In praise of packaging

Press, 20 May 1987, Page 16

In praise of packaging

Retail packaging has come of age. How often do you bring home the carrying bags or boxes from purchases.made out of town or abroad? It may be to keep them, use later, or just present your gifts on your return. The French, Italians, Americans, and Japanese regard shopping bags and boxes big and small as a hot part of their merchandising. Unfortunately, many New Zealand retailers fall behind in the importance they place on packaging.. Shopping bags especially, build images for both consmers ' and retailers. For retailers shopping bags are not only walking billboards, creating greater visibility and consumer awareness in the market place. They also serve to tighten a retailer’s advertising and merchandising package.

' I’m convinced that women and men enjoy walking out of a store with an impressive shopping bag. It actually gives you a lift and elevates shopping’s status. Once a consumer leaves a store with a qualitylooking bag with a lasting handle, you can bet he or she will use that shopping bag over and over again, even if it’s to take the baby’s clothes to a picnic. A recent retail survey

in New York revealed that a woman will re-use a shopping bag seven times, a man three times. Some retailers take packaging further by using matching tissue paper — black if the bag is black. Instead of using sellotape, they close the tissue packaging with beautiful labels. Boxes are also high on the package promotion list. The best, are tied with a ribbon or clever, pre-bowed metallic elastic.

How pleasant it is to buy a gift and have it beautifully packaged in a designer box. It somehow looks more special than gift wrapping at home. Bob Costa, general sales manager for New Yorkbased Champion, one of America’s leading shopping bag manufacturers says “Working women had a lot to do with the popularity of status shopping bags in the United States.

“They don’t have time to buy a present, plus wrapping paper, a bow and a box on their lunch break. They want to walk into a reputable store, select a gift and then just give it to a friend in a beautiful shopping bag that speaks for itself. It’s the ‘in’ way to give a gift.”

Yuppies too, have helped to trigger the shopping bag craze. They thrive on quality and status symbols.

An excellent form of packaging created by New Zealanders for New Zealanders is the carry bag from "Parachute” in Auckland, and the clever silver di-cut jewellery box by Nicolas Manufacturing Jewellery, in Christchurch.

“Esprit” has created a lightweight plastic duffel carrybag..; clever in design and enormously practical.

I’m sure there are others, but I feel there still remains the attitude

in this country that “packaging is an unnecessary, expensive luxury.” It may take a little innovation from our designers to get retailers motivated. I noted this season that Christchurch designer, Barbara Lee has provided stockists with beautiful white boxes for her lingerie, complete with velvet ribbon. This is excellent marketing. Not only does it enhance the designer’s image, but is ex-

cellent public relations for retailers. . Let’s hope that soon more of our retailers see the marketing benefits of point-of-sale packaging. As a collector of retail shopping bags and a past packaging designer, I must add that we consumers love plain colours, preferably strong and dark, or pale shades, depth, and handles that don’t give way easily — agreed, shoppers?