Clopay Offers Options, Flexibility For Garage Doors

Providing more options on major purchases such as garage doors entices more customers to buy and install them, but it also makes the selection more confusing. To change that, Clopay Building Products Co. began rolling out a new garage door merchandising system this month that explains options and, most importantly, lets consumers touch the product."This is a touching/feeling industry," explains Larry Boris, national accounts manager for the Cincinnati-based manufacturer. "It's important to let customers not only see the designs, but also to let them feel the door's strength on both sides."To that end, the company's new warehouse rack display features a sturdy metal frame that uses actual samples of the company's good/better/best line on a hinged 3-foot-wide wing that swings open. This allows customers to see both sides of the samples while providing plenty of consumer information and options inside on the back wall. The 1-foot panel on the left side of the display fastens to the steel racking. The entire display opens on its hinge to allow access to the stock stored behind it.The display, created by Colony Display Systems Mfg., Hanover Park, Ill., is 4 feet wide with the wing closed nearly 7 feet tall with the 18-inch header on top and about 6 inches deep. It also comes in a freestanding version that includes a 2-foot-wide metal foot support for each side. The back panel consists of tempered 3/16-inch Masonite onto which the various descriptions and graphics are printed. The wing is about 3 inches deep and helps show the product's steel construction and the two inches of polystyrene sandwiched between the panels.The rear panel's consumer information includes a five-step program designed to lead customers through the selection process. It begins by illustrating and explaining the three different price points -- Value, Value Plus and Premium. These correspond to the samples on the wing.The next steps focus on selecting a style of panel, color, size and window options. In each case, the possibilities are depicted in graphics covering the top of the back panel. The middle portion of the panel describes how the door can be installed and also notes that the store offers an installation service in some locations. The bottom portion promotes the takeaway brochure and emphasizes the manufacturer's toll-free number.The display follows a simpler version that the company had used in the past, notes Boris. "This one is built to last," he says. That includes a black powder-coated steel frame, a continuous hinge on the side that swings the display away from the rack, and a full-length, self-closing hinge on the wing side to keep it out of the path of carts or forklifts.The unit also features a new fastening system that allows the display to be mounted either inside or outside the rack and to swing from either the left or right side."Flexibility is becoming more important even to the big-box retailers," Boris notes. "Even when they all follow a similar planogram, they still have to worry about columns, telephones, fire extinguishers and other obstacles. This format ensures we have the hardware and the design to fit any rack available.""We think this approach will increase retail sales and simplify garage-door purchases at the same time," says Jim Taylor, manager of marketing communications at Clopay. "The new system will help consumers understand garage-door options while allowing retailers to enjoy higher sales volumes and increases in special-order business."

Clopay Offers Options, Flexibility For Garage Doors

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