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Free Tour! What has Fixture Lab been up to in Denver, Colorado?

At Fixture Lab, we value versatility. We love being your go-to for a variety of needs, from lighting to heavy lifting. The downside, however, is that people sometimes ask us: “what is it that you do, exactly?” Since “anything” isn’t a satisfying answer, and “everything” would be an exaggeration, we thought of a creative way to show you what Fixture Lab does. Join us on a walk-through of Good Turn Cycles, a recently-completed bike shop in Denver, Colorado. You’ll learn about our process, expertise, and how Fixture Lab can help you create an amazing store!

 

Here is just a sneak peek at what you will find once you press play below:

 

Side note: in case you missed it, our first walk-through video was of The Hub, a bike shop in Jackson, Wyoming. Go check it out once you’re done here!

 

 

As you’re watching and chomping on some popcorn, take special note of how Fixture Lab can help with:
  • Space planning. Turning your space into a thriving retail store is where we shine!
  • Lighting. Everything about it. Where, which lights, and why.
  • Fabrication. We know the people who can get any job done.
  • Fixtures (duh!). It’s in the name. We provide versatile, effective display solutions.
  • Installation. We’re happy to put in the legwork.
  • Moving shipping containers with forklifts
  • Hanging big, weird metal structures

You tell us! We’d love to help make your vision a reality.

 

When you’re done, reach out to Good Turn to let them know how their store inspired you to remodel yours. Hungry for more? Check out the walk-through of The Hub we mentioned earlier.

THE HUB 

in Floorplaning / Retail store design / Retail store fixture news / Retail store lighting / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Take this virtual tour, and see what Fixture Lab does!

The Hub Bicycles

At Fixture Lab, we get this question all the time: “We are remodeling our store and we could use some help, but I don’t really know what you guys actually do in the process. What do you do?” So, as we were looking at our photos of The Hub, we got to thinking that this would be an ideal opportunity to show off the new store AND help everyone understand the things we typically do in the store design/remodeling process.

Check out the video. Inside you’ll see nicely handled examples of these common things we address:

  • Creating great storytelling opportunities in your store
  • Great store flow design
  • Specifying and using standard and custom Fixture Lab fixtures
  • Service, cash wrap and bar counter design and fabrication
  • Choosing paint and other finishes, including tasty wood wall textures
  • Custom bike displays
  • Adding local flavor to the space
  • Custom graphics and signage (interior and exterior) including fun items like neon signs
  • New concept for a “cash wrap” transaction counter
  • Designing and utilizing sexy, effective lighting

You will love this tour, so pop some popcorn and your beverage of choice, and have fun!

When you’re done, reach out to The Hub and tell them what a good job they did!

 

in Floorplaning / Retail store design / Retail store fixture news / Retail store lighting / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Bike retailers. This is your chance to get free stuff from Fixture Lab!

If you are a bicycle retailer, you’re definitely familiar with the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA). And you might also know that Fixture Lab has been a proud member for a few years now. If you haven’t checked out the long list of benefits that NBDA offers, you should check them out right now: https://nbda.com/membership-benefits

Fixture Lab and NBDA logos

We just wanted to bring our own great benefits to your attention, because, well, who doesn’t like discounts and free stuff! 

NBDA Preferred Partner discount:

Store fixture special: $100 off any fixture order over $1000, or $500 off any order over $5000!

Store design special: FREE in-depth, custom store remodel budget creation and consultation…a $500 value. Tap our decades of store design, brand development, and remodeling expertise with a detailed analysis of your situation. This step alone could save you thousands of dollars!

How do you get started? Just give us a call: (303) 777-2014

For extra credit: Want to learn some great stuff about bike shop store design? Check out the Fixture Lab webinar: https://nbda.com/bike-shop-of-the-future

in Retail store design / Retail store enhancements / Retail store fixture news / Retail store remodeling  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Defy gravity, and your customer’s ability to ignore your bike display

Have a unique spot for a product?  Need a creative way to display a bike – or anything for that matter?

We have to develop new ideas all the time so we are a great resource for ideas, and all the ways to produce them. This example is from the Alchemy store that we designed a while back. We have always loved this particular display. Need something unique for your own store? You know who to call!

in Retail store enhancements / Retail store fixture news / Selling bicycle components / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

The Most Customizable Retail Display, Ever

The Fixture Lab Gondola

If you don’t know about this completely customizable fixture, it’s about time you learn!

A common fixture in most retail stores, as you probably already know, is the Gondola. Gondolas are great for displaying a plethora of items in one cohesive, beautiful fixture. And when you have wall fixtures and gondolas that are the same system, your merchandising world becomes A WHOLE LOT BETTER because you can put just about any fixture that goes on the wall, on the gondola….and back again. That means that moving product around is EASY and you are about 999% more likely to update displays more frequently. When you move stuff around more frequently your customers are kept more engaged. When your customers are more engaged you SELL MORE! Not to mention, when you have a nicely fixtured store, it’s great looking. Who can argue with being great looking?!

We can build you just about any size, configuration, and finish, that blends seamlessly into your store’s style…so give us a call and let’s get started.

in Retail store design / Retail store fixture news / Retail store remodeling / Selling apparel  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Increase Sales Today With This Wheel Display Hack For Your Bike Shop

If you are a bike shop, you have wheels to display. If you have wheels to display, then you are absolutely challenged with the problem of how to display them in a beautiful, easy to use, way. This is the exact problem that causes thousand dollar wheelsets to be displayed on 69¢ 2x4s at bike shops all over the place 😉 Showing wheels can be a pain in the A@#$!…until now.

You need to meet the ECLIPSE WHEEL DISPLAYER!

This super simple and elegant fixture literally hides behind the wheel, so that all the customer sees is the pretty wheel you are showing! And because it doesn’t rely on the QR or the Thru-axle to hold the wheel, your wheel display life is about 300% easier! Check it out.

 

 

in Retail store design / Retail store enhancements / Retail store fixture news / Retail store remodeling / Selling bicycle components / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

A Cool Bike Display Idea You Need To Use In Your Bike Shop Today

Is your bike shop needing a clean, sophisticated way to display bike frames? Tires of having to rig up goofy ways to hold expensive framesets on your walls? Well, we have the perfect solution for you.

Are you ready to hear what this cool idea is?? Okay. We’ll tell you. Here it is:

The Frame Standoff Set

Why it’s cool:

Aside from making your bike frames look clean, sophisticated, organized, and all-around beautiful in your shop, the Frame Standoff Set keeps your valuable frames safe…mounted to the wall until you take it down.

What it is:

The Frame Standoff set includes these two stand-off style brackets made out of CNC aluminum for a very polished look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out the set on the website here for pricing and order details.

Note: Some frames these days are really goofy, and sometimes they require different washers to display perfectly. Fear not, we’ll help you if that’s the case.
in Retail store fixture news / Selling bicycle components  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Elevate Your Visual Merchandising With This Crazy-Flexible Fixture

Introducing every store merchandiser’s best buddy: The Outty Tower!

Meet The Outty Tower, the completely customizable fixture that can solve just about any of your in-store display problems. No matter what product you want to display, the Outty Tower can do it, big or small. Create any type of tower for your unique store layout, and then change it, and change it again..and again.

Why it’s cool:

Place It Anywhere

Literally, anywhere. In the middle of your sales floor, against a wall, let it stand alone, combine towers, the options are endless.

Place it on a wall

Create a wall of merchandise that’s not attached to the wall! Then, easily move the towers around when you want to refresh your visual merchandise display.

Standalone

The Outty Tower holds all sorts of products, and it takes up almost no floor space (only 2.5 sq ft). That means that it can fit just about anywhere you need it!

Combine towers

Create the ultimate tower with multiple towers, and display even more.

 

Configure yours today!

Just give us a call, and let us know what you want to show and we’ll help you dial-in the perfect tower. 303-777-2014

 

If you’re looking for something similar and super customizable, we’ve also got what you’re looking for. Check out our Gondola post, The Most Customizable Retail Display, Ever” here to learn about how this display item can be custom made to fit beautifully inside your store.

in Retail store design / Retail store fixture news / Selling bicycle components / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Huge News: Fixture Lab Teams Up With NBDA

If you run a bike shop and you are breathing, we have huge news.
We’ve partnered up with the National Bicycle Dealers Association aka NBDA. As an NBDA Preferred Partner, Fixture Lab is super excited to help bring the NBDA members extra special discounts on our unique services, because we really like you. We want your business and store to be successful!
What this partnership means: we get to bring more value to you by helping you save money to create your dream store. Whether it includes just a few new pedal display fixtures or an entire remodel, we can absolutely make your dream store happen for you. Stand out from the fierce retail competition and let Fixture Lab help make your store sing.

What we’re offering you:

As a preferred partner, we’re discounting store fixtures and offering a FREE in-depth, custom store remodel budget creation/consultation…a $500 value.

The good news is: It’s crazy easy to take advantage of these sweet deals! All you need to do is be a member of the NBDA and hop on over to their website which you can find here! Happy Designing!
in Retail store design / Retail store fixture news / Retail store remodeling / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Is there any difference between canned sparkling waters?

FINALLY we are digging into some of the preeminent and pressing questions of our age: Is there any difference between canned bubbly waters? And if there is a difference, then which one is the best?

Why this topic for Fixture Lab? Why not! Carbonated water makes people happy. Happy people make good decisions and they take great care of customers. So toss out all the other advice we have given on retail stuff and just do bubbly water right;-)

I’m a big fan of a little gassy water to accompany my coffee. When I buy the water, I have always wondered…Is there any difference? Should I just be buying the cheapest one? So we decided to do a super scientific blind taste test.

The bubbly water we tested

For our test, we grabbed three common brands that cost all cost a bit different: Soleil (Safeway’s store brand), LaCroix, and Bubly

How we tested

We poured equal amounts of the different products into matching cups. The sticky notes had the name of the product on the bottom, so we could keep track. Then, we had people taste test and take as much time as they wanted to determine if they tasted a difference, and which one they liked the best. We switched the order for every participant to keep it random.

The results

Bubbly water test results

To be honest, I was the most challenged to taste any difference between the three waters. Beth, Christina and kimberly all said they could taste a clear difference. I thought they were lying until I asked them to identify the product by tasting it after we finished the test.

 

Interestingly, Bubly didn’t do too well in our test. Soleil and LaCroix battled it out for top honors, which was also interesting because those two represent the two ends of the price spectrum.

In a completely unfair and unscientific twist, I personally am going to buy Bubly water. Even though it was most people’s 3rd favorite, and it’s more expensive than Soleil or LaCroix, I like the can a whole bunch more. Drinking out of a can that I like makes the whole experience better. Take that Soleil!

The take-aways

  1. There is actually a subtle difference in taste between these waters!
  2. We recommend Soleil or LaCroix for taste, and Bubly for can design
  3. If you have a really discerning taste, we recommend that you taste all your options before you commit to the water you want to buy. It would be horrible for your to get the wrong one.

Fun extra fact:

We have heard people say LaCroix differently. Here is the correct pronunciation: La-CROY, rhymes with enjoy (that’s from the LaCroix web site)

in Retail store fixture news / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Hands down, our Single Dip and Triple Dip pedal displayers are our most popular fixtures for a number of great reasons.

The biggest reason: They sell more pedals!

  • Displaying the pedals outside the packaging give the customer a chance to interact with the product
  • Since the pedals are threaded into the fixture, not loose, they are more secure and safe from dropping/damage
  • Each displayer easily attaches to a crossbar (Fixture Lab or Opto) in seconds, which also means you can move them anywhere you have crossbars in the store
  • Sign holders give you the perfect way to display all of the info/specs for each pedal…and gives you the chance to brand your own display
  • Available in Fixture Lab silver or Opto’s Stardust Silver colors
  • They save space, organize your display and they make your pedals drop-dead sexy!

So go on, dig those pedals out of that big glass coffin display case and get rid of the coffee beans! Find out what all the hype is about and order some up!

Single Dip Pedal Displayer: $16
Triple Dip Pedal Displayer: $29

Happy Pedaling!

in Retail store fixture news / Selling bicycle components  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

The Best Bike Shop Retail Design Blog on the Internet

Blogs are for dorks bannnerBlogs are for dorks, so who better to have one than us?! And now, without further ado,  welcome to our (dorky) blog! (Please toss your own confetti here) We have big plans for great content as we move ahead. In it you will find all sorts of retail design inspiration and information…and the occasional random post that has nothing to do with anything, other than being remarkably witty and charming.

 

We hope you enjoy your stay and please reach out and let us know what content you would like to see in the near future. It could be anything. Anything. You know we are always game! Thanks for the visit! Come back soon!

 

And make sure you check out our recent posts:

• Brian’s ‘How To Design Your Bike Shop’ presentation for the Brooklyn Bicycle Co

• National Bike Dealers Association presentation

 

Are you looking for design or layout assistance for your bike shop? Toss us a note or give us a call at 303-777-2014 today and let’s talk about how we can help.

in Retail store design / Retail store fixture news / Retail store remodeling / Uncategorized  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments

Talking Bike Shop Business (and Design) Strategy in Napa, CA

Brian's P2 presentation in NapaThe National Bike Dealers Association recently asked Brian to present to their Profitability Project Group #2 (there are three P2 groups). The Profitability Project (P2) aims to improve business for all the participating specialty bike retailers. Of course we took them up on the offer because the Profitability Project groups are made up of some of the best bicycle retailers in the country. The fact that the meeting was in Napa, CA didn’t hurt either!

 

Brian’s presentation was called, “Being the bike shop of the future is all about being a great retailer of today”. In it, Brian discussed the history of bike shops from the 1800’s to years in the future. He shared a whole bunch of things that today’s best retailers outside the bike world do today, and a zillion ways the bike shop of the future will change from today’s model.Slides from the P2 show

 

We are considering hosting an online webinar where Brian would deliver this presentation in its entirety. If you are interested in attending, click here and we will send you further details when it happens.

 

Get Involved in P2

If you are a bike dealer and you have never heard of a P2 group, it would be in your very best interest to look into it. Each group is made up of non-competing dealers who meet to learn, compare, network, examine and analyze specific data from their business to help and support each other in business operation and strategy. The retailers within these groups are all very well respected dealers around the country with awesome shops. So, it’s a tremendous honor to be asked to present at one of their meetings!

If you want to find out more about the NBDA or P2 groups, check out their site: nbda.com

 

P2 logo   NBDA logo

 

Check out Brian’s additional presentation on ‘How To Design Your Bike Shop’

in Retail store design / Retail store fixture news / Retail store remodeling / Speaking engagements  by Brian Hawkins 0 comments