PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride was first discovered in the 1870s and today is one of the most commonly used thermoplastic polymers worldwide. PVC is most widely used in the construction, healthcare and apparel industries, but it also has become a staple material in the POP display industry. Within the world of retail merchandising, PVC is frequently used to make signs as well as retail POP displays.
PVC offers a number of compelling advantages relative to alternative materials used to make displays, namely: (1) It is strong but lightweight so it is cost-effective to ship; (2) It has a smooth surface and offers exceptional print quality (which is why it is frequently used for signs); (3) It is easy to work with from a manufacturing standpoint since it can be cut, grooved, folded, curved, and glued; (4) It is a readily available material and relatively affordable compared to alternative materials like acrylic. Its main disadvantage is it is a plastic and is therefore not eco-friendly.
In Part I of our 2-part series, we will share the first 7 of our 15 examples of retail displays that are constructed completely or primarily of PVC. All of these examples are graphic intensive and help to illustrate why PVC is often used to facilitate brand building at the point of sale.
- Survivor + Catalyst Counter Display– We created this PVC countertop display to demonstrate the key selling feature of the company’s iPhone case. We submerged an iPhone and case in a sealed clear acrylic cylinder filled with water. We constructed the display out of black PVC and include a curved front with direct printed graphics and a cut-out for the cylinder.
- iKeyp– We designed this countertop glorifier display to showcase the world’s first smartphone connected safe. Featuring 100% PVC construction with direct printed graphics, an embedded digital media player, and a mounted safe, this display was strong, lightweight, and ideal for sharing key messaging.
- Sengled Smart Lighting Display– Like the iKeyp display shown above we manufactured the Sengled display completely out of PVC and included a digital media player. We direct printed the graphics on PVC and created a curved front panel structure. Instead of embedding the digital media player, in this case we built a PVC frame and stand to add dimensionality to the display.
- SONY Endcap– PVC construction does not have to be limited to countertop displays. We designed and manufactured the endcap display shown below to merchandise SONY’s Vaio line of laptops. We direct printed the graphics and constructed a main merchandising shelf with lower compartments to house accessory products. We used internal PVC support ribs to add extra strength. The endcap was lightweight but could easily support the weight of a grown man.
- Ubiquiti Amplifi Counter Display– This display was constructed almost entirely of black PVC with direct printed back panel graphics. We added sheet metal strips on the slanted from lip and printed a removable magnetic vinyl graphic. We also built in live outlets with power so we could plug in the Amplifi product and show it in real time.
- Jandy Nicheless LED Lights Display– Like the Amplifi display above, we made the Jandy LED pool lights display out of black PVC which we cut and grooved on our CNC machine, direct printed on our flatbed printer, and then folded and glued the display before mounting the LED light products.
- Basu eAlarm Counter Display– The eAlarm display we made below shares a lot of the same characteristics of the prior examples we have discussed such as all-PVC construction and direct printed graphics. We wanted to share this example to show how PVC displays can incorporate plastic hooks to merchandises pegged products.
Thanks for checking out today’s blog. Be sure to look for Part II of this series in which we will share an additional 8 examples of PVC displays.
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.