ZBD Displays Celebrates First Anniversary In US Store

Innovative, Interactive "ON Store" Chose ZBD's Electronic Shelf Tags For New Concept Store

ZBD Displays, Ltd., the leader in fully graphic electronic shelf labels (ESL) for retail, recently announced that it has reached the one-year anniversary of its installation at the new concept "ON Store".

ZBD Displays' electronic shelf labels have been used at The ON Store, an interactive consumer electronics store at Southgate Mall in Missoula, Montana, since last November. The ON Store is the brainchild of George Manlove and the executive team of Vann's - a six-store consumer electronics chain in northwest Montana well-known to consumers for its strong Internet sales efforts, tech-savvy stores and its adoption of new technologies.

"We were looking for a pricing display that would go along with the high-tech products we showcase at The ON Store and the ZBD technology has been a fantastic solution," said retail director Gerry Demple. "The public reaction to the displays can be summed up in one word: 'Cool.' "

That's what Demple says he's heard from customers and staff alike at The ON Store, which was designed to be "nearly completely interactive with the customer."

The store carries nearly every product from Apple, along with smart phones, flat-screen televisions and traditional consumer electronics - with a heavy emphasis on digital audio, gaming devices, many interactive products, a headphone bar, and video editing suites that customers can explore.

Electronic shelf labels are beginning to replace the traditional paper price tags that have been on retail shelves since the introduction of the Universal Product Code (UPC) in the mid-1970s. ZBD Displays, Ltd. has developed five models, each a different size for use in a variety of retail applications. Each features a fully graphical, high-contrast, liquid crystal display (LCD) that shows graphics, product and price information.

Nearly 300 of ZBD's electronic shelf tags are installed throughout The ON Store. This includes ZBD's electronic point of purchase (epop) 50, the smallest of the company's product offering (2.75 by 1.25 inches) and ideal for small products and limited shelf space, and ZBD's larger epop 500 (4 by 3.2 inches) - which can display more graphics and promotional information.

In addition to the "look" of the ESLs, Demple says there were other key considerations that went into choosing the ZBD solution: the long-term savings the company would incur compared to printing and affixing paper tags for every price change, the ability to change prices quickly, the return on investment (ROI), and the future ability to implement 'time-of-day' promotions.

Another advantage of the ZBD's epop displays is that they require no battery power to retain the price and graphic images on screen between changes - and each epop has an average battery life of five years.

"Since they don't require battery power once the changes are made, we don't have to worry about powering down the system every night," Demple said. "Ultimately, I expect we'll see some reduction in our overall energy use, simply because we aren't operating printers to generate our paper price tags and we're eliminating the cost of transporting them to our stores every week."

Manlove and the Vann's management team have already received recognition for The ON Store, winning a Retail Innovation Award in August from top consumer electronics magazine Dealerscope. They are currently reviewing expansion possibilities of the new brand into other markets next year, and expect to use ZBD's electronic label technology at any new ON Stores in the future.

"We wanted The On Store to be viewed as a high-end retailer in the consumer electronics market and we wanted our pricing display and all promotional mechanisms to reflect that," Demple said. "The ZBD technology has helped us complete that appearance and, in a way, enhance the experience for our customers."

For more information about ZBD's electronic shelf labels, contact ZBD Displays, Ltd.'s U.S. Office or email contact@zbdsolutions.com.

About ZBD
ZBD Displays, Ltd. is a leader in the design and supply of electronic shelf edge labels and associated software solutions for the global retail industry. The company has developed the next generation of LCD, creating high-contrast bistability that requires no battery power to retain its image. ZBD's range of e-paper displays provide any retailer with a total store solution and the ability to dynamically manage and update pricing, product and promotional information at point of purchase.

Formed in 2000 out of QinetiQ, ZBD is a pioneering company with its own research and development personnel - and has full intellectual property rights to the bistable, high-definition screen technology it developed, along with the scalable manufacturing processes that enable it to deliver an e-paper solution with practical commercial advantages for retailers.

For more information, visit www.zbdsolutions.com.

About Vann's/The ON Store
Founded in 1961, Vann's operates a chain of six stand-alone electronics stores in northwest Montana. Under the management of George Manlove, a former Apple employee who took over management responsibilities in 1985, Vann's became one of the first retailers in the country to stock Apple's new Macintosh computers and continued to add more computer and home office equipment to its product line - which had traditionally focused on televisions and appliances. In 1997, Vann's became one of the first electronic stores to launch a website when the Internet was in its infancy. Internet sales now account for about 70 percent of the company's revenue. In 2010, Vann's introduced a new, high-concept, interactive consumer electronics store, branded as The ON Store - with an interactive focus aimed at the customers' experience.

For more information, visit www.vanns.com

SOURCE: ZBD Displays, Ltd.