Closing the loop on sustainable retail displays Specialists in graphic and display retail installation, 100% Group, recently conducted a survey of over 200 retail professionals with the responsibility for the creation, manufacture, management or implementation of brand retail displays, to assess how sustainability falls into their overall brand. Founder and Managing Director of 100%, Dan Williams, explores the findings:
Contributor: Dan Williams, Founder and Managing Director of 100% Group
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It is now common knowledge that sustainability is key for brands to maintain their competitive edge, which is why it’s not surprising that our research found that 78% of consumer electronics brands now have an environmental sustainability policy in place. However, it is no longer enough to simply show good intentions through professional communications. Brands must take a holistic approach to sustainability by building it into their strategies and business models. While brands may enforce sustainability principles through product design and manufacture, another key factor that they must consider if they wish to create a circular economy, is the visual merchandising of these products. Not only is this vital to taking steps towards a greener planet, implementing comprehensive sustainability practices, specifically in visual merchandising, can have a positive effect on their bottom line. Our research found that,
while implementing sustainability programmes on retail displays can seem expensive, incurring an average 18% rise in costs, doing so can reap benefits for the brand, producing an average 23% increase in sales. It could be argued that sustainability is the greatest challenge to present and future management practices. Understanding the concept of sustainability should be the first step to the implementation process. To put it simply, sustainability should be seen as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The best way to achieve this goal is by looking beyond current straight-line practices and creating a circular economy by gradually decoupling the design, manufacture and display of products from consumption of non-renewable resources and creating viable end of life solutions. Combining digital prowess with sustainable processes
