When the executive director of DPHA called me six months ago and asked me to do this talk, I said, “No problem. I know quite a bit about the subject so it should be fairly easy.” Oh my, how wrong I was!

I started by Googling the definition of “merchandising” and gathering other information available from the Internet. I began to sense that maybe I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. So I bought a couple of books on the subject. Then I called the Dallas Design Mart and got some great information there. I followed this by visiting some of the country’s best merchandisers: Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Harley Davidson and Tiffany’s. I even got the okay from several to take pictures. Finally, I called a dozen friends who own some of the best-merchandised decorative plumbing and hardware showrooms in the U.S. They sent me pictures of various parts of their showrooms. The end result: Wow, what a great learning experience! It just proves an old dog can learn new tricks!

It also underlined the fact in my mind that very few plumbing wholesalers know what good merchandising is - or for that matter, even know what the term means. I visit 50 or so showrooms each year. Multiply that times the past 10 years and you’ll see I have a pretty good idea of what’s out there. And for the most part, it isn’t very good. That’s the bad news. The good news is, there’s a lot of room for improvement!

Because of the amount of information I want to share on the subject of merchandising, I’m going to break it into three articles. That’s how important I believe this subject is. I want to begin with some general information.

The style and theme of your merchandising will vary dramatically - depending on who your target customer is, the demographics of your marketplace and the product/price point niche that you have selected. Showrooms in New York and San Francisco will be very different from showrooms in Santa Fe, NM, and Cheyenne, WY.

One commonality is that most of you are selling higher end products to higher end clientele - therefore your showrooms and sales staff must look and feel high-end also, all the time!

My purpose here is to challenge you to step back and take a good, hard look at your showrooms and how you merchandise them. The better job you do, the more clients you will attract and the more sales opportunities you’ll have.

It’s pretty easy to buy those great-looking products from the manufacturers. It’s also easy to use those manufacturers’ display boxes and boards. But this may not (probably won’t) allow you to do the best job of merchandising.

It’s hard to learn how to display products in a way that tells their story - and your story - and still makes the client feel good about what you’re selling and your environment.

Most of you know there’s an art to creating a successful business. This is particularly true in your showrooms, where the business itself focuses on creating art. Perhaps nowhere is the art of kitchen and bath design more challenging than in the area of showroom layout and design.

As owners you must take a variety of products, materials, designs, styles, colors, finishes and design ideas and turn them into a unified, inviting showplace that supports the sales forecast as well as the gross profit margin targets of the company.

I am convinced there is no one “right way” to design and layout showrooms. But I do know it’s essential to create a complete showroom environment rather than just assembling a collection of products in one space. And, respectfully, that’s what most showrooms do. You need to begin with a theme, a plan, a strategy. You can’t simply take a space and start to fill it with a potpourri of displays. That approach gives the appearance of too much “stuff” crammed into a space and it does more harm than good in the presentation of products.

The owners of the great merchandising businesses know that just like in show business there are plenty of “theatrics” involved in creating a beautiful, well planned and effectively laid out showroom. That means innovation everywhere.

As retailers (and if you operate a showroom, that’s what you are) it is your job to present products in the most innovative, eye-catching way possible. It helps customers in their buying decisions, which ultimately affects your bottom line. Equally important, how your showrooms are merchandised helps set the mood and tone for your whole operation.

Your displays tell your customers whether or not they belong in your store. They educate your customers and reinforce your chosen image. Your displays communicate whether you are sophisticated, conservative, elegant, trendy or funky.

Conversely, if your displays are not well done, they are likely to create a negative image. You may not even get the opportunity to tell how wonderful your company, staff, products or services are if prospects walk out because your showroom doesn’t “feel good.”

Merchandising is part of marketing - just like advertising, promotions, public relations, branding and sales. Each one of these terms has its own definition. Let me share Darlington’s definition of each: