One Cool Endcap

When their co-op’s district manager issued a challenge, the staff at Paul’s Ace Hardware was ready to take it on.

The district manager challenged Ace stores in the area to be more creative with the displays in their electrical departments. The staff at Paul’s Ace, which has six locations in Arizona, came up with several ideas.

The business’s two winning displays were a giant lightbulb at the end of an aisle that held several LED light bulbs (plugged in and turned on), and an endcap with information from the co-op about LEDs and a selection of lightbulbs for customers to choose from.

“I think what’s really fun about both of these was that customers could touch and feel the bulbs,” says Julie Buchkowski, owner of Paul’s Ace Hardware. “It sounds silly because lightbulbs are typically hot—that’s the point; LED bulbs are not hot. Customers could touch them and realize they aren’t creating heat.

“The customers loved the displays,” she says. “The displays were so helpful in teaching them more about the different kinds of bulbs we sell.”