Tips That’ll Get You in the Door

Through numerous yearly summits and tradeshow events, the ST staff speaks face-to-face with end users. We often discuss the issues they face when dealing with small signshops. Also, we take countless phone calls from signmakers who seek business advice or technology information. Sometimes that person on the other line is a small signshop owner wanting to know how to contact various sign buyers.

So, ST asked Abel Villacorta, director of innovation for Boulder, CO-based Wild Oats Markets Inc., his advice.

Villacorta is the company’s sign buyer for all of its prototype stores. He oversees the development and design of all new concept elements in all prototype store-plan documents, which include the creative development of new departments, visual-merchandising display fixtures, store layouts and lighting design, based on customer focus and brand strategy as established by Wild Oats Markets.

Recently, in Boulder, CO, Villacorta worked alongside plan-development teams, architects and designers to execute the prototype design of the company’s flagship store, which opened in April, and its home office.

Having graduated from Colorado State University in 1997 with bachelor degrees in marketing and graphic design, Villacorta started working for Wild Oats, a company whose 109 stores, in 24 states and British Columbia, top $1 billion in annual sales. He began his career with the company as a graphic designer, creating such collateral materials as ROP ads, informational brochures, promotional circulars and financial reports.

In less than two years, Villacorta was promoted to art director. He oversaw a seven-member team of graphic designers whose job was to design all Wild Oats’ branded materials, such as print advertising, web design, packaging and store signage.

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As part of his responsibility, Villacorta oversees the marketing and store-design teams. These teams, he says, coordinate with vendors who will manufacture the signs.

For soft-sign orders, Villacorta says Wild Oats contracts with brokers to get the best price and quality from printers. He suggests smaller sign companies, who are courting large, multi-location retailers, approach sign brokers, although he admits that contacting the retailer can spark a relationship.

ST asked Villacorta if he could answer a few questions signmakers often ask us.

His answers take us through the process from approaching the bid to design to selecting the materials.

How should a sign company salesperson contact you?
Sign companies can contact us via direct mail, with a follow-up phone call.

Does your company prefer maintenance contracts on signs? Are signs purchased or leased?
We don’t purchase maintenance contracts on our signs. We hire sign companies on a local, as-needed, basis for our signs. Signs are purchased.

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Does your company purchase all of its signs from one office, or should sign companies also contact other offices or a purchasing department?
We have a single office and operate centrally. That may change in the future after we merge with Whole Foods.

Does your company have a bidders list or a bid-criteria form, and does it provide specific bid information or request-for-proposal (RFP) forms for its suppliers?
We initially bid our work out to a few firms. The list is mainly based on references from other industry executives. Wild Oats then forms relationships with specific sign providers. We seldom do multiple bids thereafter, as long as the relationship we build is a reliable and trusted one.

Does your company have standard requirements for a supplier, such as price, delivery, service, terms and conditions, delivery location or other relevant factors?
Not explicitly, but we set expectations for the vendor of choice. Aside from the usual expectation of being able to design, engineer, fabricate and install, we expect our sign vendors to deliver a high level of personal service. We also indicate that the project managers assigned to us be seasoned professionals with at least five years of sign-management experience.
We demand our sign companies use our web-based, construction project-management system to communicate and archive all transactions.
We also stress the importance of a sign company’s capacity to tightly manage its subcontractors, who are usually the weakest link in the chain and the ones most likely to make the sign company under perform.

Does your company provide instructions on its billing requirements and a payment schedule?
Yes, as part of our initial connection, we communicate our payment terms and billing process.

What are your company’s warranty requirements on signage?
All signage must be guaranteed against poor workmanship for three years for parts and labor. Defective materials are guaranteed for one year for parts and labor, not including lamps. A sign company’s bid includes an end-of-warranty rate for service work.

If extensive engineering, design or technical specification work is necessary, can a sign company bid this separately?
Yes, but we usually build this into the cost of goods.

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Can a sign salesperson arrange to visit your office to discuss conducting business with you and, at the same time, show you photographs of the company’s work?
We only do this on an as-needed basis. Time is precious, and we can’t have every company that calls come in and make a presentation.

Does your company have inhouse design capabilities? Do you typically hire a design firm and a sign company separately, or does the sign company typically provide the design services as well?
We have inhouse design capabilities. However, when developing new sign packages, we generally hire design firms and sign companies separately. We have found design firms don’t provide highly detailed drawings that are production-ready, so we ask the sign company to do some CAD drawings for us.

Are there predetermined specs for a sign’s dimensions, materials, fonts, colors, etc.?
We develop a sign package and criteria set, and sign firms build from our specs.