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How to display columns andPosts

Columns and posts provide high profit margins because they look and feel much more expensiVe than they actually are.

Whether for indoors or out, the products are bulky and seeminglY difficult to display. Retailers can learn and earn by following these merchandising tips:

The most impofiant thing is to get consumers thinking about applications for columns in their homes. Especially effective are merchandising boards that feature application photos that suggest uses (such as for carports, mobile homes, patio awnings or wraParounds for basement posts), as well as partial samples so customers can touch and feel the columns for themselves.

. Columns and posts are also relatively easy do-ityourself projects, and disPlaY boards and/or take-home brochures should spell out the simple installation steps.

. A stack of posts will not sell as well as a single post topped by an outdoor lamP fixture or mailbox.

Because columns are not a weekend project done on a whim, a large inventory is not necessary. Work with a distributor who not only provides aitractive point-of-purchase displays, but also shipments when you need them. Typically, a dealer maY stock a few basic-style columns, capitals and bases and offer more ornate choices by special order. "Three or four standard sizes account for 60Vo of sales," says Jerry Becker, Moultrie Manufacturing. "Dealers who stock these will also increase special order sales, because contractors are already familiar with buying columns from them."

. A coluinn or post merchandiser may provide an eye-catching end-cap display in otherwise cramped quarters because, like the columns and posts themselves, they usuallY are very shallow and can hang from or push nearly flat against a wall.

. When confined to especially tight quarters, some dealers opt to carry aluminum columns that come in knock down form; the shafts condense so they take up a fraction of the rack storage and truck space required bY wood columns.