Name
Rasika Narain

Present Designation
Manager Visual Merchandiser

Company's name
Marks & Spencer

Location
Gurgaon

ThinkTank: What led you to pursue a career in Visual Merchandising?

Rasika: I was actually planning on applying for AMM at NIFT, but it was by chance that the prospectus showcased a new course in Fashion Communication! As the subjects covered were very new and exciting, it sounded like a worthwhile risk to take with my career, and here I am 6 yrs later, content with my choice!

ThinkTank: What are the primary responsibilities of your job?

Rasika: My work ranges from Store designing, grid planning, Plan-o-grams, merchandise layout, mannequin dressing and styling, to window planning & execution as per the promotional calendar.

ThinkTank: What is the typical process you go through for implementing a display?

Rasika: Our brand maintains a similar look across all its international franchisees worldwide. They sustain this by sending seasonal guidelines pertaining to Windows, Merchandise stories, product displays & mannequin dressing to everyone. We access the information and customize it for each store. As the vendor keeps executing it across the 14 stores in India, the VM team of the regional VMs, store VMs & I set up the displays & styling.

Tip #4 Show Them You Care

Your customer can choose to shop many different places – other brick and mortar stores, catalogs, TV shopping channels, the Internet, warehouse clubs, and more.

Why do your customers decide to stop shopping at your store and try out one of the competition? You might guess price, convenience, selection, or service to be at the top of the list, but you'd guess wrong. Market surveys tell us that…

67% OF CUSTOMERS STOP SHOPPING WITH YOU BECAUSE OF PERCEIVED INDIFFERENCE.

Plain and simple, they think you don't care about them. They think you don't care if they shop with you or not.

If most people stop shopping with you because they think you don't care, logic dictates that by showing that you DO care you can KEEP them as a customer for life.

Love your customers and the money will follow.

Send them funny, inexpensive Valentines. Send your best customers chocolates. Send an e-mail card to the customers you have an e-mail address for. Do something, anything, to let your customers know that you care that they shop with you. Be creative!

Here is our favorite FREE way to make sure your customers know that you care about them and their business.

Smile, look them in the eye, and give a warm, genuine “Thanks for shopping with us. We hope to see you again soon.” at the end of each sale. If it comes from the heart, it never fails to impress.

Source: STMedia.com

Digital Signage
SBN #: 0-240-81041-4
by Jimmy Schaeffler

A brand new (copyright 2008) primer for understanding the business of digital signage, this is the authoritative guide for executives, operations managers and professionals of digital sign businesses. Digital Signage covers software, networks, advertising and displays. Whether you are looking for new opportunities or to expand your business, with this book you will be able to clearly understand and accurately analyze the developments, trends and projections for digital signage, as well as business aspects and market conditions.
$39.95

Color Harmony Packaging
ISBN #: 1-59253-402-3
by Origin Design

This book opens with case studies of 10 featured designs, explainging what the work was trying to achieve and why the particular palette was chosen. The book then follows with 21 chapters headed by adjectives, such as powerful, elegant, and trendy, which feature the paletted that reflect that adjective, and 10 designated package designs in four different color combinations from that palette. The result is over 800 color studies illustrating how different color combinations can dramatically alter a given design and the message it communicates. Color Harmoney Packaging also includes an interactive CD, allowing users to choose packages from the book, experiment with colors, and print them out for reference.
$25.00

The Budget guide to Retail Store Planning & Design
ISBN #: 9780944094105
by Jeff Grant

The perfect learning tool for opening a store or renovating one, this book is a nuts and bolts approach to the planning and design of a new store, and a redesigned format highlights the new information. The author has experience in store planning, fixturing, and negotiation. The chapters cover budgeting store design, lease analysis and negotiation, working with designers, storefronts and signs, store layout and colors, retail floor coverings, ceilings and spaceframes, lighting, interior signage, wall and floor fixtures, and putting it all together. Also included are an invaluable retail lease checklist and an appendix of store floor plans.
$24.95

IMark Your Calendar for IRDC
Conference goes to Seattle, September 3-5

Join VMSD magazine and your peers for the International Retail Design Conference, the premier educational and networking event for retail design professionals, September 3-5, 2008, at the Grand Hyatt in Seattle. Learn from and network with some of the most respected names in the industry – then explore the unique retail landscape of Seattle, one of America's greenest cities. Learn more and sign up for the IRDC E-Newsbrief at irdconline.com.

The vegetable vendor: A huge variety of vegetables, concentrating mainly on green vegetables keeping in mind the section of health conscious customers. Emphasis on green also to advocate freshness; arrangement of yellow with different shades of green gives it a harmonious image mix, pleasing to the eye position of the vendor is right at the center for easy access. Also, has fruits to facilitate more conversions.
Anupriya Arvind & Devina Arvind | Nift-communication Design | Sem-3

Dilli Haat: He has very nicely done the placement of items in a descending order of height, so as to give a proper view of all the items present with him, to his customers. Moreover, it doesn't even look messy, in-spite of the fact that he has a very limited amount of space.

Anukriti Awasthi | NIFT-Communication Design | Sem-3

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