Page 247 - AmericasMart: Market Magazine July 2017

GENERAL GIFT/CHILDREN’S WORLD
When your customers tell you that they don’t want to come in because they’re afraid they’ll spend money, you know your creative display plan is working.
“Good display ranks right up there after promotion. We wouldn’t be in business without it,” says Jane Marski. She and her husband, Donald, bought a 30,000 square-foot
Ben Franklin arts and crafts store in Antioch, Ill. in 1961. She wanted the merchandise to be pretty, organized and inspirational. “Our motto has always been, ‘The inspiration is free,’”
she says.
Back when long aisles of products stretched throughout the store, Marski used the endcaps to display a unique craft project complete with the materials and instructions to make it. She built a gazebo to display floral arrangements and a huge display for Department 56 holiday figurines. “We wanted to help people picture how to use our things,” she says.
STAY CREATIVE
With a changing economy and market,
the Marski’s successfully transitioned into
an 8,600 square-foot shop specializing in women’s clothing, accessories and home décor. They still offer unique scrapbooking kits and classes, as well as floral design, but Hannah’s
is filled with one-of-a-kind items that you won’t find in big-box stores. Gifts, frames, candles, floral accents, personal and home accessories are artfully arranged together. “We’re constantly looking for new things, trends and interesting ways to display what we offer,” she says.
Design is always a factor when buying for
the store. “My premise is to think about what would make it easier for me to shop and spend money here?” she says. Good design can make customers comfortable and “wow” them.
“Most customers tell us that they love coming here, because it’s inspiring,” she says. “That comes from researching your products, employing a creative staff, and having a good design plan,” she says.
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