A Special Advertising Supplement to Shopping Center World

Signage both lights the way to a retailer's door and sets the tone for what awaits a shopper inside.

Ruchin explains that, within the new framework, the company is now capable of satisfying retailers with varying needs. "We are the main provider for both The Disney Store and Payless, and you couldn't find two more different retailers," he says. "The only similarity they have is that both companies have mall locations. But they are quite different philosophically.

"But both retailers will tell you that their respective Federal teams truly understand their needs," he continues. "Because of the combined skills of the individuals on those teams, the customers feel that we're focusing on their business and that we really understand them."

According to Stotmeister, the emergence of the aforementioned Disney Store as a national and multi-national retail leader challenged the company to find answers to difficult, often first-asked questions. He says Federal Sign's work with Disney has motivated them to think farther outside the sign box.

"It's really one of the most interesting client relationships that we have," he says of The Disney Store. "First of all, they're a very demanding customer - they have some definite objectives in mind and some really exciting and challenging graphic applications that they place a high priority on for all their locations. So we started working with their design teams and purchasing people, because we were trying to find ways to put their objectives into a practical, do-able store sign application."

Seven years into their relationship with The Disney Store, says Stotmeister, Federal Sign has become a more pragmatic and inventive sign provider. "Our experience with them taught us that signs don't have to be jest metal and plastic with some electrical connections," he says.

"Through Disney, we were required to get involved with the numerous types of technologies - fiber optics, fiberglass and foam materials - that are now becoming the industry standard.

"Ultimately, clients not only need but appreciate a signage provider that's not stuck in some old design paradigm, and that's willing to work together to come up with unique creations," he continues. "Disney has gone all over the country and world with its stores. As a result, we've gone with them with our sign applications."

"We're a sizable player in fiber optics because we understand the technology ... it has become one more added talent we have in our arsenal."

Garth Ruchin

director of marketing

Federal Sign

Expanding services, improving products

Federal Sign, with a realigned, rich-in-talent employee team and refined corporate mission, has been able to capitalize on the retail industry's metamorphosis. Ruchin predicts that Federal sign can continue to push the design envelope because retail signage materials are making consistent quality gains.

"The ingredients are better now," he says. "The components, paints, coatings and materials we use are so much better now than they used to be. And I think we'll continue to see product improvement in flexibility and longevity."

Ruchin also notes that, in today's market, increasing budgets for retailers have allowed that technology to advance. "Companies are spending more dollars per square foot on their signs as a part of their store package," he says. "At the same time, they're expecting a higher quality product. Because of that, quality has become a lot more of a given than it used to be."

As sign quality and flexibility continue to change, Stotmeister emphasizes, signs have become all the more important to retailers' overall game plan. If retailers walk away from a lease deal based on signage restrictions, he says, it may be attributable to how signage can be an essential extension of a store's branding message.