Retail Trends and Merchandise

David D. Mitchell

Procurement Manager, Palace Entertainment

Las Vegas Nevada, October 2012

1

Identifying Trends

Top 10 must have items

Small Spaces

Hot Trends 2012 and 2013

Top sellers

Eye Catching Displays

Before and After

Store Layout – Productivity

SWOT+T Analysis

Resources and References

2

3

What is a trend? Something that is developing or changing (Neon, Made in USA)

What is fad? Something that comes and goes (Silly Bands and Ed Hardy)

Who drives a trend? Hollywood, Fashion Models, Colleges, and Major Sports Teams

Who offers the best direction? Retail Stores, Expo’s & Shows, and Magazines

Surf Expo©, Las Vegas Gift, Tennessee – Sevierville & Gatlinburg

Surf Shops, Forever 21©, Victoria’s Secret©, Pac Sun©

Seventeen© and Teen Vogue©

NARB ©, Colleagues, Expo seminars, and the WEB

Souvenir, Gifts, and Novelties Magazine (it’s your best friend)

4

1. Candy (best items)

1. Pucker Powder©

2. Sour worms, Laffy Taffy©, Gobstoppers©

3. Plush pops, Rock candy, Theme suckers, and Gummi

2. Sunglasses (best margin)

1. Children, Adult, Polarized

3. Jewelry (best margin)

1. Mood rings, surf necklaces, and bracelets

4. Aqua Socks or Flip Flops (best margin)

5. Park Name Plush (Bears are best! )

5

6. Hoodies & Neon Burnout 1. Pullovers and Jackets

7. Life Guard Souvenir Apparel 1. Hoodies, Tanks, Shorts, Towels

8. Beverages (close to the register )

1. Check with your vendor about additional store signage

9. Swimwear and Board shorts (especially for Juniors)

10. Name drop towels

…add impulse items and accessories throughout the store - At the register, near the best items, etc

6

Limited Retail Space Purchase the “grab in go” retail items

Candy and Snacks

Towels, Sunscreen, Aqua Shoes, and Jewelry

Magnets and Bottle openers (Get a Gadget)

Plush (sea life and YooHoo’s)

Plush Pops (Hitchers©, WishPops©)

Suits, Tops and T’s can hang on walls

Package Deal (season special with perceived value)

Tote Bag, Sunscreen, Towel, Visor, Magnet, 2 bottles of Water

It is a great opportunity to move out excess inventory

7

8

Neon (great anchor colour…the eye catcher)

Hot for Juniors, Orange and Stripes

T-shirts, Hoodies, Tanks Retro 80’s with classic designs (surf, beach, clean lines)

Oversized and Flare tops

Surf and X sports (Hottest apparel)

Roxy©, Rip Curl©, O’Neill©, Kerusso©

Jewelry Mustaches, Rasta, Cat-Eye bracelets, Tiki’s, Shark’s Teeth

Love Pink Contemporary Juniors are attracted to Pink, Fuchsia and Hello Kitty©

9

West Coast and East Coast Surf Graphics and 80’s washout designs

Ball caps (Trucker Hats for specific demographics)

North East Tie Die and Pastel burnout

Nautical and Pirates, Hello Kitty

South East & North West Basics for Missy’s (solids)

V-neck, Scoop neck, Ribbed Tanks

Mid West (College Towns) Baseball burnout - off the shoulder tops

Blankets and ¾ Zip Hoodies (MV Sport)

Surf Brands – QuikSilver©, O’Neill©, Rip Curl©, Roxy©

Neon is Global

10

11

12

13

14

15

Sport bottles – Stephen Joseph Beaver Machines – Candy and Toys Aurora – YooHoo’s Fiesta – Swirls & Tie Die animals

16

Dark Before

Light and Warm After

80/20 Rule 80 % of stock – on the floor 20% remain to backfill, and reorder

Two thirds Rule Window display of hot items Hot product should be 2/3rd the way into the store Add accessories or impulse buys along the path

Balance and Flow Juniors, Missy, Youth, Children, Men’s –with an Anchor Move merchandise every three weeks

Theft Signs Move high theft products like jewelry to a busy area Penny’s – Good and Bad Big out – Small in

“Dust racks, vacuum floors, remove dead bugs from window displays – keep it clean!”

17

Strengths Who are my customers?

Know the demographics (Destination/Tourist or Public Pool SPH)

Weakness Did I purchase enough product? Are my competitors selling the same items?

Opportunities Retail billboards (play off their advertisements) Sell customer service and the guest experience = good memories

Threats Lower pricing Demand vs. Supply

How much should be purchased? What is the turn time on a reorder?

Trends How long should I ride the “trend” wave? Use Facebook© and listen to your guests!

18

19

KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark, Illinois (April Schenck)

Top sellers Mood rings (Nostalgic items), Park name plush, Name necklaces (MAI), Custom Street Signs

(Scandical), Glitter Name Key chains (Kalan), Beanie Ballz (Ty), Magnets (Clay Critters – USA), Neon apparel, Robots are trending but we will wait and see.

Must have items – Name drop items, Jewelry, Plush, and (old faithful) Mood Rings

Bottom Dwellers

Peace Signs and Feather jewelry

Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey (Souvenir, Gifts, & Novelties – June/July issue)

“Doing the homework” is necessary says Linda Dispirito

She reads all of the tween magazines to stay in the know…(page 124)

Venture River Water Park, Kentucky (Andrea York)

Top Sellers

Hermit Crabs (Shell Shanty), Pucker Powder, Calico Fudge, Aqua Socks, Swim Suits

20

hellokitty.com monsterenergy.com pepsi.com hm.com/us coke.com pacsun.com squireboone.com charmingshark.com puckerpowder.com imagesunwear.com narbuyers.com popularityproducts.com roxy.com flappinflags.com victoriassecret.com stephenjosephs.com aurora.com neeshafashion.com teenywingkini.com chicbuds.com forever21.com malibu-sugar.com zappos.com freepeople.com getagadget.com sgnmag.com lasergifts.com Tracking Trends (Melanie McIntosh - inspire.ca) trendstop.com trendwatching.com

© All trademarks are owned by their company respectively

21

22