The North Face: Merchandised for Your Shopping Pleasure
The past few days have been a lesson in organization for all. Getz’s Department Store and Getzs.com had the pleasure of hosting two wonderful members of The North Face team here in
Marquette.
This team of two came to take on the project of helping our Getz’s staff display our North Face products effectively, department to department. When we met them for breakfast on a rainy Wednesday morning, we began discussing a game plan. Considering we just received 500 cases of North Face apparel, I don’t think they knew what they were in for…
The first steps into the store seemed a little overwhelming for Ashlee, the official Merchandise Coordinator. The crisis was that we have SO much product and SO many varieties that our space had become very limited. After the store tour, we put our heads together and gathered our resources. Before we knew it, our dilemma was becoming
Mission: Possible.
We began by organizing men’s fleece and Tekware by color. By folding just two styles of fleece tops, including the classic TKA 100 Glacier Quarter Zip, we were able to eliminate a whole rack and gain some much needed floor space! We were even able to display some new 
pieces that were really striking and well-designed, such as the wooly Scythe Jacket and the sporty Stealth Blocked Fleece Quarter Zip. The North Face menswear floor now significantly resembles displays I had seen at The North Face store in San Francisco. It looks so appealing and easy to shop!
The men’s coat room was another story. We had several brands and dozens of styles mixed in together, creating a melting pot of colors and confusion. Ashlee showed me how to organize not just by color, but also by category, such as Snowsports, Summit Series, and Outerwear. The Summit Series area now clearly displays the most technical jackets The North Face currently has in production, like the Stitchless Fountainhead Guide Jacket! The color stories within each line now complement each other so well, that it helps the customers eyes move section to section, helping them to visualize the diversity within each collection. Even timeless Snowsports jackets, like the Vortex TriClimate, seemed to stand out from the rest! When we were finished, we had clean sections of each series, and within each series, the jackets were also organized by their color and function!
We took similar actions on both the women’s Tekware and the women’s coat room. When dealing with so many styles and colors of jackets, as a woman, I want to be able to see similar colors and styles together without having to search through the whole area. We now have the same categories organized in the women’s coat room, creating a beautiful rainbow of outerwear, fleece, insulated coats, and Summit Series technical jackets. The insulation section looked particularly sharp with the new metallic Metropolis Parka and Gotham Jackets displayed side-by-side. The clean 
appearance makes the room look fully stocked without looking crowded. We were also finally able to exhibit the Women’s FreeRide Collection that contains some of the most amazing Snowsports pieces I’ve seen, like the Elixir Jacket and the Baffin Plaid Jacket! We took extra care to emphasize the new coats in The North Face’s winter line, like the Boulevard Jacket, which has already proven to be popular with local shoppers.
Overall, we are so excited to show off our new displays to local and e-shoppers alike! Thanks to our friends at The North Face, we are learning more and more everyday on how to make shopping easier and more enjoyable for each and every one of our customers!
-Elisa Eminger, Getz’s, Inc.