merchandising report

Contents

1. Abstract2. Introduction

2.1. What is merchandising?2.2. JDs visual merchandising

3. Aims of the Research and Objectives3.1. Aims3.2. Objectives

4. Literature Review5. Methodology

5.1. Research Books5.2. Other Resources

6. Results, Analysis and Interpretation6.1. A pinpoint distinction between how sportswear is portrayed as fashion6.2. Ascertaining how important window displays are merchandised to consumers6.3. The advertising campaigns used to communicate companies consumer base6.4. The change in JDs graphics over the past 10 years and how it has encouraged sales even further6.5. Identifying how JD predicts trend changes and how their buyers use this to strengthen each product over the years6.6. The planning and merchandising of each department within JD

7. Recommendations8. Conclusions9. Bibliography and referencing10. Appendix 1

10.1. Interview with Leanne Rodgerson, Branch Manager10.2. Interview with Lee Minchin, merchandiser/floor manager

11. Appendix 211.1. JD magazine

12. Appendix 312.1. Apparel merchandising training booklet12.2. Footwear merchandising training booklet12.3. Visual Merchandising Pack

In what ways does JD portray their sportswear as fashion through their Visual Merchandising?

Created by Amy Flitcroft - 1 -

AbstractIn this report I am discussing the distinction of JDs own brand

products and sportswear labels and the role in which their visual merchandising plays through their advertising campaigns. I am going to be explaining how important it is within the company and how their sportswear is now portrayed as a fashion. I will be talking about how JD has changed over the past 10 years, how it started out as a basic sports store and then gravitated into more sports fashion styling. I am also going to talk about how the graphics have changed, since moving more into sports fashion branding. I will also be explaining how they use different advertising campaigns to commercialise the store’s products via their window displays, magazines and billboard advertising. This report is about finding out how and why JD uses merchandising to gain a great commercialism value for their company and the products which they sell.

IntroductionI have chosen to research Visual merchandising as I have a

general interest in this subject and find it fascinating to see how stores communicate their merchandise to their consumers. I have based my interest with this subject on JD as I work within the store and have access to VM packs and training resources, plus there are several merchandisers which work within the store that I can ask about visual merchandising.

Visual merchandising aims to show the various ways of placing stock within a store and the influence that it has on how the shoppers feel whilst instore. The purpose of Visual merchandising is to make the consumers shopping experience a feeling of ease and comfort. Visual merchandising has been around since the nineteenth century in some form or other. To begin with, store owners would keep their stock in the back and just bring out various items to show consumers when they came in to the store. The next trend after this was for the store owners to place their stock within the shop and add small written advertisements in their shop windows displaying offers. In today’s society, and for the past couple of decades, there has been a major job market for this particular area in which people can specialise. The main aim of visual merchandising is to create the most attractive display in which to promote the goods that the store sells, and to create the right image that a consumer can identify with.

What is Visual Merchandising?



“Visual merchandising is the physical display of goods in the most attractive and appealing ways. The goal of visual merchandising is to please customer senses as shoppers enter and move around the store. As opposed to advertising, visual merchandising reaches customers when they are at the store, resulting in immediate purchases.” M Wolfe 2003, the world of fashion merchandising, the Goodheart-Willcox Company, Inc, Tinley Park, Illinois1

JDs Visual merchandisingRight from the beginning JD has developed its own way of

merchandising, setting its own layout development and standardising its products. These things are what set them apart from other retailers. Merchandising stock into a wall has to be set up correctly, this is done by using planograms in order to design and plan a wall prior to actual product placement. This method is used so that they can enable visualisation on paper and the composition of the wall, as well as making it consumer friendly.

The stock layout is important for JD as they have to make sure the categories and genders are correct as well as their priority stock. The company use these facilities in order to endorse consistency throughout all stores. In the companies VM packs there is always a layout to follow; this is mainly to do with merchandise packages and any main priority changes to the stock on the wall.

Example:Men’s Layout

Priority wall 1- McKenzie active- Nike Revolution – Nike comp – Adidas fleece Wall 2 – Nike air>pants>suitsCentre stands – 2 for £20>t-shirts>replica>jackets>offer rails

Using the VM packs is to ensure that commerciality is used to place a product in position on the wall which will maximise its sales.

The JD marketing team also have to work closely with the companies brand designers and buyers to ensure that they are all thinking on the same level, this is to guarantee that the advertising campaigns and instore POS are functioning well with the new brands. The merchandising department also have to communicate well with



1Direct quote from ‘The world of fashion merchandising’, chapter 22: Visual Merchandising pg387

the buyers as they have to keep in mind what their aims were when these products were purchased, this is so that packages and colour pallets are kept together in the highest location point for the consumers to see.

From my personal view, I see JDs merchandising as a means to gain a higher influence on the store’s image as well as having a greater understanding of their consumer base, and what they gain in terms of the profits their products make. The company’s merchandising team is one of the greatest and I believe that with new trends thrown at them over the coming years, their merchandising will expand to a greater mass proportion by providing a more significant visualisation of their key selling products to consumers.

Aims of the Research and Objectives

AimsThe aim of my research will be to understand how visual

merchandising works within the JD stores and how it is important for a major company to get it right in order to sell their brands. I also aim to understand how the company have turned their views more to fashion sportswear instead of just general sportswear. I have also been intending to find out what JDs marketing strategies are, and who is behind the planning of the store layouts and the visual merchandising packs. I will be aiming to gain an understanding of how JD has changed over the past 10 years and how they keep in touch with trends for their region.

ObjectivesMy main objectives of this report were to understand how JDs

visual merchandising distinguishes between its fashion sportswear and its general sportswear. I have used my own knowledge from working at JD as well as gaining a great deal of knowledge from JDs floor/merchandising manager and my own branch manager. From the interview questions that I devised, I found out why their merchandising is one of JDs main essential priorities to their company and how they create a good visualisation of a product using just basic planograms.

o Ascertain how important visual merchandising is for the company and why it is important for them to get it right in order to sell their products.



o Discover a more understanding of how JD communicates with its customers and how they sell them a specific product.

o Seek out the importance of their use of advertising campaigns and store window displays.

o Identify how the company plans each department layout and how they come up with this planning, as well as their campaigning and merchandising decisions.

o Understand how JD has changed over the past 10 years and how they keep in touch with trends.

o To pinpoint a distinction between how their sports brands are portrayed as fashion.

o Identify my own personal goals for this report which were to expand on my own knowledge of visual merchandising based on working at JD and by doing this subject it could help me to gain better future prospects.

Literature Review While looking into visual merchandising I encountered a great

book by Judith Bell and Kate Ternus, Silent Selling: Best practices and effective strategies in Visual Merchandising. This book has a great understanding of merchandising and how it works for retailers. I found this book to be the most interesting as a great deal of the information has come from the authors own experience as a Visual merchandiser. It has also given me a basic understanding of this subject, which has added to my own thoughts and knowledge on answering my own question on JDs visual merchandising. People need simplicity, they do not react well to things that are unfamiliar and out of the ordinary. To be seen as a visual merchandiser is to be seen as the creative one, a person who thinks outside the box. A woman named Sarah Marie implies that Visual Merchandisers create miniature worlds within a retail store.

‘Visual Merchandisers create “miniature worlds” for merchandise in an effort to attract the attention of consumers, draw them into the store and keep them



coming back in the future.’ (Sarah Marie, Hubpages, 2009)2

This quote has influenced my research direction for JD as I believe they have created a small world of casual sportswear fashion which is slowly breaking into the huge market of general sportswear. What I find to be the most interesting about JDs visual merchandising, is the level in which you can appreciate the way clothing is laid out on display, the colour pallets and how it encourages consumers to add on to sales with the use of accessorising in outfits. I find the changing of seasons and trends affects the way in which JDs creative merchandising is displayed within those trends. For example Christmas holidays, the store stick to a simple colour theme in which to sparkle for the festive season. Most stores try to define their own unique retail image to the consumers; this is so they can create a feeling of relationships developing between them and the company. JDs image is massive in terms of how the consumers see them, this is due to instore promotional campaigns and effective advertising using everyday objects they see through the day i.e. phone booths.

Bell and Ternus have used each of their own experiences with working within a visual merchandising role by giving examples of what a merchandiser does and how they create displays and different layouts. Through the research it shows that merchandising has emerged from concealing stock from the public to eventually deliberately displaying goods in shop windows to entice consumers in to their stores to see their latest offers. The internet provided an article by Sarah Marie from the hubpages about the history of visual merchandising which shows how it started and what it has developed in to now. In her article, it states that many early shop owners cared little about the presentation of their store as well as their merchandise; they would keep stock in the back and only bring it out once a consumer came in to the store. (Sarah Marie, 2009)

Further reading from other books all suggest that merchandising has become a massive influence within retail and many larger stores now have their own merchandising departments within the company which deal with all the plans of visual merchandising, this department also works alongside the marketing and buying departments. All research has indicated that companies use merchandising to create an image for themselves and to give the consumers familiarity with their stock, the layout of the store as well as the stores image from use of colours and advertisements.



2 Direct quote from hubpages.com by Sarah Marie and accessed 3rd December 09

Methodology For my methodology I chose to do an interview with the main

store manager and the floor manager/ merchandiser of my JD store about how their sportswear is portrayed as fashion through their visual merchandising. I spoke to them about the way in which they promote their products to their consumers and how they use merchandising to create their image. I was also interested in asking my managers about how their advertising campaigns heIp the store to influence consumers in to buying their brands. The reason behind choosing to do an interview is because I felt that it would be the greatest way in which to gather the best information from the most relevant sources, this is so that I could answer my question more effectively. My managers answered all the questions relayed to them with an immense knowledge of my chosen subject which has supported my question a great deal.

The interviews I conducted helped my research by backing up the information which has been gained through books and the internet. The data gathered from my interviews has supported my question as I went for the semi-structured approach so I had more flexibility when asking the questions as well as gaining concise responses. I believe that by doing a semi-structured interview I was able to intervene to discuss more on the questions I believed to be the most relevant.

Research BooksIn order to produce great interview questions I found a couple of

research books, one written by Judith Bell Doing your research project and one written by Bill Gillham Research interviewing: the range of techniques. These books were very insightful and they helped me a great deal on choosing the correct choice of methodology to use. I was also going to do a questionnaire but after reading through some of Judith Bell’s book I believed that an interview would be a more skilful and investigative way in which to get answers to help support my question.

Judith Bell says “one major advantage of the interview is its adaptability. A skilful interviewer can follow up ideas, probe responses and investigate motives and feelings, which the questionnaire can never do.”3



3 Direct quote from ‘Doing your research project’, chapter 9: planning and conducting interviews pg157 under the headline ‘Advantages and disadvantages of the interview.

Both books were very helpful but Bill Gillham’s book gave me a greater understanding of how a semi-structured interview is and why it would be the best way of gaining the information that I needed from my interviewees. I thought that the semi-structured interview would facilitate in a good use of unearthing the best answers for my questions and having additional information to add to them whilst still in discussion.

Bill Gillham says “one of the strengths of the semi-structured interview is that it facilitates a strong element of discovery, while its structured focus allows an analysis in terms of commonalities.”4

Both these quotes from Judith Bell and Bill Gillham helped me to understand that it was important for this research project to be structured well in terms of setting out my interviews, the design layout and the techniques I chose to use to hold a well informative interview discussion on my chosen subject area.

Other ResourcesAs well as the interviews I constructed I have also used a many

number of resources from the store such as their VM packs, as well their general merchandising training pack to understand how the company’s training influences the merchandisers of the store. These resources have helped my research along by giving me an insight in to the rules that have to be applied when planning to merchandise a department within JD. I have also gained major knowledge on the challenges that the store faces in order to create a point of difference and keep in mind what the buyers aims were when purchasing new brand items.

Results, Analysis and InterpretationThe data that I have obtained from my primary and secondary

research is that JDs visual merchandising has changed over the past 20 years due to a larger commerciality of the store and trends from each different seasonal change. My secondary research has mostly just given me a background on the subject of merchandising and why it is of a great importance to many retail stores throughout the world. I believe that JDs merchandising has gone from strength to strength as they have kept in touch with what it’s consumers want from their products over the past 10+ years, and they have also learnt from mistakes that they have made regarding their branding.



4 Direct quote from ‘Research interviewing’, chapter 10: the semi-structured interview pg72 under the headline ‘Developing an interview focus’

A pinpoint distinction between how sportswear is portrayed as fashion

From my interview with my manager’s I found that JD believes that their fashion is now classed within their sportswear, especially Adidas Originals and Fred Perry which are classed as heritage and retro fashion sportswear. JDs visual merchandising is portrayed in much the same way for their sports and also their fashion merchandise, although I found that they do differentiate in the way that they merchandise their fashion clothing from their sports clothing. The fashion clothing is now dominated mostly by heritage and retro and is merchandised using alternative tiers, wooden hangers and different backdrops to distinguish it from the main sports clothing.

“Yes we try to create a point of difference with the use of different hangers, backdrops and furniture as well as merchandising at an alternative tier to sport.” (Leanne Rodgerson, Manager of JD)5

On a larger scale, JD uses connecting stores Scotts and Bank to house the higher-end fashion brands which push the fashion scale even further. Scotts house the high-end brands and are set up like concessions where as Bank is high street fashion retail so each stores point of difference is their merchandising. Each of the stores also uses different lighting, textures and different furniture as well as accessorising differently to JDs fashion. Each of these stores pushes sales even higher which maximise the fashion side of the company even more.



5 Direct quote from interview with branch manager Leanne Rodgerson to the answered question ‘Do you feel that the sports and fashion brands are merchandised in different ways?’

Shows the underwear the company sells as well as the jeans, this encourages add on sales.

The company merchandise the sports clothing differently again and is put at the best location points in the store, this is because fleece dominates the sports department and gains a higher profit for the company. The sports department is cut into smaller sections which are full to the brim with Nike, Adidas and McKenzie fleece pants, hoods and jumpers. These are all merchandised into higher tiers than fashion due to the amount of popularity with these products from the consumer.

Ascertaining how important window displays are merchandised to consumers

The window displays are the main focal point for JD as they are the first contact with their consumers so it is important for them to get the correct image across with their brands. The marketing department ensures that a variety of new brands are placed in the window to promote what they believe to be key sellers to the store; these are mainly Nike and Adidas. The window displays are changed at least every two weeks in order to promote the latest footwear and clothing trends as well as seasonal changes such as summer wear and their sales. JD usually places Nike and Adidas in the window to support the launch of new footwear styles, these companies pay a small amount of money to JD for the window space.



Higher tiers and plastic hangers, more stock to merchandise and group.

The advertising campaigns used to communicate to the companies consumer base

JD has many promotional campaigns which advertise new clothing and footwear lines using everyday objects such as bus stops, buses, phone boxes and magazines which usually feature the companies own brand labels. These advertisements help the store as the consumers see these around them everyday. The company also produce their own monthly magazine where key sellers and future launches are advertised, these magazines are usually in every JD store and are a free purchase.

The JD slogan is “The best of the best” which has been a consistent marketing tool for well over 5 years and it works well with selling their brands still today. This is shown through exclusive footwear brands especially made for the company which are massively important for to them as this makes them differentiate from other sports stores. This is shown through what JD believes its brand values are.

“To get the highest quality produce that we can with the best finish, when taking an item from a drawing to a final piece we need to ensure we get the best



material, logo and finishing.” (Leanne Rodgerson, JD Manager)6

Although the windows are not the main support feature to the company they do usually carry themes which are shown especially through each seasonal change. JD also uses mannequins in the window and instore to show new brand products which are accessorised in outfits to show the many different combinations of products to choose from.

“Our windows normally carry themes, mannequins in the window and stores are used to push new products, but mainly magazines, billboards and such are used to campaign new products more as consumers see these all around them everyday.” (Lee Minchin, JD merchandiser/floor manager)7



6 Direct quote from interview with JDs branch manager Leanne Rodgerson to the answered question ‘What are JDs brand values?’

7 Direct quote from interview with merchandiser/floor manager Lee Minchin to the answered question ‘Are the window displays the main support feature for promoting the stores new brand merchandise?’

Seasonal window displays – kept to a colour scheme throughout the window, gold, silver, green and red. Mannequin shows key fashion seller for women’s apparel.

The images of the window display below show the seasonal theme which is in the window at the moment. The windows have simplicity and professionalism through and through as JD likes to keep trouble-free and effortless so they do not over sell their windows image.

The change in JDs graphics over the past 10 years and how it has encouraged sales even further

The graphics in the store have been greatly updated by changing colour and name. The name was changed from JD Sports to just JD as they needed to drop it in order to create the right image(Leanne Rodgerson, JD Manager), a strong black and white simple JD logo was created to symbolise this change in name. As well as the change in logo, most of the instore POS has been simplified; it is clean cut, easy to work with and makes a really strong statement to their consumers which is that they are still trend wise and will be well into the near future. A strong use of colour is used within the store as it is an important factor for complimenting colours to be merchandised together. This increases outfit combinations, and JD also encourages add on sales by merchandising in outfits and colour pallets.

We needed to drop “sports” in order to create the right image and creating a strong black and white simple JD logo has helped with this. (Leanne Rodgerson, JD manager)8

Identifying how JD predicts trend changes and how their buyers use this to strengthen each product

over the yearsJD tries to stay ahead by predicting what may be their best sellers

by placing them in prominent locations. They have to merchandise by keeping in mind what the buyers aims were at the point of purchase from each department. JDs aims when purchasing new buys are to try and keep in mind new trends and consumers opinions which will not be the same in different towns and regions. In JD each department has their own buyers which each have their own budgets which are divided up based on figures from previous year’s trade patterns by the head of the buying department. This is done so that each of the departments benefit from what the buyers purchase, they have to know what the best sellers are so they can make similar choices on products every year for each department.



8 Direct quote from interview with JDs branch manager Leanne Rodgerson to the answered question ‘Has moving into the fashion market changed the graphic designs?’

Even with JD merging its sports more into fashion, sportswear is still the strongest in terms of their yearly figures but they do see their fashion heritage creeping higher and higher.

“Sports is JDs bread and butter line, however with trends that change figures fluctuate and quite often fashion creeps higher and higher. Figures wise fashion now perform and percentage wise often put up as strong if not stronger performance year on year than sportswear.“ (Leanne Rodgerson, JD Manager)9

The planning and merchandising of each department within JD

When planning the layout of their merchandise JD do not adhere to any plan although a few basics do have to be followed, this is mainly keeping brand packages and colours together and also the order in which it runs from the VM packs. By not sticking to a strict plan stock can often be worked with over and over to get the best from it. When moving stock around the merchandisers use planograms in order to visualise how they want it to look before changing the wall around.

“Basic rules have to be followed but generally plans come together based on previous experience of reacting to similar situations I have done.”(Lee Minchin, JD merchandiser/floor manager)10

Each department within JD will differ greatly and do not follow suit all around the store. The company merchandisers plan their techniques to what is right for each size and density of each category within the departments when merchandising the stock. Due to Nike and Adidas been the strongest sellers within the shop this brand stock has to have a higher regard by keeping these lines within prominent locations where it is at better eye level for the consumers to notice. The VM packs are produced mainly by the merchandising department and are broken down into departmental sections within every JD store; sometimes it is tested in a store beforehand. Any VM changes are mostly shown through regular visits from head office executives as well as the main merchandising manager. Even now with classing



9 Direct quote from interview with JDs branch manager Leanne Rodgerson to the answered question ‘Sports or Fashion: Which is the more popular seller between the two departments?’

10 Direct quote from interview with JD merchandiser/floor manager Lee Minchin to the answered question ‘Do you follow a strict rule when planning to move stock around?'

sportswear into fashion styling the VM packs haven’t changed much, they are just there to help the stores create uniformity throughout the company. Using these VM packs throughout the JD stores it is easier to pick up on how the buyers and merchandisers story pallet has been created for upcoming seasonal trends and it creates a major point of difference for JD over other sports retailers.

Recommendations I believe that I have gathered enough evidence from my research

to understand how and why JD is so popular on the high street. I have gained a greater understanding in terms of how they conduct themselves within the use of their merchandising and the communication they have with their consumers and also within the company. I do also believe that this subject can be further researched especially on the companies own brand products, how they create them and what other brands influence their own styles. I feel that more research could be done from my findings on how differently the advertising is within the company and the way that they use their window displays, a bigger understanding and more advanced research into this could view why they advertise differently with their own brand products against other leading brands such as Nike and Adidas.

ConclusionsI conclude that the results that I have gained from my research in

my view have answered my question with great knowledge and relevance especially from my interviews. I have managed to answer each objective that I set forth for myself by using these as personal goals for my analysis and interpretation of my findings. From these findings I conclude that visual merchandising is one of the most important things that the company do as it helps them to communicate well with their consumers, which gains great respect from them. This support from their consumers has helped them to be classed as one of the highest recommended sports retailers on the high street. I found out from the interviews that I conducted that they have supported my question massively through the information which was gathered from my managers. My manager’s support the companies merchandising hugely and each of them believe that their sportswear is now classed as fashion, which is separated into two categories casual and sportswear fashion. I believe that JDs merchandising has gone from strength to strength and I trust that it will keep on doing so for many years to come; this is based on the support and hard work that come from every section of the company. The company as a whole has good communication skills throughout departments which has helped them immensely in the way



that there advertising campaigns are run. I have learnt that the marketing team communicate well with the brand designers and buyers so that they can design the best advertising campaigns for the new stock that’s purchased, and with this I consider that this is what sets them apart from other sports retailers.

My final feelings are that JD will keep rising to each challenge that they face over the next coming years and will continue to produce the highest quality products for their sports and casual fashion brands. This company’s slogan “the best of the best” has been the greatest as it is what the company is in terms of customer awareness, keeping within trends and their general advertising and merchandising campaigns going from strength to strength.



merchandising report

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