Traditionally a hanger would contain a ‘main drop’ (large piece) of a fabric which would be complimented by a waterfall of other colourways of the same fabric, quickly giving visibility.
A range of damasks, plain weaves or velvets would be easily viewed as all colourways would be visible at the same time.
But do hangers have another job to do? Rather than being a workhorse means of displaying a range of plains, can they be cleverly used to showcase hero fabric designs??
Imagine you are a furniture or curtain retailer – you sell the fabrics of the famous brands, but when you buy pattern books, you find that only half of the contents are relevant to your customer base – if you focus solely on furniture, for example, you may not want to invest in a book that contains non-upholstery fabric as part of the collection.
Imagine you are a customer buying furniture. Would you want to be presented with a vast library of pattern books – although they may be enticing, mysterious and tell a beautiful story, there will be a degree of detective work needed to ascertain the ideal fabrics for your furnishing choice.
This is where themed hangers are finding a place. Fabric design brands can pick the most relevant, most appropriate, best-selling fabrics from their launch collections and consolidate these in to themed fabric hanger. The hangers may be themed by colour or by personal style (contemporary, retro, classic, bachelor chic).
The customer can then approach a rack of hangers – all fabric displayed and fully visible – and can start to subconsciously whittle down their choice by brand, style or colour. Before they know it, the customer has selected a couple of themed hangers, each with about a dozen fabrics displayed, and their fabric purchase journey is quickly and easily in motion.
For more information on how Pike Textiles can help you benefit from best practice retail advice, please contact caroline.adams@pike-textiles.com by email or by phone: 01945 461 361.