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In today's tabletop market, a prevailing style or pattern is anything but discernable. Trend-based purchases range from Asian to basic white to florals . . . and everything in between. So how does a retailer promote and merchandise a category with so many conflicting styles?

Category Construction

Walking through market showrooms, a novice or even a seasoned retailer could be easily discouraged trying to narrow down inventory options. The styles and new introductions are overwhelming. But building a cohesive tabletop department may not be as difficult as it first appears.

Every retail store has an image in their customers' minds. If you don't think you have an image, look around your store and see what message your inventory conveys to your customers. That's your image and if it's one you're satisfied with, you should be completing your inventory along those same lines following a loose-knit pattern determined by your own specific style.

"It has to fit our image. We think 'specialty store,' which means merchandise you can't find anyplace else," said Bob Mayerfeld, owner of Tabletalk in Tuscon, Ariz. "The vendors that we do business with couldn't take a large order because they are small guys. There are hundreds of small guys out there with incredible product."

An advantage for specialty retailers is their ability to introduce customers to lines they wouldn't normally find at mass distribution channels and the expertise they possess to provide customers with individualized service.

Mayerfeld's dinnerware selection is comprised only of handpainted pieces with Southwestern color tones, which he describes as "mostly earth tones." All inventory is sold open stock.

"Our customers can be sure they're not going to see it anyplace else," Mayerfeld said. "Price point also makes a big difference."

Panamai Manadee, owner of Boston-based gift/gourmet store Bliss agreed: "There are certain patterns I've found that my customers have never seen — for example, a retro pattern called Solaris by Arzsberg. Brides who aren't really into tabletop come in and they fall in love with products they never realized existed. They see our products and then have to have them."

She continued, "Our motto is 'Happiness by design,' so that's one of the prerequisites I use when I'm choosing things for the store. In addition to looking at fashion influences and trends, I try to skim the cream of the crop so when we select a design, we don't usually bring in the entire line. We pick what we like and what we believe our customers will like. We're happy to custom order items, but we stock only those items that sell continually. That way, more resources are available to me. I'm always searching for cool and unusual things for our customers."

Kyle Bloom, owner of Red Bank, N.J.-based gift/gourmet store Le Gourmet Chef, said she creates her quarterly inventory on the sales history of the previous year. In the case of new introductions, she makes an educated guess.

"I'm certainly not right in everything I pick. I have some losers, but if you don't have some losers, I don't think you're being adventurous enough. If everyone knew what the customer was going to buy, the job would be simple," Bloom said.

Today's eclectic table actually loosens the restrictions for retailers making inventory decisions. Category building has become more a matter of preference than of steadfast rules.

"I think the eclectic blend of the market makes it easier. There aren't boundaries anymore. You can mix and match so many things together it becomes more interesting," Bloom said. "I look at my own home and love to bring in new selections because I don't have to worry, 'Does this go with my dining room?' It's much more fun."

Beauty Builder

After fine-tuning your inventory, presenting it to the consumer may be the most difficult part of the tabletop equation. But beginning with a dominant color or theme is a logical first step.

"A good way to start is to do color groupings and not worry as much about pattern or texture. Use color as a unifying measure," said visual merchandising expert Ronnie Holland.

Mayerfeld concurred. "We will buy a glassware collection with the same tones that will go with our dinnerware. Then when we display it, we can coordinate the whole story. If there are pink tones, we'll add in elements of amethyst and complete it with place mats, flatware, and accessories. Even if you don't like what we're showing, it gives you something to think about," he said.

By designing a complete tabletop story, retailers allow consumers to transport the table into their own homes. Many retailers say they find consumers are so attracted to a table setting, they simply ask them to put together a complete setting for four matching the display.

"It's not uncommon for someone to come in — particularly a male shopper — and say, 'You know, I like it, I'll take it,'" Mayerfeld said.

In the first installment of our series, we discussed eight primary "color moods" to set the tone of your display. That's what will keep your display in focus, but grabbing the customer's attention with details is another story. When dealing with space constraints, Holland's theory is to build one fabulous display that stops customers in their tracks.

"There needs to be one dominant concept or idea. Once you get that, whatever the original concept is, you need one big visual 'thing' to get people to stop and look at the more intimate items which are the products in the display," Holland said.

When visualizing a display, don't force yourself to be tied to the product's specific use. Allow yourself and your employees to get creative. Make a Christmas tree with flatware as ornaments. Design a tabletop display on the floor with pillows and bamboo mats. Holland described creating a flatware display by hanging dozens of forks from the ceiling or filling a bathtub with bubble-glass beverageware.

"There needs to be some sort of continuity to it. Maybe all the forks are different patterns, but they're all forks," Holland added. "Don't get stuck on what it's supposed to be. It doesn't have to be about the product as much as it should be something eye-catching to make people stop."

Manadee opened Bliss, her first brick-and-mortar location in Cambridge, Mass., this year after operating her company as an appointment-only and Internet-based business. After educating brides privately about tabletop for three years, her challenge last year was creating a retail store design which would best showcase the lifestyle products she would carry.

"We're very design oriented. We focus on bridal registry, but we have a lot of lines that average bridal registries wouldn't necessarily carry," Manadee said.

She defines her customer base as falling into two main categories: couples who are looking for a special bridal registry with products that are both unique and traditional or people who want to bring special, fresh approaches to their existing tabletop collection.

"After we determined our customer base and style, what resulted was a varied, modern design-oriented inventory supported by traditional lines. Since we're very line-committed, we designed the boutique to be nontraditional all the way down to the fixtures," she said describing floating wooden shelves which provide a clean-looking, almost Scandinavian design. "We wanted it to be easy to imagine the tableware on their table at home."

Throughout the store, Manadee creates small vignettes of tabletop designs, mixing product lines to tell a story. One table might feature Asian-influenced products layered on traditional scalloped pieces and paired with crystal glasses and a modern pepper mill.

"I try to illustrate to the customer that there are wonderful classic lines available to them and then throw in something completely different to make the table special," she said.

Bloom stays close to themes when merchandising tabletop. Although Le Gourmet Chef has no actual tabletop department, the category can be found throughout the store in a variety of departments.

"We have a lot of food items so we bring in tabletop and decorative accessories to displays illustrating a specific theme. We'll have Asian food products displayed with Asian cookware, tabletop, candles, incense, place mats, and accessories. We like to create a complete story. If the customer wants to go ethnic for dinner that night, we have it ready for them."

The old "Great Wall of China" is no longer the best avenue for merchandising tabletop product in your store. Consumers want to touch product, to experience how it feels in their hands. Since today's tabletop is filled with wonderful textures and intricate designs, it is best viewed firsthand, and up close and personal. Holland recommends getting at least one piece of every style out onto the sales floor so customers can stop and get the product in their hands.

"The best thing you can possibly do is pull it out and put it on the sales floor," Holland said. "If you can get it into their hands, they're far more likely to buy it than they are looking at something through glass on the wall."

Mayerfeld echoed the same sentiment. He said, "We're not a rack and stacker. Everything's taken out of the box."

Making sure your displays and inventory don't become static is another key to attracting customers to specific products. Move product and change displays often to keep your customers' eyes roaming through your store in search of new items.

"I've often worked with retailers in the past, and one thing I found is that retailers don't move product around as much as they should," Holland said. "When I went in and moved the product five feet to the left, people would say 'Is this new?'"

The Melting Pot

In-store demonstrations provide an opportunity to cross-merchandise tabletop products. One cross-merchandising demo idea would be to set up a fondue station in your store. Have one employee man the station, serving items on a variety of dishes from small square sushi dishes to 8-in. dessert plates. Create a tabletop display around the fondue pot illustrating what your customers could design for their own homes. Mix in a variety of tabletop products, including different textures and glazes. Keep patterns to a minimum, but don't be afraid of a variety of bands and color hues. Finish the table with coordinating accessories: serving platters, beverageware, utensils, color-handled flatware, and even items from your outdoor tabletop categories.

Manadee holds afternoon tea parties to highlight her tabletop selections each spring, holding one even before she opened the doors to her new location.

"We invited registered brides and a few perspective brides and served them Bernardaud Caramel tea served from different teapots," Manadee said. "It was a way to make them realize they can utilize this every day. It also provides customers a chance to walk through the store, talk to each other, and have fun. And, of course, we're here to answer questions."

Manadee is planning a caviar event for the fall, making use of many of the accessories she now carries, while introducing customers to new items she's discovered at recent markets.

"I'm very interested in educating my customer as to the story behind the pattern or the designer," Manadee said. "When I got married four years ago, I had no clue what dinnerware to choose. If you know the difference between porcelain and bone china, you're ahead of the game. It's just like anything — until it's applicable to your life, it doesn't count."

Spend time with your customers at your own tea party. Put a new twist on an old theme with a Euro-Asian Tea Party showcasing traditional English tea designs mixed with Asian products. You can explain the differences in styles and cross- merchandise the tabletop products with your specialty tea inventory. Describe the health benefits of green teas and the soothing effect of a chamomile.

Have fun exposing your customers to a variety of tabletop styles, textures, and designs by selecting products with contrasting designs and a variety of uses. Set up display tables illustrating the mix-and-match capabilities of the tabletop you're using for the tea service. While hosting your tea party, serve finger foods on a variety of tabletop products to bring the whole table design together.

By educating yourself on your inventory's origins, you can pass that knowledge on to your guests. For example, different styles of Japanese teacups are in themselves a lesson in Asian tabletop. In Japan, there are certain cups that Sensha (a type of green tea) is served in, another cup that is specific to tea service with sushi, and still others for different varieties of green tea.

In both of these demonstrations, remember to keep focused on a dominant color, illustrating to your customers how your selections work together. Most of all, talk to your customers, let them experience for themselves the continued rejuvenation of a formerly traditional category.

Sell Yourself

One of the worst things you can do for your tabletop inventory and your entire store is ignore the market and the competition. Specialty retailers provide unique services for consumers, but consumers won't know you exist if they don't know your name.

Don't overlook local advertising. Every retailer we spoke with said they keep their name in front of local customers through print media channels. Manadee uses local wedding supplements and a Boston-area fashion magazine and Mayerfeld concentrates on newspaper advertising using artist renderings to illustrate products.

The Internet is no longer the marketing tool of the future, it's a tool of today. Mayerfeld, Bloom, and Manadee are each involved in Internet marketing. Mayerfeld's site has e-commerce capabilities and he provides his Internet address on all printed materials, including newspaper advertising.

There are other ways to get your name out into the public at either minimal or no cost. Join a local wedding professionals association or other business organization in your community and begin networking. Find out what organizations your employees are involved in and contact their events coordinators to sponsor demonstrations. See which local civic organizations have newsletters — helping to sponsor one could cost as little as $10 a year!

Follow Through

With all these merchandising ideas, promotional possibilities, and marketing efforts, be sure to remember who your customers are. As we have discussed, there are a multitude of options available to you when you're selecting your tabletop inventory, but knowing what your customers like and what they're likely to purchase is essential.

"The Boston market has traditionally been thought of as conservative and not very design-oriented. That perception is incorrect. What I've found is a niche that hasn't been filled," Manadee said. "My customers want fresh, fun, high-quality tabletop. Alessi's designs have just sparked so much interest here. It's all very fun and functional and my customers love it."

Keep close track of tabletop purchases in your store. What are the design trends your customers are seeking? Where have tabletop purchases increased or decreased? Knowing what your customers want also provides you with the opportunity to market specific products to individual customers. By tracking individual sales, you know Mr. Jones loves to collect tabletop with game bird motifs. When new products are introduced that match or accessorize his specific style, send him a postcard highlighting the category to pique his interest. Offer a discount if he responds to the postcard within 10 days.

"We track purchases at the point of sale, which is how we follow through on our own purchasing," Bloom said. "Without a history, you can't go forward."

Bloom's records are tracked generally, not by individual customer. But with the dawn of e-commerce for Le Gourmet Chef just around the corner, individual consumer profiles will be available soon.

"We don't have that capability yet, but we'll get there," she said. "I would love to be there now."

Tracking individual purchases also helps when it's time to close out specific styles. Customers who have collected a variety of tabletop with metallic borders, for example, will appreciate being notified of a sale clearing out excessive stock of similar styles.

Manadee sends out postcards highlighting new accessories and patterns to all her customers. "It keeps us fresh in people's minds and gives them a visual sampling of things that are new," she said.

Good purchase tracking, dramatic displays, and fun demonstration programs will encourage your customers to get creative in their own tabletop purchasing and ultimately, result in greater category growth for your store.