Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/147181
[ Creating a buying atmosphere ] and run a vacuum over any carpet each morning or evening. She advises that managers stick with this process, to get employees helping with the store, rather than spending their pre-opening time gossiping over coffee. "Doing a physical walkthrough every day is imperative," she said. "No one wants to buy stuff that looks shabby." In addition to other cleaning tasks, Wood has his staff mop floors every Friday, and a deepclean cobweb and dust check is completed at least once a year. Fixtures Though boats pretty much stand on their own in a showroom, parts and accessories require fixtures for proper display. Generic retail fixtures work well in any dealership. They can serve any brand and a variety of product. The three basic features most fixtures should include are flexibility, adjustability and mobility, so one unit can highlight a variety of items, Rasmus said. Mobility is especially key for clothing, lifejacket, or wetsuit fixtures. Branded point of purchase displays can be 24 | Boating Industry | July 2013 P22x25-BI13JUL-Showroom.indd 24 "End caps are your features, and they should be changing frequently, certainly every season. It's where you want to focus on high-turn products." – Jennifer Robison, national retail specialist, Tucker Rocky Distributing used, but the experts say they should be placed with discretion. Also, each should only be used with the product that it's advertising, and not with other brand's items. End caps on stationary shelving are ideal places to display lower-priced impulse products. "End caps are your features, and they should be changing frequently, certainly every season. It's where you want to focus on high-turn products," Robison said. She advises dealerships to consider creating lifestyle zones throughout the showroom, displaying products that go along with a variety of boating lifestyles. A pontoon display, for ex- ample, could feature a family of mannequins that seem to be enjoying a day on the water. The unit could be decked out with a ladder, stereo system, tables, additional seating and a top. A jet boat display could feature wakeboard racks holding a couple wakeboards, towrope, a cooler, or other recreational items. Similar lifestyle areas can be created for other boating activities, depending on which brands the dealership carries and what the store's typical customer participates in. "A lifestyle zone really kind of refers to the end user, the lifestyle they use with a particular vehicle, so it's reminiscent of sporting goods," Robison said. The lifestyle zones should be focused on the www.BoatingIndustry.com 6/5/13 10:30 AM