Is the U.S. in the early stages of a manufacturing renaissance? It may be too early to tell, but what we do know is the obstacles to overseas manufacturing continue to grow which has led to a renewed interest in gaining greater control over supply chains and bringing production back closer to home. What we don’t know is whether the reshoring and nearshoring trend will be sustainable once the economic realities of domestic manufacturing become clear. Welcome to Part III of our 5-part blog series on Made in the USA displays. In case you missed them, you may be interested in checking out Part I and Part II of our series.
In today’s post, we’ll look at 10 more examples of POP displays we made in the USA which we will hope will serve as inspiration for brands and retailers looking to reduce their current overreliance on overseas manufacturing.
- Ridge Wallet– We were challenged to design a counter display to merchandise Ridge Wallet’s sleek, minimalist wallet which is made from space-grade titanium and comes equipped with RFID-blocking technology. We created an MDF counter display with a slanted front which we used to mount two wallets with credit cards and fake money. We built a clear acrylic cover to encase the wallets and added 5 recessed product bins along with a removable direct-printed back panel.
2. Brighton Collectibles Handbag Display– Although China continues to be the largest furniture producer and exporter in the world, we always look for opportunities to demonstrate the furniture-quality craftsmanship that is available to customers interested in Made in the USA displays. We produced the Brighton handbag window display shown below using stained solid wood uprights and prefinished birch plywood shelves. The display featured recessed LED lighting under each shelf. We seamlessly embedded the electrical wires in the solid wood posts and mounted the transformer out of sight under the bottom shelf.
3. Bluesound Counter Display– We had the opportunity to design and fabricate this counter display for Bluesound, the world’s first and most award-winning wireless hi-res audiophile-grade multiroom system. We used MDF with direct printed graphics for the basic structure and added speakers with pre-programmed sound tracks, back-lit play buttons, rear base lighting, floating shelves, a digital media player featuring a continuous looping video, and a brochure holder.
4. Heineken Case Topper– The Heineken case topper shown below was designed to sit on top of stacked cases of beer. The case topper featured an MDF core, a bonded metal outer layer with direct printed graphics, a 2-sided interchangeable sign, and a mounted dimensional red star.
5. Dreampad Pillow Display– Dreampad makes a line of unique, patented, technology-enabled pillows that send soothing sounds and sleep music through gentle vibrations to your body that only you can hear. The floor display we created below was featured on the hit show “Shark Tank.” The display featured MDF construction with a white melamine finish, solid bamboo shelf fronts with PVC graphics, direct printed back panel graphics, and a digital media player with a continuous looping video that told the Dreampad story.
6. Riedel Counter Display– We used glossy black acrylic to create a high-end look for these Riedel premium drinkware countertop glorifier displays that went into Macy’s stores. We direct printed the graphics on our flatbed printer, made the back panel removable, and created individual branded pedestals with printed descriptions for each of the 6 drinkware varieties.
7. Dragon Sunglass Podium Display– We made this simple but elegant sunglass podium display for Dragon. We used MDF with a white melamine structure for the base. We added wood trim, black acrylic laser-cut dimensional logos, and a clear acrylic topper.
8. Glacier Distilling Floor Display– Nestled in the foothills of Glacier National Park, Glacier Distilling is a craft distillery specializing in small-batch whiskeys. They were looking for a Montana-themed floor display to merchandise its line of whiskeys. We made the display shown below out of solid wood and plywood which we painted white. We added shelf graphics, PVC side graphics, and a barn topper which we also constructed out of PVC.
9. 9Five Sunglass Display– 9Five offers a line of luxury, handmade sunglasses and prescription eyewear. We made this video arcade sunglass floor display to appeal to the brand’s target younger demographic. The display featured MDF construction, a locking glass case with glass shelves, an LED back lit panel and header, and gaming buttons with coin slots and a real joy stick.
10. Circle K Beverage Bar– We’ll wrap up today’s post with a convenience store beverage bar we made for Circle K. We combined MDF construction with a solid surface counter top. We included cabinets with inside storage, cup dispensers, and a trash receptacle. This fixture was built to withstand the abuse that comes with high-traffic environments.
Thanks for checking out today’s post. Be sure to look for Part IV of our series in which we will be sharing 10 more examples of Made in the USA 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.