Tristan Sissons, trading director at glove and footwear specialist Briers, reveals how to make the most of the peak season...

Market research shows the importance of high impact point of sale. Briers are the market leaders in their product ranges, a position which fantastic point of sale (POS) plays a significant role in growing. We encourage all types of concepts for our retailers, including new solutions, working with individual retailers to respond to the needs of their customers. We believe it is important to keep stands updated with new designs and regular POS refreshes.

With the peak season approaching, a collective effort by suppliers and retailers can ensure a fantastic summer of gardening and it is important to maximize basket spend, so eye-catching POS is essential. Gloves are THE ideal pick-up line, so a combination of high footfall location, great stands and eye catching POS is key to maximizing sales.

Briers work closely with merchandising expert, John Hawkins, who always introduces innovative merchandising concepts. Working with a leading industry expert ensures that our trade customers have access to professional retail support and fixture advice, which leads to increased sales.

Garden centre sales in July and August 2013 were up 25% and 13% respectively over the same months in 2012*. GTN recently reported that sales of products in its Bestsellers list have increased by 11.2%*. These figures are a clear reminder that our industry can really grow in the summer.

We want our POS stands to keep catching customers’ attention. If the offers remain the same, customers lose interest. By keeping offers fresh, we keep Briers at the forefront of customers’ minds.

During peak times, the shop floor can be a hectic place. It is essential to keep shelves and merchandise stands fully stocked and presentations structured and attractive.

Keeping stock visible is crucial, as having products at the fore creates further opportunities to buy.

Similarly, cluttered shelves reflect poorly on the brands, the products and the retailer, and this could lead to a drop in sales at this critical time of the year.

Spot-checks help prevent these problems and ensure shelves, planograms and merchandise stands are used to their full potential.

At Briers we provide proactive merchandising support. Our teams help retailers with any merchandising requirements and queries. We listen to retailers and devise the best solution for them.

This bespoke approach enables us to continuously raise retail margins for retailers such as Dobbies and Homebase – and we’re certain the trend will continue. It also reinforces the Briers’ reputation among existing customers while attracting new ones as well.

This year, we see potential to win new customers – from the avid gardener to the trendy festival-goer seeking out the latest summer essentials.

* http://www.diyweek.net/news/news.asp?id=16964

*http://tgcmc.newsweaver.co.uk/gtnxtra/1clkelbo6q5?a=1&p=46507545&t=20355025