illwork as igh fashion

OULDING and millwork are high fashion architectural accents in today's market and should be merchandised as such. It doesn't make sense to bury one of the most profitable and fast growing building product SKUs in the back of the lumber yard.

Building Trend Analysts, Inc. reports that millwork sales will grow an average of 50/o per year through 1998 to exceed $13 billion.

Sales of doors, windows, moulding and millwork specialties have not been depressed significantly by the housing slump. Remodeling sales to both professionals and do-it-yourselfers are continuing strong. Some figures claim that almost 750lo of the moulding used in remodeling is purchased by d-i-yers.

The hundreds of moulding designs, fireplace mantels, stair parts, entrance, exterior, interior and patio doors and window designs available are a stimulus to both architectural and interior design. Selecting products is an imaginative exercise with women being the decision makers about 600/o of the time.

Responding to the customer's need to be able to visualize how the products they are buying will look installed in their homes, many retailers are creating showrooms with simulated room settings. Homelike, these are living catalogs of hundreds of products, allowing homeowners to touch and test as well as see the merchandise.

These showrooms attract both contractors and do-it-yourself customers. The d-i-yer can find the look he wants and get advice. The contractor can bring clients to the showroom or refer them, knowing they will see a wide range of products under the most favorable conditions and receive expert guidance.

Some home centers have gone as far as giving keys to each of their contractor customers, allowing them to bring their clients in after hours if necessary. Architects as well as contractors are encouraged to make use of the showrooms.

Showrooms come in all sizes. Some are as small as 1,000 sq. ft. while others run to 4,500 sq. ft. at a cost of many thousands of dollars. While many are a boutique within the main store, others are free standing structures. Frequently called galleries or display or planning centers, these are sometimes located away from the parent store, often in a shopping mall.

Staffs at the showrooms have honed selling skills and knowledge. Working models of products and plenty of colorful take-home brochures illustrating product benefits augment their skills. An elegant, homelike atmosphere prevails, usually with a quiet corner for consulting blueprints or discussing selections.

Story at a Glane

Successful ways to merchandise millwork...showrooms, milF work mini-houses, special dis. plays, custom racking help contractors and Gi-yers make selee tions.. displays for every store and budget

Stores which have no space or funds to build showrooms are equally inventive in merchandising moulding and millwork. Endcaps going as high as the ceiling allow simulated walls with a selection of window styles. Vignette displays show doors with sidelights. A mock millwork house illustrates doors, windows and moulding installations.

EI|DCAP door display has two levels. The upper frame offers three side displays with the lower frame displaying two sides and |0 sliding units. Exterior and interior doors as well as those with sidelight windows can be shown in this type of merchandiser.

Special racking allows customers to view doors and windows from both sides.

Locating the millwork section where it is readily seen is important. A fulltime salesperson who is knowledgeable about the products is almost a must. lf this is not possible, there must be millwork information at the service desk with signs in the department calling attention to this.

The millwork section that must be basically self serve needs signs to provide necessary information including all features and benefits such as low-E glass. Spotlights can dramatize portions of the display, while good housekeeping, bright colors and accessories such as plants create a pleasant ambiance. lf space for vignettes is limited, colored photographs showing beautiful millwork, door and window installations or a

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