Not all Wood Displays are Created Equal
By Mike Tilden
Over the years I’ve had so many conversations with customers and sales personnel about the various material options for wood displays. It seems that there are a lot of misunderstandings about what is available and practical for a given budget, expected performance and finished appearance of the wood display. Also logistics, shipping costs and on-site assembly need to be considered when selecting and specifying the best materials to fit all of these considerations. Read on to learn more about the types of wooden fixtures used in retail stores.
Cost Effective CNC Milling
In our custom millwork shop and in most manufacturing facilities around the world nowadays, CAD engineering and CNC routers are the most common and cost-effective way of precisely milling hundreds or thousands of parts for any kind of wooden display stand or for wood display cases. The wood-based products best suited for this type of process are engineered panels, veneered plywood, particle board or MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) panels with either melamine or HPL (high pressure laminate) bonded to the surface.
Knock-Down Efficiency
These types of panels are most commonly available in ¾” inch thickness by 4’ X 8’. These panels can be efficiently processed by CNC router equipment, which is commonly referred to as panel processing. The CNC router leaves only the exposed edges to receive a finish which is usually accomplished using matching edge banding applied by another machine. Most types of fixtures in visual merchandising do not have exposed edges. Cam lock fasteners or screws and inserted nuts are typically used for final assembly, thereby enabling less costly flat knocked-down shipping and easy assembly of the retail display at the store level (Think Ikea furniture).
Finishing & Graphics
The panels and CNC processing enable a wide range of point of purchase wood displays to be built and shipped in relatively small quantities and at a practical cost due to lower manufacturing set-up costs and a more efficient use of forest products. This results in lower total material costs for the POP display. Any wood store fixture or wood display case can look like a stained and finished natural wood unit. In addition, there are many other custom colors and textures available. These finishes also readily accept various available graphic elements, which are typically a key ingredient of any retail display or visual merchandising initiative . The approach I have described is generally the most cost-effective way to engineer and build a wooden display stand; however, not all looks and design elements can always be achieved, and there are a number of aesthetic compromises and tradeoffs to consider.
Material Types
As a general rule, point of sale displays made of MDF and particle board panels will need to be in a dry indoor environment only. Also, over time fasteners can work loose and edge banding can be damaged. A plywood-based panel will be stronger, hold fasteners better and be lighter weight overall than composite wood materials like MDF or particle board; however, refinishes and pre-laminated panel colors are very limited, and the cost is about 30 – 40% higher in most cases.
In a future custom millwork blog, I will discuss elements involved in manufacturing store displays using natural wood lumber, including advantages and disadvantages.
Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than 3000 brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.
Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.’s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.
His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.