The design and style of retail display equipment can make the difference between a sale and a lost customer. Display units must be crafted in such a way so the product stands out from its competitors, demonstrates its qualities and inspires the consumer.

Suffolk-based Popworks has been designing and manufacturing point of purchase equipment for over 30 years. Its in-house team of 15 retail specialists and national cohort of subcontractors predominantly work with timber, MFC, MDF and steel to create stands and displays for clients in the home interiors industry.

Popworks has been working with Häfele for many years but recently added Loox lighting to its services to offer customers an opportunity to illuminate their goods and achieve a market advantage.

David Anderson, owner of Popworks, said: “The bulk of items supplied by Hafele is in fixings – nuts, bolts, cams, dowels and drawer runners. There are very few reliable suppliers of these items, but Häfele has always surpassed our expectations.

“Two years ago, we began using Häfele’s Loox LED lighting within our displays, and it’s been so successful we now consider it one of our commodity services. Our perception had always been that Häfele’s lighting was purely geared towards kitchens and bedrooms, but when we were introduced to Loox by the team it became apparent its applications are much more varied, and many features of the range are perfectly suited to the designs of our point of purchase equipment.”

The Loox range

According to Hafele, the capabilities of the Loox range are vast. With wiring and connection power available up to 5amp, its drivers mean the lighting can be used 24 hours a day for up to 50,000 hours – and in some cases 70,000 hours – without any noticeable reduction in performance. The colour rendering index – a scale that rates an artificial white light source’s ability to accurately display colour – is above 90, meaning that during these 50,000+ hours there will be no difference in colour quality, making it a top choice for settings where colour accuracy is important – such as shop displays.

David said: “Any display we create has the sole purpose of presenting the clients products in the best possible way. For home interiors businesses, their branding, product and product information must stand out and lighting plays a key role in that. But we can’t just stick a lamp in a unit; the display furniture must be the same quality of the product; we design our equipment to match the aspirations of our customers. To achieve that, we require subtle components that are flexible enough to meet the various shapes and sizes of our displays, so the LED strips from Loox are perfect.”

Hafele to Order

Popworks customers often place large orders for roll out over a period of months and can range from 100 units to over 1000 to be scheduled over the product launch period. To deliver such scale, Popworks relies on services which help its team achieve efficiencies. Häfele to Order – a service that cuts, assembles, packages, labels and delivers products to specific requirements to save time during the installation process – has been key to enabling Popworks to take on ever-growing orders from customers.

David said: “When we’re manufacturing at such scale, we don’t want to be rifling through thousands of different components to piece our stands together. Using Häfele to Order, we can specify exactly what we need and it will be delivered to us in sets. For each unit, we select the set which contains all the components we need, so we can just get on with the job and deliver to the customer’s deadlines.

“Häfele to Order has made our life so much easier, it’s now critical to both our offering and goals to continue growing our services for customers. Other suppliers simply aren’t as slick; we’re so busy, we need the least resistance in our processes as possible. Häfele’s services and products have only ever supplemented and amplified what we’re able to offer. When you consider the huge range of products Häfele offers too, there’s no reason for us to work with anyone else.

“I recommend Häfele to everyone, from other manufacturers to my wife when she’s looking for items relevant to her property renovation projects. If someone in the field asks where they’d be able to find something of high quality with brilliant service, I’ll only ever say Häfele.”