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Gondola
Shelving Demystified
By Adam Jones
Part 2: The Units
In the November edition of the TRIO newsletter we covered
the basics of a Gondola Unit Layout. For those of
you who missed it, you can find the article on our website, www.triodisplay.com,
or by clicking here. This
month we’ll discuss how to select the units themselves,
and after reading this article you should have no trouble
figuring out which gondola units you need to make your
final layout a reality. We’ll also take a brief
look at how to customize your units through the use of
various accessories, backing materials and colors which
will give your gondolas a look that is tailored to your
retail space.
For the purpose of this article, let’s assume we
are following a layout that calls for a 7’ span of
gondola units along one wall, and a 12’ run of gondola
units right down the middle of the store. Right off
the bat, we know that we’re going to be ordering
both wall units and aisle units. “Wall
units” are gondolas with one base shelf and a
flat back. As the name implies they are almost always
placed flush against a wall and are typically taller than
their counterpart, the aisle unit. An “aisle
unit” is basically two wall units built back
to back which allows for the creation of aisles. A
mixture of wall and aisle units is fairly commonplace,
especially in high volume retail situations such as convenience
and grocery stores.
Next, we need to decide how many units to buy in order
to complete the 7’ and 12’ runs of gondolas
required by our layout. Gondola units, be they wall
or aisle, are commonly constructed in 3’ and 4’ lengths. Using
a combination of these two sizes, you can make a run of
gondola shelving in nearly any length. For the 7’ span
of gondolas along the wall of our example store, we would
order two wall units, one 3’ long and the other 4’ long,
and combine them to make a 7’ length of gondola shelving.
Constructing the 12’ aisle run is slightly trickier. Obviously
aisle units are going to be used, but do we purchase three
4’ sections or four 3’ sections in order to
make the 12’ run? A good rule of thumb in this
situation is to use the fewest number of units possible
to make the length of shelving you need, as it’s
ultimately easier on your budget. If we decide to
use three 4’ sections, we not only save ourselves
the cost of a fourth unit, but we’ll also save money
when we’re buying the accessories that attach to
the units.
One last thing needs to be considered when buying the
actual gondola units, and that’s figuring out how
many starters and add-ons are required to construct the
run of shelving in question. So what’s a “starter” and
what's an “add-on?” A
starter is either a wall or an aisle unit that “starts” a
run of shelving and consists of the base shelf (or shelves,
in the case of an aisle unit) and two steel uprights
that frame the backing. Starters are also structurally
sound enough to stand on their own, however they also cost
more due to the extra metal used to make the two uprights. This
extra cost led to the creation of the add-on. An
add-on is either a wall or an aisle unit that “adds-on” to
a starter unit to create the desired length for your run
of shelving. Unlike a starter, an add-on only has one upright. In
order to remain standing, an add-on is attached to a starter
and “borrows” one of its uprights in order
to maintain its structural integrity (a diagram of this
can be found here). Since
there’s less metal involved, add-ons cost significantly
less than starters, which contributes to the excellent
value that gondola systems are known for.
When creating a run of gondola shelving you will only
use one starter per row, which means our 12’ run
of aisle gondolas will be made up of one 4’ starter
and two 4’ add-ons. In the case of our 7’ length
of wall units, you might assume that a judgment call needs
to be made on our part as to whether the 3’ or 4’ unit
will be used as the starter. After everything is
said and done, however, neither unit has a cost or structural
advantage over the other, so either configuration will
work equally well.
So, now that we know the basics of selecting our gondolas,
which units would we purchase in order to make our layout
come to life? For the 7’ long run of shelving
against the wall we would order one 4’ wall unit
starter and one 3’ wall unit add-on (or vice versa!),
and for the 12’ long aisle we would order one 4’ aisle
unit starter and two 4’ aisle unit add-ons. Now
that we’ve worked out how to select the units required
for our project, we need to figure out what our units will
look like and what we’ll attach to them in order
to merchandise our products successfully.
Most standard Gondola units come powder
coated in an off-white color with a painted backing
made of pegboard. Any deviation from this configuration
can potentially lead to both an extra cost as well as
a longer lead-time, therefore your budget and your build-out
timeframe must be taken into consideration when making
decisions about the customization of your units. That
being said, gondola units can be constructed in a several
different “set-ups.” Gondolas come
in a limited number of colors, and a listing of these “standard” and “non-standard” colors
can be found here. Its
important to remember that proper color selection may
be the key factor in what separates your store from the
stores of your competitors.
Along with the pegboard that I mentioned before, gondolas
are commonly backed with a painted piece of hardboard,
a laminated piece of hardboard, or with slatwall. The
pegboard and painted backs are available in the same standard
and non-standard colors as the metal parts of a unit, and
the slatwall and laminated backings are available in a
wide array of low and high-pressure laminates. When
picking a backing material, you need to consider both function
and look. For example, though a painted or laminated
backing may have a “cleaner” appearance, a
pegboard or slatwall back will allow you many more options
when it comes to merchandising your units.
Finally, you need to consider how you will display your
products. Gondola shelves, which come in 3’ and
4’ lengths and a variety of depths, are the most
common attachment used on a gondola unit. Standard
shelves can be attached to the unit horizontally and at
a 15 or 30-degree angle. When attached horizontally,
these shelves can hold up to 600 lbs. which makes them
more than durable enough to display nearly any item. Many
merchants will also stagger the depth of their shelves
to provide a clearer view of the merchandise. For
example, the base shelf might be 18” deep followed
by the shelves above at 16”, 14” and 12” deep. If
you have selected a pegboard or slatwall back for your
units, you can also display items using any standard pegboard
hardware or slatwall
accessories. Knowing your inventory and the needs
of your customers are the two most important factors when
it comes to display accessory selection, therefore we suggest
that you create a merchandising layout similar to the floor
plan layout you made when figuring our where to position
your gondolas in your store. This method of planning
ahead will save you money and keep your merchandise from
collecting dust on your shelves!
So ends our look at steel gondola units. I hope
you have found this series of articles both helpful and
informative. Any further questions or suggestions
for future articles can be emailed to feedback@triodisplay.com,
or posted on the TRIO
Display online forum. Until next time, take care
and happy retailing!
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