A Report into the concept and effects of
Merchandise Display Densities
1. Define the Concept of store merchandise display densities.
Store merchandise display density describes the amount of product per foot on display.
A foot is the approximate size of the display rail, it is perceived as a unit, rather than a measurement. The product is counted in styles, the unique design of the product, and options, its available colour variations. Primark has on one foot only one stile in one option on offer. The product density is so high, that even each colour option is given its own rail and with that its own foot. (Primark 1)
In average, there are up to 40 items of one style in one option displayed per foot. At Prada on the other hand there are 6 to 8 styles in only one or two options displayed per foot, the variety per foot is bigger, nevertheless the quantity is minimal, with just 8 garments being displayed per foot.
To define the Linear Conversion, the size of the store, the square footage is being related to the number of display rails. Primark has on a square footage of 500sqm 125 rails, whereas at Pradas square footage of 500sqm are just 50 rails. The Linear Conversion of Primark therefore is 25%; above the Highstreet ideal of 23%. Pradas Linear Conversion is 10%, which is even for a luxury brand very low.
1. Explain how densities affect the perceived market positioning of a fashion brand.
Low merchandise display density draws more attention to the single product, it is being more emphasised. By accentuating a single style and even a single option, the garment increases in perceived value. The attention is being drawn to the garment itself, its outstanding features like design, material and quality. Th ...