GB2440112A

GB2440112A - Product display stand

Info

Publication number: GB2440112A
Application number: GB0611795A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Russell Seymour; Christian O'connor
Original assignee: COUTTS RETAIL COMM Ltd
Current assignee: COUTTS RETAIL COMM Ltd
Priority date: 2006-06-14
Filing date: 2006-06-14
Publication date: 2008-01-23
Also published as: GB0611795D0

Abstract

A temporary product display stand (10) is disclosed, comprising a disposable stand body (12), configured to promote a product, the stand body being formed of bent cardboard, plastics or the like, and a plurality of reusable modular shelves (50) to receive units of the product, the shelves being releasably attached to the stand body, formed of plastics, and configured to be reusable with a further stand body configured to promote a different product after being removed from said stand body. A method of displaying products including releasably attaching such shelves in turn to more than one stand body is also disclosed. The stand-may be free standing and may be printed on to contain advertising information, slogans. The shelves may fit to the base via at least one tab (60 Fig 3). The stand may be a free standing unit, the shelves may be transparent.

Description

PRODUCT DISPLAY STAND

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a display stand or device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a merchandise or product display stand.

Merchandise distributors, including Video, DVD or electronic game distributors and promoters, buy or rent floor space within the premises of retailers, to display their product off-shelf via temporary promotional display stands. Such temporary promotional display stands are generally only used for around three or four weeks within the retailer premises (in-store or point of purchase/promotion). There is a need to gain optimum awareness in-store, which is normally achieved via posters, and other promotional mechanics, and temporary display stands. The temporary display stands are made from cardboard, as this is a relatively inexpensive and easily formed material.

The stands are also bespoke, that is, individually designed for the particular product that they are to carry. This allows individual advertising for each product, in order to catch the eye of the consumer with something new. As the display stands are specific to a particular product and are temporary, i.e. generally disposed of after a relatively short time period, it is important that they be made of an inexpensive material. Where the product is a DVD title, the majority of the sales will have been made within the first four-week period of availability.

Display stands of the type discussed above are free standing and generally include a promotional region, which is shaped to relate to the particular product to be sold, and on which is placed promotional display material relating to the product, such as graphics relating to the product, designed to entice purchase of the product. Display stands also generally include one or more holding regions, which hold the products so that consumers can easily select and remove a product after seeing the promotional material.

These are also made from cardboard, and are generally integral with the promotional region, so that they can be manufactured in one process, and the stand can be disposed of as a whole once the lifetime of the product has passed.

There is a desire to reduce the cost of temporary display stands, while retaining the impact of each individual stand to attract the attention of consumers to a particular product being displayed on the stand.

It is an object of the invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the problems

associated with the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention provides a device for displaying goods, products, merchandise, articles, information or the like. The device according to an embodiment of the invention provides a stand, base, upright, supporting part or the like, which may be disposable, and on which can be placed, mounted, attached, joined or the like at least one support part, shelf, outstanding part, or the like, for displaying or supporting the articles or the like for display. The support part or the like according to an embodiment of the invention is reusable, and, as such, is removably attachable to the stand or the like. The attachment in an embodiment of the invention may be by releasable adhesive on either or both of the support part and/or stand, mechanical means (such as interlocking regions of the support part and/or the stand), or other releasable attachment.

The release may be achieved by at least partial destruction of the stand. The stand according to an embodiment of the invention includes at least one feature causing it to relate to a particular good, product etc that is to be displayed. The feature provided allows the article being displayed to easily be recognised and is, in an embodiment, also attractive to encourage the article to be noticed.

In an embodiment of the invention, the feature includes shaping the stand to relate to the displayed article, patterning or colouring the stand to relate to the article and/or adding images to at least a part of the surface of the stand relating to the article. For example, where the article/product or the like is a DVD title, the feature may be a character from the DVD, and the support stand may be at least partially shaped as that character and/or at least partially covered with pictures or representations of that character. In an embodiment of the invention, the support part, shelf or the like is not so featured, and is equally applicable to any one of a number of different articles. The support part may be a clear piece of plastic, for example, and/or may be shaped to support the underside of an article to be displayed. In an embodiment of the invention, the support part(s) can be used with a plurality of different articles, while the stand is specifically tailored to a particular article, and is used only for displaying that article. The stand or the like of embodiments of the invention may be made of any disposable material, and is designed for one off use. The stand or the like may be made of a less expensive and less durable material than the support part.

Therefore, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a temporary merchandise display stand comprising a disposable stand body, configured to promote a product, the stand body being formed of bent cardboard, plastics or the like, and a plurality of reusable modular shelves to receive units of the product, the shelves being releasably attached to the stand body, formed of plastics, and configured to be reusable with a further stand body, configured to promote a different product, after being removed from said stand body.

By providing a modular shelf to be used with a disposable stand body, the amount of wastage at the end of a product promotion can be reduced. This is because the shelves can be reused with a different product and corresponding further stand body. The new product, for example a different DVD title, will be of the same or similar dimensions as the previous product. Therefore the shelves can be reused for units of the new product, even though the stand body is bespoke to a particular product, for example DVD title (the units being individual DVDs for sale), and is therefore discarded at the end of the promotional period. Additionally, approximately 85% of the cardboard used in providing a known cardboard stand with shelving goes into forming the shelving.

Therefore, by making use of reusable modular plastics shelves, the amount of cardboard used can be reduced dramatically and the total amount of material disposed of at the end of the promotional period can also be reduced. Further, because the shelves are modular, they can be kept in stock, meaning that only the stand body need be manufactured for promotion of a new product. This reduction in manufacturing specific to a particular product also reduces the lead-time to provide the display stand for a particular product. The modular shelves can be returned to the supplier to be reused with a different stand body, or can be retained at the point of purchase/promotion in order to be used with a further stand body, and thus reduce transportation costs.

Preferably, the stand body is free standing. This allows the display stand to be located wherever provides the best visual impact within the particular retail environment in which the display stand is placed. The stand body may be configured to promote a product by being shaped to display advertising specific to a particular product and may be uniquely shaped for each particular product, in order to attract the attention of the consumer. Preferably, the stand body is made from cardboard, as this has relatively low tooling and manufacturing costs and is easily assembled at the point of purchase/promotion.

The modular shelves may be injection moulded. Injection moulding has high initial, or tooling, costs, which might deter its use. However, as the shelves are modular, they can be used with a plurality of different stand bodies, and can be reused, the overall cost of using injection moulding has now been recognised by the inventors as relatively lower cost than making use of only cardboard in the display stand when a large number are produced, which can be done as the shelves are modular.

In one form, the shelves are transparent. This reduces the impact of the shelves when they are empty, and reduces the detraction from the product by the shelves being empty.

Additionally, when the shelves are empty, more of the promotional display on the stand body is revealed. This means that the display stand may be of use even when it is not fully stocked with units of the product. Further, the use of a material that is seen as more expensive than cardboard provides an enhanced or prestige feel to the promotion.

The use of plastics also creates a different overall feel for the display stand to previous stands, in order to attract consumers.

The shelves are stackable so as to nest at least partially inside one another. This reduces the cost of transport of the shelves. While cardboard shelving is generally shipped flat, and assembled in the location at which it will be displayed, this is time consuming and laborious. Additionally, cardboard is subject to creasing, which detracts from the appearance of a display stand. By using nesting modular shelves, the shipping volume can be decreased, without the need for assembly of the shelves at the point of promotion. Additionally, because plastic is more resilient than cardboard, nesting can be used without damaging the shelves.

The shelves may be manufactured in different colours, which are selectable to be placed with particular stand bodies.

Preferably, the shelves each comprise at least one tab, configured to be insertable into a hole or recess in the stand body to releasably secure the shelves to the stand body and allow the shelves to support and display the product. In this way the shelves can be easily mounted on and removed from the stand body and placed on another stand body as appropriate.

The shelves are preferably adapted to support the underside of the product. This allows the product to be clearly displayed, without the shelves partially obscuring the units of product to be sold. Additionally, no packaging is required for the product units to be mounted on the shelves. The product may be a particular DVD title, or may be a particular software package. The units of the product may be pre-packed onto the shelves prior to shipping the display stand to the point of promotion. In this case, assembly is further simplified by removing the need to stock the shelves when assembling the display stand. Further, once a particular shelf is empty, it can simply be replaced by another shelf, which is already stocked. This allows very simple restocking, and also allows easy stock counting, as the number of units of a product on a shelf may be predetermined.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a temporary merchandise display stand kit comprising a plurality of stand bodies of cardboard, bendable plastics or the like, each configured to promote a different product to be displayed, a plurality of modular shelves configured to receive and display multiple units of any of the products, the shelves being formed of plastics and being releasably attachable to any of the plurality of stand bodies.

Preferably, the units of the different products and product units are all of the same dimensions.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of displaying products on temporary display stands comprising assembling a first stand body, configured to promote a first product, by bending the first stand body into a self supporting shape, the first stand body being formed from cardboard, plastics or the like, releasably attaching a plurality of modular shelves to the first stand body, placing units of the first product onto the shelves, removing the modular shelves from the first stand body, assembling a second stand body, configured to promote a second product, by bending the second stand body into a self supporting shape, the second stand body being formed of cardboard, plastics or the like, releasably attaching the plurality of modular shelves to the second stand body; and placing units of a second product onto the shelves.

As stated above, the placing of the product units onto the shelves may occur before the shelves are attached to the stand bodies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a display stand according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a display stand according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 shows a modular shelf for use in the display stands of Figure 1 and Figure 2; and Figures 4a to 4e show an alternate modular shelf for use in the display stands according to embodiments of the invention.

Shown in Figure 1 is a display stand 10 including a stand body 12 and eight modular shelves 50. The stand body 12 is formed of corrugated cardboard, so folded to as to be three dimensional and freestanding. In the present embodiment, the stand body 12 is formed in a wedge shape, with the wedge end forming the base 14 on which the stand body 12 is supported.

In the present embodiment, eight pairs of slots, (not shown) are provided on the front 16 of the stand body 12, which front is the face of the display stand 12 that will be directed primarily to consumers. A modular shelf 50 is releasably connected to each of the pairs of slots, as described in more detail in relation to Figure 3 below.

Figure 2 shows an alternate display stand bA, which is adapted to receive only four modular shelves 50, rather than the eight of Figure 1. The modular shelves 50 are the same as those shown in Figure 1. The stand body 12A includes four pairs of slots (not shown) for receiving four modular shelves, rather than the eight pairs of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; the dimensions of the front 1 6A are also changed. The display stand 1OA is otherwise the same as display stand 10 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a modular shelf 50 in more detail. The shelf 50 has a base 52 on which units of product can be placed, one in front of the other. The shelf also has sides 54, to retain the units of product from falling off the shelf. Two supports 56, extending upwardly away from the base 52, are also provided. These provide support for the rear most product unit (that closest to the stand body) placed on the shelf, allowing its top (side furthest from the shelf) to recline slightly towards the stand body. This reduces the possibility of the units falling forward by having their bases pushed too far backwards on the shelf. It also provides a preferable angle of the front cover of the product units on the shelf for viewing by consumers. The shelf 50 also has a rear upright 64. The front of the shelf 50 is open to allow easy access to product units on the shelf 50. A lip 66 is also provided, which may have information, for example, where the product is a DVD title, and units of the product are placed on the shelf, the film title of the DVD may be removably placed thereon. In an alternative embodiment (not shown) a central portion of the lip extends upwards away from the base, and can retain product units from sliding off the front of the shelf.

The base 52 has a plurality of cut out regions 58, which serve to reduce the weight of, and material used in, the shelves 50, while allowing them to support units of the product to be sold.

Each shelf 50 has two tabs 60. The tabs have a first region 62 that extends initially substantially parallel with the plane of the base 52 away from the rear of the shelf 50, before bending substantially 900 away from the base 52 to be substantially parallel with the plane of the rear upright 64 of the shelf 50. The extent of the first region is preferably of the order of the thickness of the cardboard used in the front of the stand body discussed above.

To releasably attach the shelf 50 to the stand body, the tabs 60 are placed into the slots of the front of the display stand. The tabs 60 then abut the rear side of the front of the stand body. Additionally, the first portion of the tabs 62 rests on the lower surfaces of the slots. Further, the rear upright 64 of the shelf abuts the front of the stand body, so preventing rotation of the shelf 50 and retaining the base substantially horizontally so that it can carry product units.

Figure 4 shows an alternative shelf, which can be used in embodiments of the invention.

In the alternate shelf of Figure 4, many of the features of the shelf of Figure 3 are present, and similar features are denoted by similar numerals. Figure 4a shows the alternate shelf, which differs in that the base 52' is inclined relative to the rear upright 64', upwardly in a direction away from the rear upright 64'. The rear upright 64' is also not one solid piece extending across the rear of the shelf, as can be seen in Figure 4c, but is rather two separate regions raised away from the base 52', and on the top of which are provided two tabs 60'. The lateral sides 54' are not solid, which reduces weight, but still act to retain units of a product placed on the shelf The inclined base 52' also assists in this. Figures 4b and 4d also show that a third, downwardly extending tab 70 is provided at the rear of the shelf, which engages with a suitably positioned and dimensioned recess or hole in a stand body to which the shelf is to be attached. The shelf otherwise attaches to a stand body as described elsewhere herein.

Finally, Figure 4e shows three such shelves stacked or nested on top of the other. Such an arrangement reduces the volume of the shelves when not in use, or when in transport, so reducing the costs associated with this.

The stand body 12, 12A can be delivered to a point of promotion in a flat configuration and assembled after delivery. In the embodiments described herein, two sides 18 of the stand body 12, 12A fold out from between the front 16, 16A and rear (not shown) of the stand body. The sides 18 are formed from extensions from the front and rear on manufacture, and are bent towards one another and joined together at a common edge, for example by using a tab on one of the extensions. The joined extensions are then folded between the front and rear to flatten the stand body ready for transport. It is then simple to pull the front and rear away from one another to expand the sides and make the stand body free standing. Many alternative arrangements for making the stand body free standing and disposable flat for transport are also contemplated, as are known in the art.

The modular shelves, which have been stacked in a nested form for transport, can then be placed into the stand body by engaging the tabs of the shelves into the slots or recesses in the front of the stand body. Alternatively, the shelves may have been pre-packed with units of a product, in which case, they are simply engaged onto the stand body, and if the shelves are transported with the product units thereon, any retaining wrapping or covering to keep the units of product in place during transport may be removed.

Once the product life is over, the shelves can be removed from the display body. The shelves can be returned to the provider of the display stands to be reused with a different product display stand body, or can be retained and reused with a different display stand body, relating to a different product and units thereof, within the point of promotion.

The shelves can then be releasably attached to a further stand body and the shelves restacked with units of a different product, to which the new stand body relates.

All references to front, rear, top bottom, side, horizontal and vertical etc. herein refer to relative positions and orientations when the stand body and shelves are assembled and the base is resting on a substantially horizontal surface, the front of the stand relating to the side on which the shelves are mounted.

It will be appreciated that many modifications and alternatives will present themselves to persons skilled in the art and the invention extends to all such modifications and alternatives, whether they be by modification, addition, or omission.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like, are to be construed in an inclusive as opposed to an exclusive sense, that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".

Claims

CLAIMS: I. A temporary product display stand, comprising: a disposable

stand body, configured to promote a product, the stand body being formed of bent cardboard, plastics or the like; and a plurality of reusable modular shelves to receive units of the product, the shelves being releasably attached to the stand body, formed of plastics, and configured to be reusable with a further stand body configured to promote a different product after being removed from said stand body.

2. A temporary product display stand according to claim 1, the stand body being free standing.

3. A temporary product display stand according to claim 1 or 2, the stand body being shaped and printed to display advertising specific to a particular product.

4. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the stand body being unique to a particular product or promotion.

5. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the shelves being injection moulded.

6. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the shelves being transparent.

7. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the shelves being stackable so as to nest at least partially inside one another.

8. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the shelves each comprising at least one tab, configured to be insertable into a hole or recess in the stand body to releasably secure the shelves to the stand body and allow the shelves to support and display the product.

9. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the shelves being adapted to support the underside of the product.

10. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the product being a particular DVD title.

11. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, the product being a particular software or games console title or package.

12. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the units of product are supplied placed on the shelves.

13. A temporary product display stand kit comprising: a plurality of stand bodies of cardboard bendable plastics or the like, each configured to promote a different product to be displayed; a plurality of modular shelves configured to receive and display multiple units of any of the products, the shelves being formed of plastics and being releasably attachable to any of the plurality of stand bodies.

14. A temporary product display stand according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the different products are all of similar dimensions that fit within the modular shelf.

15. A method of displaying products on temporary display stands comprising: assembling a first stand body, configured to promote a first product, by bending the first stand body into a self supporting shape, the first stand body being formed from cardboard, plastics or the like; releasably attaching a plurality of modular shelves to the first stand body; placing units of the first product onto the shelves; removing the modular shelves from the first stand body; assembling a second stand body, configured to promote a second product, by bending the second stand body into a self supporting shape, the second stand body being formed of cardboard, plastics or the like; releasably attaching the plurality of modular shelves to the second stand body; and placing units of a second product onto the shelves.

16. A temporary product display stand, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A modular shelf, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A modular shelf configured to be used in a temporary product display stand according to any one of claims ito 14 or 16.