The grocer's window book; a compilation of practical plans for displaying merchandise in the grocer's window, together with ideas on store fronts, planning of the store, show card writing, lighting and photographing the store window

Front matter

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Foreword

The Purpose of the Grocer’s Window Book

T HE Grocer’s Window Book, since its first appearance, has filled a long-felt want in the grocery field. Nothing had been provided previous to the first edition which filled the requirements and needs of thousands of grocers in the United States for suggestions on proper display for the windows of their stores. The first edition met with an enthusiastic response. So, too, did the second and third editions. And now the fourth edition, revised and augmented, makes its appearance to further provide suggestions and material for the grocers for whose use it is intended.

The fourth edition of The Grocer’s Window Book fills a need which is still as urgent and a demand as insistent as when the first edition was published. Especially during the past few years, when there has been a more keen spirit of competition existing between retail grocers and a greater desire for better and more scientific methods of merchandising, has there been a demand for window display material for the grocery field such as has been presented more adequately in other fields.

In this edition, new material has been added, changes have been made, and every effort has been made to render the volume still more valuable to the grocers of the country. The plans and suggestions in this book conform necessarily with those limitations which exist in the grocery bus¬ iness and especially in the smaller stores. They are not intended as iron¬ clad rules, but as suggestions which can be used for preparing displays according to the space limitations and conditions affecting the store where the displays are to be used. They can be changed and varied as the win¬ dow trimmer sees fit. They provide a basis on which the ideas of the grocer and clerk can be built.

Every endeavor has been made to provide full and adequate material. All holidays and special occasions for which a window can be desired are represented. Displays for various kinds of foods and combinations of foods and a large number of novelty displays complete an assortment

Foreword of displays which it is hoped may provide the grocer with suggestions for practically every display need and ideas which can be developed into orig¬ inal windows of his own.

Various other matters which are necessarily closely associated with the window display are presented in these pages. The matter of store fronts, window lighting, show card writing, window ventilation, and pho¬ tographing the store window are of importance; and the general arrange¬ ment of the interior of the store is of such vital importance that we pre¬ sent a discussion of store layout with diagrams and illustrations of suc¬ cessful stores in the hope that they may be of aid to grocers who may desire to work out a more satisfactory arrangement within their own stores.

PART ONE The Grocery Store

Information and Suggestions Concerning Modern Store Fronts, Ventilation and Lighting of Store Windows, Photographing the Store Window, Show Card Writing, and Modern Store Fronts.

CHAPTER ONE The Modern Store Front

W HEN the founder of Marshall Field & Co., said a number of years back that goods well displayed are more than half sold, he did not have in mind the sort of merchandise usually sold by a grocer. However, this trite saying of the merchant prince of State street has even a stronger application to the grocer’s trade than to most other retail stores for the very important reason that the average grocer has more customers come to his store with their minds undecided as to what they want to buy. For this reason the grocer may with the proper sort of displays help his customers make up their minds and incidentally sell a lot more articles than the customers would have purchased if allowed to think out the list of things they wanted for the kitchen. It is these extra sales that are pulled by the strong displays in the windows and inside the store that gives the grocer increased profits without increase in overhead.

This chapter has to do with the arrangement of the show windows so that the grocer can make the best possible displays of as many of his

With this arrangement of store front, the maximum of display space is obtained by reason of the island window in the center with the vestibule entrance different lines at the same time. That the design and construction of the windows do make a big difference in the success or failure of a grocer’s displays has been proven times without number. Thousands of grocers have demonstrated that by remodeling their store fronts and show windows they have been able to increase their sales from 15 to 30 percent. Capi¬ talizing the cost of such an improvement over a period of 10 years—im¬ provements of this nature are subject to a 10 percent write-off charge when figuring income tax—it will therefore be easy to figure that the merchant will obtain a good profit from such an investment.

Every grocer knows that it is next to impossible to display green goods and fruit in the same window with package goods and staples. The grocer then should have two or more distinct windows so that he may make at least two general divisions in his display. Three or more windows would, of course, be better. The design shown in the halftone picture on page 9 has proven very successful for the average size grocery, from 20 to 30 feet wide. Note there are two windows about 4 feet deep on each side of the entrance doors and that between the doors is a large case which extends partly outside but principally inside. This center case is used

Various ideas for store fronts can be obtained from this illustration. Methods are shown for obtaining window display space, vestibule space and entrance to the upper floor

The Modern Store Front exclusively for green goods and fruit. Then again the large entrance way proves very inviting. Two doors make crowding almost impossible. The floor in the side display windows might be 6 or 8 inches higher so as to bring the displays closer to the eyes of those on the sidewalk. Some merchants prefer to have the floor at this height and then use platforms inside the windows on which to display the smaller package goods.

Sweating and frosting of window glass bothers grocers more frequently than other merchants. The cause for this is found in the large amount of moisture which most groceries contain. This is true even of most package goods. Some of the better copper store front construction which has become the most common set¬ ting for plate glass has holes in q the sash to provide for ventila¬ tion and drainage. By means of a slide in the back member these holes may be closed at will so as to give protection against dust. The windows in which the dryer groceries are to be displayed should be closed tightly. That is the back floor and ceiling of the window should be made as air tight as possible. In this way, when the slide is opened in the sash, the temperature inside the window is nearly that on the outside.

Sweating or frosting is caused by condensing of the moisture in the air inside the window.

The condensing process is brought about by a difference in temperature. Be sure that no heating pipes are installed near to the enclosed windows.

The window for the green goods and fruit should not be enclosed. These goods have an excessive amount of moisture and if put in an enclosed win¬ dow they soon would saturate the air with an excessive amount of moisture. Con¬ densation WOUld take place Vertical Section of a Typical Store Front under such conditions even in the early fall months. The writer knows of a candy maker who has trouble with sweating windows in the middle of the summer every time he puts a batch of candy fresh from his kitchen in his windows.

On page 10 we show floor plans of several different kinds of window layouts which have proven practical and effective in different cases. The type of windows most desirable will depend entirely upon the class of merchandise, the class of trade, the location and the merchant. But, be¬ cause of the importance of design we recommend that much thought be given to these details. We also recommend that the very best construction

be used in building or remodeling. The best is by far the cheapest, even when averaged over a period* of a few months.

Large rentals are paid by stores to be¬ come centrally lo¬ cated—to become so located that the maxi¬ mum number of people pass the store’s, windows. To be able to show the greatest number of people what they have for sale, through their store front, large rentals are paid.

Some merchants even go so far as to state two-thirds of rental is for window pur-

Horizontal Section of a Typical Store Front that their show poses.

That the installa¬ tion of modem store fronts is justified only in the largest cities and that the small¬ town stores cannot afford to adopt mod¬ ern and attractive t •

The Modern Store Front store fronts is, of course, a fallacy long since exploded.

There are today thousands and thousands of examples to disprove that thought.

When a new store front is planned it is well to make a thorough in¬ vestigation—to be unquestionably sure that the front adopted is the proper one.

Make a study of some modern fronts to find new ideas, and when a good point is found and one that is successful, put it down on paper. It is not necessary to be a practical mechanical draftsman in order to lay out a modern store front because a successful front is built around the require¬ ments of the business in which it is associated. The only reason a new store front is justified is its ability to increase your business because of its provision for attracting more trade.

When a new front is to be installed, don’t leave all the details to a carpenter. No matter how much experience he has had in building, he is not competent to design the store front to fit the business, simply because his experience has not been in that channel.

First figure out what the business needs, then call a carpenter to help work if out structurally. Most any carpenter can build a partition—but it takes a merchant or a store front specialist to design a front that will fit the business—one that will modernize it and increase the sales of the store.

CHAPTER TWO Preventing Window Frosting

T HERE is nothing more annoying than to find that a mighty at¬ tractive window over which you have worked a long time cannot be seen because of frosting. When all the other windows along the street are frosted so that displays are not to be seen, you can, by the proper methods, make sure that your windows will be free of frost and as bright and clean as in the summer time.

We told you in the chapter on Modern Store Fronts that frosting or sweating is caused by the condensing of the moisture in the air inside the window, or by the difference in the temperature inside and outside the window. So in order to prevent frosting, two methods can be used. Certain remedies can be used which sometimes bring success. But to make sure of preventing frosting on your windows it is best to ventilate the window and in some cases to reconstruct the window and build it upon scientific lines.

The methods of doing this are not difficult. Figure A shows the floor of the window with a hole cut in it and another cut in the outside baseboard. The two are connected by a common stovepipe elbow and the two holes should be covered by a heavy mesh netting in order to keep out as much of the street litter as possible.

For the six-foot window there should be at least two such open¬ ings and three would be better. On the floor of the window there should be a deflector that will send the incoming cold air up against the window, and which will also protect the wire netting and prevent its being easily broken. This metal covering should be closed on the two sides and made to flare toward the glass so as to throw the cold air toward it.

Figure B shows the top of the window sash with holes drilled to allow the air from the openings underneath to escape. It is necessary that there f 1

METAL f

cover

TOP OF WINDOW SASH

GLASS

WINDOW FLOORING fl.-A fia B

COLD AIR INLET

METAL HOOD GLASS

Preventing Window Frosting be plenty of these holes in the top of the window, as constant circula¬ tion of this cold air is the essence of the plan. Figure C shows a metal hood attached outside of the top window sash so as to prevent snow or rain from entering the window. These openings should be provided with a slide so that in the summer they can be closed in order to prevent the dust and dirt from the street entering the window. Such windows should be closed from the rear.

However in the case of a window which is open to the rear, and this is especially likely in the case of a fruit and vegetable window, a ventilating system is practically impossible. About the only thing that can be done in this case is the use of chemicals or a flame to prevent frost¬ ing. Electric heaters and oil heaters are sometimes used to good effect. Along the inside of the glass, a gas pipe can be run with a number of tiny holes in the top, about an inch apart. When the gas is turned on and a match applied to these openings, a series of small gas jets throw an even amount of heat up over the entire surface of the glass. None of these methods are very sightly and there is always the danger of fire or dam¬ age to goods by heat.

This plan at best is but a makeshift, however In many cases frost will not accumulate on glass that has been rubbed with a rag saturated with alcohol. This alcohol operation will have to be repeated in very cold weather several times a day. Instead of using plain alcohol, some stores use glycerine and water, while others use ammonia and salt water, or alcohol and water.

Another formula is the following: A thin layer of paste made of water, glycerine, white candy and sugar, in equal parts, with a small quan¬ tity of coumarin (which is a camphor derived from the tonka bean) spread over the glass, will not affect its transparency and prevents the precipi¬ tation of moisture and frost in many cases.

Where windows do not frost over very badly it is possible to keep the glass clear by throwing a strong current of air over the inside surface by means of an electric fan, although this may be called an expensive method. Screen the fan with merchandise or show card, so it cannot be seen. The current of air from the fan should strike the glass from one side and sweep over the entire surface, thus creating a circulation of air over as much of the glass surface as possible. For extremely large win¬ dows it is often necessary to use two fans.

CHAPTER THREE Lighting the Show Window

S HOW WINDOWS occupy the very front of the store—its most valuable portion and for this reason the Show Window should be expected to yield at least a proportional return. But if your win¬ dows are to yield a maximum return it is not enough to merely put in a unique display and let it go at that. No, the display must be helped along by proper lighting.

In cities where high buildings shut oft daylight and numerous com¬ petitors’ windows are bidding for attention, artificial window lighting is necessary even during the day, to show the goods to advantage. At night, however, good Window Lighting is indispensable if the windows are expected to sell. In the following paragraphs the principles of Mod¬ ern Display Lighting are discussed, and may be of benefit to those who feel that their windows should produce more sales.

First of all, the display should be lighted from the side from which the prospect views it. This means that the light should come from in front and above, or in other words, reflectors should be placed along the upper front edge of the window. Bare lamps or even shaded lamps hung in the middle of the window do not light the display properly, and further¬ more, their presence in the window distracts attention from the display.

Window Lighting has been developed to such a degree that almost any electrical dealer can readily supply regular standard silver mirrored window reflectors especially designed for this purpose. These reflectors are so shaped that none of the light is allowed to escape to the ceiling of the window or on the sidewalk outside. All of the light is spread uni¬ formly over the display and makes it very effective.

Some windows are deep, others shallow; some are large, others small, but there are standard reflectors to take care of all cases. A window with solid background and high display should be lighted with a distributing

Conceal the Source of Light If You Want the Eye Attracted in Your Display

Lighting the Show Window

Showing Two Types of Windows with Arrange¬ ment for Lighting window reflector while a low display or a window with an open or glass background should use the more concentrating type. If a distributing reflector is used in windows with a glass background much of the light would be reflected through the glass into the store and would be wasted as far as lighting the display is concerned.

On the other hand, if a concentrating reflector is used in a deep win¬ dow with a high display, the front portion would be well lighted, while the back of the window would be dark. Such unevenness in the lighting should always be avoided.

Since these standard window reflectors are designed to give a par¬ ticular light distribution with a specified lamp it is highly essential that in all cases the proper lamp be used.

Experiments furnish quantitative data on the effect of the attractive power of hiding the lighting units from the view of the passer-by. A window was equipped with fairly expensive lighting fixtures carrying a

Two Common Types of Reflectors for Use in Show Windows, the Concentrating

and the Wide Distributing Reflector

Cut courtesy Not. X-Ray Co.

number of opal glass shades, suspended in full view. By actual count ex¬ tending over four nights, this window attracted the attention of about 12 per cent of the persons passing. The lighting equipment was then entirely changed; a reflector better suited for the window was installed and located correctly in such a position that the lamp was not visible from the outside.*• The recount that was made on four successive nights indicate that 72 per cent of the passers-by were attracted—an increase of 500 per cent. In other words, the merchant installing the up-to-date and rational sys¬ tem of lighting increased five to one his chances for making his window count in increasing his sales.

The method of window lighting recognized as the most satisfactory is to use individual reflector equipment, because better control of the light is secured than with a cluster of lamps or a trough. There is a silver mirrored reflector for each and every type of window, whether you have a back-ground or not, and whether the window be low, medium or high. In general, it might be said that for windows that have a high display a “Scoop” shape reflector should be used, because it gives a wide distribu¬ tion of light. Where the display is low a reflector of a concentrating type should be used because the “Hood” shape concentrates all of the light on the display.

One new item of display lighting is a Window Flood Light. It is made in such a way that the unit can be used to completely light small windows or to increase the effectiveness of windows that already have this modern window lighting equipment.

This reflector unit floods the window with light and concentrates a beam within the center of this flood which highlights or emphasizes the article on which it is directed. In other words, in lighting a display with the window floodlight, the lighting is given tone and made brighter in the portion in which the beam of light falls than would be a window where no window floodlight were used.

It is advisable to consult a reputable electric dealer or the manu¬ facturer of such reflectors about the lighting of show windows and en¬ joy the advantage of their years of experience to get the best lighting results.

Even though the amount of business that is being created in your store may seem to you very favorable, don’t overlook this point. Good zvindow lighting on your attractive displays will help you sell more. Mer¬ chants who have improved their methods of lighting feel very much sold on an old slogan adopted many years that you can “Win Sales with Light.”

CHAPTER FOUR Show Card Writing

T HE window display and the display of merchandise inside the store is usually incomplete without a liberal supply of signs and price cards. The price card and the well lettered advertising card carry a silent me§sage that may create the extra sale. Every grocer can well afford to give time and thought to this matter of show card writing. We cannot give here a complete course in practical show card writing but we can merely present a few fundamentals useful in doing the necessary show card writing for grocery stores.

Before going into the matter of alphabets let us discuss briefly the tools and materials required for doing satisfactory work. Either brushes or the right kind of pens may be used with satisfactory results. A satis¬ factory set of red sable chisel edge brushes can be had in sizes No. 6 making a stroke % inch wide; No. 8, inch wide; No. 10, % inch wide; No. 12, inch wide. These should always be taken care of at the end of the job by dipping in water and drawing all ink from the bristles, cleaning thorough¬ ly and flattening to the chisel shape, then left to dry in this position. Do not carry these brushes in the pocket or in an envelope or receptacle where the bristles touch a surface to cause them to twist out of shape.

The best pens for rapid show card work to be had at a nominal .cost are known as Soennecken pens, and range in size from No. 1 to No. 6. No. 1 makes a stroke of an inch wide. A large number of the card writers of the country use a common stub pen to outline all letters and fill in the letters with a brush. Prepared show card inks are to be had in

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Fig. 1. The Roman pen stroke letter is the most practical for general work where small letters are desired. They can be made rapidly and are easily read any color from one ounce to one quart bottles. Because of the perfect preparation of these inks it is suggested that they be used instead of oils or opaque paint for this work.

Wrapping paper or the very cheapest white cardboard or any other smooth surface paper is good enough for practice. At first this practice paper should be ruled off into small squares about half an inch in size. For regular work, the cardboard should be of from three to eight ply Bristol board in any color desired. This board comes with a usable sur¬ face on one or both sides; Many stores are lettering on both sides of the card or letter on one side and use the card again by lettering on the other side. These boards come in standard dimensions of 22x28 inches and this can be cut in the standard sizes J4, *4 and % sheets.

After getting your tools and paper and practicing the alphabets, you will be ready to layout a complete card. The arrangement of the words on the card is very important. Even though your letters are perfect, if they are not spaced right on the card, the card will be spoiled. Always allow plenty of white space or border around the outside of your lettering. The letters should be so spaced that they look the same distance apart, and the borders at the top and bottom and sides of the card should all be the same. The arrangement of the wording should be symmetrical and pleasing and the wording all or nearly all in one type, or style of letter.

ABCDEFGrt IJKLMN

Fig. 2. The single stroke Roman letters. This illustration shows the principal strokes and the finished letters. An easy alphabet to learn. It 'makes an

attractive sign

Lighting the Show Window

F ig. 3. 1 hese cuts show the way in which the brush is held. No. 1 and 2 show the vertical stroke, front and rear view of the hand; and No. 3 shows the

horizontal stroke

If the wording consists of one or two words, you can probably use all capitals with telling effect; if of five or six words, we would suggest the heading in capitals and the remainder in lower-case Roman. If there are more than six words in the sentence, you will probably have to resort to stroke brush letters or narrow pen Roman.

It is better to use small letters in conjunction with large letters or capitals for general work as this gives more white space as a background and makes the writing stand out more prominently.

Probably the most popular lettering is the Roman for it is rapidly made and is more simple than any other forms of lettering. This form of letter can be used to advantage on price cards, small display cards, and large cards for window and table display. The brush is ordinarily used for the larger letters, with the pen being used for letters one-half inch in height and less. It is difficult to make the smaller letters with the brush and the larger letters are more readily made with the brush. Many signs may be limited to brush letters and others may be limited to the use of the pen. However, the combination can be used to great advantage in many signs and proficiency in the use of both the pen and the brush is desirable.

The Roman pen stroke letter is illustrated in Figure 1. This stroke can be made rapidly and is used to advantage in many of the smaller signs and in the smaller wording in the larger signs. This lettering is made with a Soennecken pen. To begin practice on this Roman stroke, use a No. 2 pen and six ply Bristol board with a coated surface and a good show card ink that will flow freely from the pen. Equal parts of Bissel’s show card inks and Higgins’ Eternal inks or letterine thoroughly mixed make a good pen ink. Water may be used to thin the show card ink or letterine if it chances to be too thick.

The first seven capital letters of this alphabet in Fig. 1 are marked with arrows indicating the strokes in rotation, and the same thing is shown for the numerals and the first few small letters. The Italic lettering shown at the bottom of Fig. 1 makes an attractive sign.

Fig. 2 shows a single stroke brush alphabet with principal strokes and finished letters. The general formation of these letters is much the same as in the first illustration. The general direction of the strokes is the same. All strokes necessary to do this lettering are down. The same general direction applies to practically all lettering.

Do not hold the brush too tight as this will cause your hand to cramp and thus not allow you the free movement so necessary to good work. Figure 3 shows ways in which the brush is held. No. 1 of Figure 3 shows the hand holding the brush in position making a downward vertical stroke, No. 2 shows the other side of the hand and No. 3 shows the hand in position for making curves or horizontal lines. In making curves, the movement is very similar to making horizontal lines except that at the same time as drawing the brush horizontally or vertically, the hand is either swung to right or left or up or down as the curve may be desired. Always endeavor to make the brush stroke continuous, not the entire letter or figure, but the particular stroke that you are on. For rapid one-stroke letters, the brush should be well filled with color which should flow freely from the extreme point. You can make all strokes uniform in width by giving the same pressure of the brush on the cardboard.

For the beginner, the single stroke letter is the easiest and the most practical to learn. The single stroke letter is so called because each sec¬ tion of the letter is made with one stroke of the brush. The Roman alpha¬ bet is the easiest of all letters to read and are the most practical for gen¬ eral use. These letters should be mastered first by the merchant who makes frequent use of signs and cards.

For that reason we have shown examples of only the Roman letter¬ ing and suggest the use of the pen and brush. Books are available for the show card writer who desires more detailed and advanced instruc¬ tive show card writer who desires more detailed and advanced instruction.