Internship project by Poorvi Arora, 3rd Year Student, Fashion Communication at NIFT, Mumbai.

1. VISUAL MERCHANDISING REPORT
POORVI ARORA
FASHION COMMUNICATION
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGHY, MUMBAI
2008‐2012

2. CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
Analysis of Window Display
Suggestions and Recommendations
Comparison of Competitive Brands
Conclusion

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank, Wills Lifestyle, for giving me an opportunity to gain a clear understanding
as to how the VM of a store is done and the minor points involved with it.
Expertise comes with experience and I am grateful to my mentor Mr. Deepak Chakravarty,
whose constant guidance and support has helped me in furnishing this project. I now am more
equipped in this field and have gained practical knowledge about Visual Merchandising, which
will certainly benefit me in future.
I am sure the suggestions and points discussed will be of value to the brand and will be
executed as well.

4. ANALY
YSIS OF W
WINDO Disp
OW play
Custommer devotes only a few seconds to any store w window or its s display and
d if the display is
able to generate interest and attract att
o d tention with the time frame, it can convert any
hin e t
passerb into a po
by otential cust
tomer. Anal
lysis of the two running themes – Street Café and
g é
New Ye ear – is given
n below:
Principles of VM – Balance, harmony
y, proportio
on, contrast,
, & emphasis
This phot is of Wills
to
Lifestyle sttore at Mahhagun
Metro Ma Vaishali. The
all, .
display is well balaanced
and in prooportion. The e red
and white colors crea a
e ate
signature ‘ ‘Wills’ ambie
ence.
The graphics and stars s add
harmony t to the display.
However this partic
r, cular display at
Ambienc Mall, Gurgaon is no in
ce ot
proportio The gr
on. raphics for the
theme ‘ ‘Street Café’ are not in
t
proper pperspective and the set tting
of mann nequins is such that it all
s t
appears disproportio onate. Also the
fixture i the centre where the
in
shoes ar displayed distracts the
re
eye.

5. In
nterior display elements
s
Howeverr the window
w and the inside of the s
store do not have any re elation. It wa
as observed that
the window displays attracted th
he customerrs due to its neat and cla
assy look butt the in‐store
e
ambience did not maatch up to it.

6. SUGGESTIONS
From the study of the other brands along with the experience of working at the store, a few
points were identified which are mentioned here. An attempt has been made to come up with
a few suggestions which would help in increasing the effectiveness of the store as well as the
brand.
SIGNAGE
In any major store today, one’s eyes are drawn to a variety of sign messages, each competing
for the customer’s attention. Not only are they informative, they are eye‐catching, the work of
graphic artists. Signs are the communication messages that move the shoppers through the
merchandize section and purchasing stages.
The sub – brands Wills Classic, Wills Sport, Wills Club, and Wills Signature can be advertised
separately to increase the awareness these brands. This can be done by putting up separate,
easily movable (to facilitate regular change in VM), signage for each brand showing their
respective logos, within the store.

7. LIGHTING
Another way of creating a visual distinction is by having different lighting for different areas. For
example, Wills has different sub‐brands such as Club Wear, Sports Wear, Classics and Signature.
Each of these categories can be distinguished by having different kinds of lighting for them.
PROPS
A window display with props gives a deeper meaning to the theme on display. Therefore a
theme such as Street Café can be made interesting by adding some props and elements that
define the theme. Also for the Autumn/Winter window, more suggestive props can be used
rather than just star lights. It will be easier for a customer to relate to it.
Apart from the window, props can also be used for creating in‐store ambience. For example,
Wills Sports can be identified with some sports equipment like bat and ball; Wills Club can be
identified by a disco ball etc.

8. CIRCULATION
Space to move around is an essential part of a good VM. A customer must not feel stuffy and
the store should not look congested. It was observed that the floor fixtures, of most of the
stores, were blocking the circulation of the customer. This needs to be checked regularly and
proper circulation pattern needs to be maintained.
IN STORE AMBIENCE
However well a store window is done, it does not help enough if the store interiors are not in
line with the window. The theme reflected outside should have some continuation inside the
store as well. The store should reflect a similar message inside as well as outside and reflect the
theme.
For example, if the Autumn/ Winter window display has stars, lights and graphics then the
same should be put up inside the store to give a complete message of the theme. The Street
Café theme can also be continued inside the store by adding similar graphics and props as those
in the display.

9. Com
mpariso of compe
on etitive brand
ds
VAN HEUS
V SEN
Visibility from outside – a very dull
–
loooking store. Use of bright yell
low lights with
bl lack background.
Adver on window announcing the ‘Suit
rt
Feest’.
Mann nequins we dressed in formal suits
ere
foocusing on t the Suit Fes
st
A commplete ward drobe was installed att one
of f the windoows. Others had Christ tmas trees, gifts
et tc to suggesst the curre
ent season.

10. ALLEN SOL
A LLY
Allen
n Solly had a
a
bright windo
b ow display with
thermocol ccutouts of
alphabets, a
a arranged in
n a
random manner and
stacked one
s e over the
other.
o
Somee other props
used were s
u stars and ba
alls.
The m
mannequin ns
were limited
w d to one or two
per window
p w.
PETER
R ENGLAN
ND
The stoore window had a
backgroound of the Indian
Crickett team playeers
wearing Peter Engl land
garmen nts.
t of that wer
In front re
manne equins dressed in
winter formals.

11. ARROW
A
Arrow had d two type oof displays: o
one where onnly
the m
mannequins w were dresse ed in winter clothes and the
other where a rooom interior was establis shed. The ch
hair
had lights attache
ed to it and t
the backgro ound had
res of nature
pictur e.

12. CONCLUSION
Wills keeps a subtle profile as far its visual image is concerned. However, I feel, it is necessary
that it advertises its sub brands individually so as to increase sales. Also the suggestions
discussed above will be of importance to have a deeper impact on the customers. Observing
customer reactions inside the store one can see that the consumers often feel lost inside the
store and find no relevance of the outside window to the in‐store ambience.
Wills Lifestyle has a huge potential market and is one top brands in the country. Having a strong
visual impact through better VM would help it achieve greater heights in the minds of the
consumers.