IN-STORE AT ARIGHI BIANCHI
was more than happy to part with his hard-earned cash, given that it had proved more reliable than any number of red skies at night. The rest, as they say, is history.” ‘Try Before You Buy’ became, and remains to this day, highly popular with customers, which is why it has continued for all these years and will undoubtedly continue in the foreseeable future.
Presentation Is Everything
Although Antonio gets full marks for his inventive skills, the ‘Try Before You Buy’ scheme is not the only thing that Arighi Bianchi has in place to entice customers; there are many subtle tips and tricks which they say keep sales high. Neville Hinchcliffe, Flooring and Department Manager, explained: “We’re continually looking at the best way to display our products from offers and price to colours. Products that are striking when you walk into the department, special offers displayed in more prominent positions and using colours that relate to the seasons – all of this plays a big part in the customers psychological perception of the store and what there is on offer.
“We use little tricks, like placing cheaper products as you walk in, and during the sales period, we put those offers right at the entrance points. For us, when we have a big promotion on a product, that’s what we want to sell more than anything, so we make it easily accessible for the customer and the first thing they see when they walk in. In the winter, we put out warmer colours at the top to catch the customer’s eyes first, so reds down to blues for example, and then in the summer we reverse it. If there are ways to entice a customer in a particular market, we think: ‘Brilliant, let’s try it!’
“Most of the flooring products in stock at Arighi’s are from UK manufacturers, but there are some European-made products too. Belgium especially makes particularly high quality carpets, but some come from even farther. For example, Karndean flooring is made in China and shipped over.” It’s all about the best quality and service for their customers.
Young At Heart
Speaking of customer service, one thing Arighi’s has become well accustomed to in their long stint in the business, is
Sales Insight
Neville Hinchcliffe, Flooring Department Manager, gives us a Q&A on sales insights and season predictions.
Who is currently selling the best?
A huge seller for us at this time is Karndean flooring; we’ve just set up a Karndean hub having worked very closely with them to advertise locally and nationally. Needless to say it has attracted lots of interest and sales! Also, over the last couple of years, man-made soft touch carpets have become ever more popular and the AW new isense range is becoming one of our better sellers.
Which colours and tetures seem to be
moving at the moment? Texture-wise, the soft and luxurious feel is a big hit. Colour-wise, the new word seems to be ‘griege’ – lots of greys, but I think warmer tones will definitely pick up during the winter months.
What are your predictions for net season?
I think loose lay could become big next year. It’s already big in the US, but is slowly making its way across the water. More soft textured carpet styles are not far behind either.
Do you use social media at all?
“We usually have promotions and big sales about four times a year, with our biggest being our winter and summer sales, and then usually a couple of smaller ones too. We do a preview event about one month before these where we offer the customer some form of discount and incentive to get them in prior to the sale – if they buy then, hopefully they’ll come back in a month’s time and buy again.”
However, the other element of presentation is down to the products themselves; it’s all well and good having everything displayed to optimum efficiency, but it means nothing if the customer isn’t pleased with what they see. This is why Arighi’s only source the very best products, and they aren’t worried about going further afield to find them. Neville continued:
20 | Autumn 2014 Tomorrow’s Retail Floors
Of course, we use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and email daily – I think it’s vital that you need to keep up with social trends if you want to keep your business moving forward. We use it to show current promotions, new ranges and work that we’ve done for our customers.
What would you say is the cornerstone of
Bianchi’s success? Service, service and more service! Lots of stores can offer similar products, but they can’t give the same service that we offer; from our expert in-store advice and professional in- house fitting, to all our staff wearing our uniform and using branded vans. Finally, our famous after sales service – if a problem does arise, we’re there to sort it out immediately.
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