History

In North America, the store fixture manufacturing industry was generally perceived as an adjunct to the woodworking industry until the early part of the 20th century. At that time, fixture companies formed the National Association of Commercial Fixture Manufacturers. The Great Depression of the 1930s caused the demise of this group. In 1956 the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers (NASFM) was founded. The nonprofit trade association represents the store fixture manufacturing industry.

In Spring of 2007, NASFM became A.R.E. — the Association for Retail Environments. While the company still includes store fixture manufacturers and suppliers, it has also incorporated retail design firms, suppliers of visual merchandising products, and suppliers of materials and equipment for the retail environments industry.

What are store fixtures?

A store fixture, according to A.R.E., is "any product used to hold or present a product or service in a retail environment." Store fixtures include showcases, counters and cabinets, partitions and dividers, gondolas, kiosks and carts, display cases and racks, back-islands, cash-register wraps, workstations, fitting rooms, bracket boards (slotwall), wall display units, shelving, casework, panel systems, merchandising racks, reception areas, storefronts, face-outs, grid systems, display platforms and cubes, and related products. Supermarkets, bakeries, and other stores also use refrigerated and heated fixtures to display food and beverage products. In addition, some fixtures incorporate various types of commercial furniture in their designs.

What are commercial fixtures?

About 85% of fixtures are installed in retail stores. The remaining 15% of fixturing is installed in schools, banks, offices, libraries, hotels, casinos, hospitals, museums, airports, and other types of nonretail businesses. If considered as a group, all of these fixtures are commercial in nature; that is, nonresidential. Fixturing is an important element in the marketing plans of retailers, who may remodel their store interiors as often as every three years. This explains the large percentage of the market dominated by store fixtures. Another factor is the rate of new construction of shopping centers and freestanding stores.

Fixture markets

Fixtures are installed in all types of retail businesses, including department and specialty stores, discount chains and general merchandisers, and warehouse clubs. Some of the other retail categories are variety, book, hardware, catalog, convenience, sporting goods, jewelry, cosmetics, lawn and garden, automotive, gift, footwear, apparel, candy, camera, audio and video, eyewear, and computers and electronics. Also home centers, pharmacies, supermarkets, gourmet shops, pro shops, hairstyling shops, delicatessens, and food courts.

Additional fixture markets include government and military, financial (banks, savings and loans) hospitality (hotels, motels), health care (hospitals, clinics, medical centers, laboratories), education (elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities), offices (executive, legal, government, medical), restaurants and truckstops, bars and lounges, showrooms, entertainment (casinos, amusement parks, theaters), public buildings (libraries, museums, courthouses), transportation (airports, cruise ships/yachts, train and bus stations), religion (churches, synagogues).

Store fixture manufacturers serve a variety of geographic markets as well. These can be local, state, regional (e.g. southwest, northeast), national U.S., North America (Canada, Mexico, U.S.), U.S. and Europe, or international.

Industry revenue

The U.S. Store Fixture Manufacturing industry generated approximately $10.1 billion in revenue in 2003. On average, members reported that nearly all of their companies' 2003 gross revenues were derived from custom production. Fixtures manufactured of wood and laminates constituted more than half (wood 41.6%, laminates 13.9%) of sales by A.R.E. member fixture manufacturers. Products manufactured from metal and welded wire made up about a third of sales (metal 28.6%, welded wire 4.7%); and plastics and acrylics made up 5.9%. (Source: A.R.E.'s 2004 Industry Performance Report.)

Industry size

It is estimated that about 3,000 companies manufacture fixtures in some capacity. More than 2,000 of these companies are extremely small, “mom and pop” companies that don’t have the capacity to compete for chain retailer accounts on a regional or national basis. These smaller companies are often not retail-specific in their scope and are better understood by their manufacturing capabilities and not the markets they serve.

A.R.E. member companies specializing in custom and production store fixtures employ approximately 75,000 workers at more than 700 facilities worldwide. It's estimated that A.R.E. member companies produce 85 percent of all store fixtures made in North America.

Profile of a store fixture manufacturer

The average store fixture manufacturing firm has been in business 25 years, with 72% having been in business 10 or more years. While the typical firm generates about $10.5 million in annual revenue, 12% of the firms have revenues of less than $4 million and 24% have revenues of over $20 million. The typical fixture company employes about 86 employees, of which about 51 are employed in production. The sales-per-employee figure is $137,592. Plant size generally follows a ratio of 1,000 sq. ft. per employee (that is, a 50,000 sq. ft. plant will typically have 50 employees).

A.R.E.'s members tend to be more sophisticated than the industry as a whole. The typical member has a 115,000 sq. ft. plant and 86 employees. The typical member purchases $3.96 million in materials, including wood and panel products, hardware, glass and mirror, metal and chrome trim, melamine and veneers, laminate moldings, lighting, woodworking machinery and power tools, tubing, coatings and adhesives, and services such as transportation and installation.

Over the last five years, industry-wide sales increases have been volatile, ranging from 6.8% in 1999 to -1% in 2001, and back up to 1.8% in 2003. The health of the fixture industry is tied to the health of the retail industry: When retailers build outlets and remodel, fixture firms do well.

Few fixture manufacturers are publicly owned; A.R.E. publishes an annual Industry Financial Report detailing the economics of store fixture manufacturing in North America; copies of the report are available from A.R.E..

How are fixtures purchased?

Retailers typically include fixtures in their interior store designs, which are drafted by internal or independent store planners, designers, or architects. Fixture blueprints for the project are often put out to bid but can also be negotiated with store fixture manufacturers in an effort to improve quality through value engineering. Manufacturers generally receive progress payments when producing a large fixture order. While most fixture projects are completed in 30 to 90 days, some jobs may span six to nine months and rollout programs can last several years.

How to reach fixture manufacturers

The best way to reach store fixture firms is through their trade organization—the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers (A.R.E.). Store fixture manufacturers read industry publications such as Visual Merchandising & Store Design, Display & Design Ideas, and Chain Store Age Executive. Fixture manufacturers exhibit at The Store Fixturing Show pavilion at GlobalShop, which is sponsored annually by A.R.E..