Tuesday 14 October 2008

arken win six POPAI awards

arken are pleased to announce they have received six awards in the POPAI awards 2008. This includes 2 Gold’s, 3 Silver’s and a Bronze award.

The first Gold award was awarded for the Kwik-Fit wall display – A merchandising unit used to sell car accessories to customers whilst they wait to have their tyres changed.

The judges’ comments:


“The clear winner in this category, this was a well thought out design that met all the requirements of the brief and worked well for customers.
The unit was designed to sit in the reception space of Kwik Fit outlets to encourage customers to buy while they waited for tyre fittings. As the reception space had not been designed with retail sales in mind, the unit had to offer modular flexibility and needed to be easily maintained. The design provided clear range segmentation and displayed a wide variety of product types and sizes effectively and logically. Sales performance was well ahead of expectation and provided a true incremental opportunity for the retailer. Good use of space, well branded, operationally efficient and customer friendly – a winner all round.”


The Sennheiser headphone comparator display also won Gold . This interactive display allows customers to listen to ‘on board’ sound samples and compare the sound quality of the various noise cancelling head phones available.


Judges’ comments:


“The Sennheiser comparator unit allows shoppers to aurally appreciate the quality of the headphones particularly when compared with those supplied with MP3 players.
The extra details such as the ability to demonstrate noise cancelling technology and being able to test with different music genres impressed the judges and it was thought to be an excellent execution of the brief.”


For Microsoft arken designed a keyboard and mouse display – A category initiative for Microsoft featuring high performing keyboards and mice, allowing hands on customer interaction. This design won a silver award.
Judges’ comments:


”The clear, space efficient design with good use of materials enabled marketing objectives to be achieved. Being able to ‘play’ with the product appears to have really driven sales with strong category uplifts.”





New York Colour Cosmetic Update Project for Del Laboratories Ltd also received silver.


The judges commented that “This display was designed to be functional whilst encouraging consumers to browse. An effective solution to market was of paramount importance so a facility to refresh units with minimal disruption and cost was also essential. All these requirements were delivered. The promotional mechanic was very clear with the offer communicated at eye level in the middle of the display. The NYC brand has a considerable product range but the unit was designed to enable the stand to remain clean and tidy in appearance while still allowing customers to test the range.”







arken’s ‘Maplin Battery Display ‘ for Maplin Electronics Ltd also received Silver.

Judges’ comments:

“With a return on investment in just four months and a sales increase of 118% over the Christmas period, this flat-pack display with flexible graphic “wraps” was quick and easy to assemble.
Initially an own-label unit, the adaptability and the ease with which graphics could be changed allowed for brand specific promotions and thus increased the longevity of the display.”

Finally the House of Prince Horeca Unit – An illuminated display to create brand awareness amongst the trendy bar crowd in Scandinavia, received a Bronze award.






Thursday 24 July 2008

Latest Industry News

Point of purchase activities act as a powerful catalyst to buy and reflect the increasing spontaneity of shopping. Impulse purchases now account for 50% of all purchases and 60% of value of the shop. In addition, consumers who have decided to buy a certain brand change their mind on average 42% of the time.

Ref: I to I research July 2008.

POPAI have developed a new web-based learning course designed to give an entry-level overview of the P-O-P industry is now available online. The interactive and self-paced e-Course offers learners a concise, practical grounding in the day-to-day workings of the industry with five 30-minute sessions covering: • The retail environment • Shopper behaviour and the role of P-O-P • Processes involved in the production of temporary, permanent, digital and semi-permanent P-O-P • Hot topics in P-O-P today (including green issues, measurement, effectiveness and compliance)• Digital Media in Retail.

http://www.popai.co.uk/

Thursday 17 July 2008

Retailers protest at government proposals to ban tobacco displays in stores

Retailers are protesting at Government proposals to ban or restrict the display of tobacco products in stores across the UK, according to a survey of 1,000 independent stores carried out by trade magazine Independent Retail News.

On May 31 the UK government launched its consultation on the Future of Tobacco Control, which closes on September 8. Also in May, the Scottish Government launched a Smoking Prevention Action Plan, which includes similar proposals such as banning of tobacco products on display behind the counter, banning packs of cigarettes less than 20 and banning tobacco vending machines.

Highlights of the survey include:* 85% of retailers oppose the moves* 89% fear high costs of new gantries and conversions as sales go under the counter* 79% say sales will fall* 78% fear sales of fake cigarettes will rise* 79% say security is issueMost retailers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, 84.4%, said they did not agree with the proposal to ban displays.

http://www.talkingretail.com/

Tuesday 15 July 2008

arken nominated for six POPAI awards

arken are pleased to announce they have been nominated for six awards in the POPAI awards 2008. They are very excited to see how many golds they get this time round!! Units nominated include Kwik Fit wall display, House of Prince horeca unit, Maplin battery display, Sennheiser headphone comparator unit , the NYC cosmetics display and the Microsoft keyboard and mouse Dislplay.

arken will find out the final results at the POPAI award ceremony in London on October 9th.

arken - have it all framed up!



The new ‘Magnetic Poster Frame’, available in sizes A4 to A1, is a curved plastic design, providing a fresh and simple approach to displaying posters. Posters are easy to change, by simply lifting the front sheet, making this design very practical yet impacting. The frame is also durable and easy to clean and is available off the shelf through arken direct, or can be made to order in any specified colour or size.

The new ‘Frameless Frame’ available from size A4 to A1 provides a modern contemporary look and a completely new approach to displaying posters, whilst still being both practical and easy to use. Mounted next to each other they can provide a continuous graphic or repeated graphic/message, or simply used solo they create a virtually invisible display that lets the poster do all the work.

To buy online or for more info on our other poster display products visit http://www.arken-direct.com/

Wednesday 25 June 2008

Buy online with arken direct


You can now buy poster frames, poster hanging systems, pavement signs, literature dispensers and illuminated poster display lightboxes online from arken direct.

Manufactured in the UK you can save up to 10% when purchasing online, and delivery will normally be within two working days.

POPAI awards

arken win gold for Guinness Refrigeration unit, Diageo
The judges said "we were impressed by the Guinness refrigeration units impact and brand presence. Combining the convenience of chilled cans and multi-pack stock in one location and has boosted sales in 150 stores in Ireland