Online Site for In-Store Marketers Launched

MarketMAX Inc. launched Market4Retail.com, a B2B marketplace
and community site for people involved in in-store marketing, store planning
and visual merchandising.

The company is a provider of integrated e-business, merchandise planning and
optimization solutions for the retail market.

Market4Retail.com was designed to bring retail buyers and suppliers together
so that they can collaboratively present, view and procure everything in the
merchandise mix — from hardgoods to softgoods to displays and supplies.

“Market4Retail.com is breaking new ground with the first retail B-to-B portal
to address merchandising, from going to market and the earliest design stages
right through to merchandise, assortment and space planning, buying,
presentation and purchase,” said Lori Schafer, MarketMAX president and chief executive officer.

In-store marketers and visual merchandisers can visit online showrooms and
collaborate with their suppliers from initial conceptual design throughout
the fixture and POP procurement process. Store planners can pass CAD designs
and fixture-specific layouts
across the Internet to share ideas with outside design firms, architects and
fixture manufacturers.

Suppliers can post online catalogues, set up virtual showrooms and
collaborate on the procurement process. The site includes chat rooms,
bulletin boards, news and other industry-specific content.

“For the first time, the two merchandising ‘stovepipes’ — in-store
marketing/store planning and merchandising/buying can be efficiently brought
together. This helps eliminate the chronic management problem of how to make
store designs, fixtures, visual elements and merchandise all fit together
into an effective customer presentation that increases ROI,” continued
Schafer.