighting Fixtures is affiliated with Outdoor Lighting.

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Friday, May 9, 2008

Clothing Store Fixtures

Clothing store fixtures help increase the sale of clothing. This also helps to bring in more customers. Mannequins and forms are used as clothing store fixtures. There are different types of mannequins and clothing forms.

Mannequins are made of different materials including wood, wax, fiberglass and plastic. Some mannequin store fixtures are set in one pose while some have adjustable arms and legs. The most common type of mannequin used in clothing business is life size mannequin. Torso mannequins are used to display shirts and blouses. Mannequin store fixtures are available for male, female and children in different sizes. Different models of mannequin store fixtures are hands on hip model, hands by side model, ethnic model and sandy series model.

Classic forms of mannequin store fixtures are made of natural wood bases. Mannequin head displays are used to display hats or wigs. Full round mannequins are used to display clothing in an inexpensive way.

Clothing forms are light-weight and durable. PVC forms are used as clothing store fixtures. PVC forms are inexpensive and heavy duty. Forms are available in hanging model or with adjustable stand model. Jersey forms are flexible mannequin forms. Flexible forms are more convenient than traditional mannequin store fixtures. Polyurethane jersey forms and flex kid forms are also available. Flexible tube forms can be bent shaped and twisted. Fabric covered arms and legs of tube form can be bent into any shape. Form store fixtures are available in both adult and children's size.

Clothing hangers are also used to display clothing in an attractive way. There are plastic hangers, metal hangers and wooden hangers. Adult clothing hangers include suit hangers, pant hangers, blouse hangers etc. Children clothing hangers include top hangers, junior hangers and combo hangers.

Store Fixtures provides detailed information on Store Fixtures, Store Fixture Parts, Metal Store Fixtures, Antique Store Fixtures and more. Store Fixtures is affiliated with POS Systems.

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Thursday, May 8, 2008

European Store Fixtures

European store fixtures are sought by most store owners. It is found to be more advanced technologically than American fixtures. This is because Europeans combine innovative designs with the latest manufacturing techniques to create new products. Customers are therefore able to get store displays and fixtures in attractive and stylish designs.

European store fixtures are available in varying qualities, capacities, and prices. It comes in attractive designs, pleasing colors, and striking shapes. The chances of damage or breakage are minimized in European fixtures. These fixtures are modular. This means that the fixtures can be installed or mounted on walls or other locations without any difficult procedures. Engineers and architects are not required for installation.

One of the popular styles of European fixtures is the ladder model. The ladder system can be a single unit or a combinational unit with different types of fixtures together. The combinational unit can hold a variety of items.

European store fixtures are made of different materials such as plastic, steel, metal, wood, glass, and co-polymer resins. The co-polymer resins used in store fixtures can be either certified or non-certified. Certified ones are tested in European laboratories to meet basic approved standards. Each European country has its own testing methods and the materials are classified accordingly. This classification is done on the basis of different fire safety components. Thus by fixing these fixtures safety and protection of the entire store is ensured, as certified resins release fumes and smokes within certain limits only.

Some common European store fixtures are wall and gondola shelving, grid wall panels, jewelry showcases, sign holders, garment racks, display mannequins, and display trays for jewelry. Back panels come in three configurations such as plain, perforated, and slat wall.

Store Fixtures provides detailed information on Store Fixtures, Store Fixture Parts, Metal Store Fixtures, Antique Store Fixtures and more. Store Fixtures is affiliated with POS Systems.

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Thursday, February 7, 2008

Microsoft Great Plains Furniture & Fixtures - Implementation & Customization Highlights

Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics / eEnterprise was introduced in 1993 as first Microsoft Windows and Macintosh based graphical accounting/ERP application for Mid-Size businesses. Considering the history of furniture retailer and custom assembly lines – they showed up on the market about five decades ago and they have automated their business operations with Unix-based businesses in the late 1960th and earlier 1970th. You can find such furniture resale systems as Storis, which is Unidata based application, automating furniture retail outlets. Let’s consider the options.

• General Ledger. There is no need to immediate replacement of legacy retail stores automation software. It is reliable and proved to work over years. They usually sit in very reliable Unix hardware such as IBM AS/400 or RS6000. You would need just import General Ledger transaction to the system, where you would have flexible and quick financial reporting. In this case you need Unidata export and feed it into Great Plains General Ledger. Use Great Plains Integration Manager or heterogeneous SQL queries.

• Payroll. Great Plains would be reasonably priced payroll solution if you process payroll inhouse. If you have less then 500 employees – then Great Plains Standard douse excellent job and software price would be around k$10. You will have to pay annual maintenance program and receive Payroll taxes and federal magnetic media updates to keep you safe from the payroll taxation errors and miscalculation. If you cross over 500 employees line – Great Plains software price will be around k$30 and you could find cheaper solutions with unlimited number of employees – look at Accpac.

• eCommerce. If you are replacing your legacy system, then you could build eCommerce upon Microsoft Great Plains Inventory Control (IV) and Sales Order Processing modules. Looking into the future you should expect increasing portion of you business to come from eCommerce ordering. Here you deploy eConnect and have your or contracting developers do the job. If eConnect is too expensive – you could appeal to experienced developers, who has set of custom stored procedures to work with SOP10100, SOP10200 and IV00100 tables

• Commission Reporting. In Furniture outlet shift manager commission is based on her/his employees-salespersons performance. And it is usually tiered. We saw very complex and proprietary formulas. Our suggestion is to realize it in SQL Stored Procedure and then you could create Crystal Report with parameters to calculate and report commission amounts

We encourage you to analyze your alternatives. You can always appeal to our help, give us a call: 1-866-528-0577 or 1-630-961-5918, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies (http://www.albaspectrum.com), serving Microsoft Great Plains, CRM, Navision to mid-size and large clients in California, Illinois, New York, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Ceiling Lighting Fixtures

Ceiling lighting fixtures are primarily meant to hold bulbs in position, directing light in the desired direction. They come in a variety of designs, shapes, sizes, types and ranges. A ceiling lighting fixture should be chosen in accordance with specific requirements like the amount of light it diffuses or disperses, direct or diffused lighting requirements, maintenance requirements, installation cost, overall style of the space, etc.

One should always look for lighting fixtures that maximize the light efficiency of the bulbs. An unwise buy based purely on the exterior beauty might absorb too much of the bulb’s light or emit light to the cavities in the ceiling. Efficiency specification of ceiling lighting fixtures should be considered while making a purchase. Apart from that, one should remember that specific lighting fixtures are meant for specific bulbs and the lighting fixtures should be checked for these criteria during a purchase.

The overall look and style of the space should be taken into account, so that a ceiling lighting fixture complements and accentuates the look. A huge chandelier looks out of place in a small space, just as a small chandelier is easily overlooked in a large space.

Indirect lighting fixtures should be chosen to avoid glare and visual fatigue formed by direct lights, especially in rooms with reflective surfaces and in offices with computers. A ceiling lighting fixture in the kitchen can house an energy-efficient florescent bulb.

Some of the ceiling lighting fixtures include fixtures for chandeliers, recessed lighting fixtures, indirect lighting fixtures, florescent ceiling light fixtures, energy efficient ceiling lighting fixtures, flush mounted, semi-flush mounted and track or monorail lighting. Their style can range from traditional, conventional, trendy and stylish, rustic, Victorian, Tiffany, tropical and many more.

They can present a wide array of finishes. While installing ceiling lighting fixtures it is important to measure the height of the fixtures from the floor. Depending on the height, a suitable lighting fixture should be chosen. Ceiling lightings and fixtures can be used in hallways, patios, foyers, stairways, task areas, and bedrooms.

Lighting Fixtures provides detailed information on Lighting Fixtures, Bathroom Lighting Fixtures, Ceiling Lighting Fixtures, Outdoor Lighting Fixtures and more. Lighting Fixtures is affiliated with Outdoor Lighting.

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