"Help" Desks......

Rax & Dollies mannequins spotted at Premiere Fashion Event at Moore Park

Premiere is a boutique trade event for exclusive brands. Held over 11-13 March 2012, at the Royal House of Industries at Moore Park, Premiere previews the latest collections in a professional yet boutique environment.


Rax & Dollies were called upon to provide mannequin hire to various exhibitors at the trade show. Pictured here are our Abstract Bounce! Plastic Mannequins dressed to impress!

WOW!

Some of our customers say the nicest things! Here's an email we received today that made us smile!

From: Kate 

Subject: RE: Your Rax & Dollies order has been despatched!

Date: 9 March 2012 3:04:15 PM AEDT

To: "info@raxanddollies.com.au" <info@raxanddollies.com.au>

Hi Rax & Dollies!

I just wanted to say a big thank you and also: WOW!  I ordered a new stand for our skeleton yesterday off your site and was SO IMPRESSED when it arrived TODAY!  I was even more happy when I realised the product would actually work on said skeleton:  it was a bit of a stab in the dark! 

You should be commended on your efficiency and service!  We'll definitely shop with you again! 

Have a wonderful weekend

395 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

T 07 3251 5655  ¦ F 07 3251 5656 ¦ ¦ www.fitness.edu.au

Spotted on Oxford St - some Rax & Dollies Mannequins ready for Mardi Gras!

Kathi spotted some of our mannequins dressed up ready for Mardi Gras on Oxford St, while driving into our Crown St showroom this morning!

Handling The Haggler

(Image from Monty Python's "The Life of Brian")

By Graeme Mc Pherson

Every retailers favourite customer is the haggler, isn't it?! ;)

With the internet making it so easy now for people to compare pricing between competitors, one of the most common things for small businesses to deal with on a day to day basis is the haggler.

And with competition for sales so stiff, it can be tempting to fall into the net of the haggler.

There are many schools of thought on how to handle hagglers. In the end, I believe the answer comes down to doing what you are comfortable with. I do suggest setting some self imposed ground rules though, and sticking by them. Those ground rules should revolve around who your target customer is - who you're most aiming to sell to, and the impact those customers have on your business model.

Many's the time I have stood next to a customer thinking to myself "Am I really going to let this sale go for the sake of $10 or $20 here?". If the customer is obnoxious or ignorant, then yes, I let them go and inflict themselves upon a competitor. Other times, if it means sealing the deal and spending the next 5 minutes working on something important instead of haggling, then I'll do the deal. 

The one type of haggler who amazes me is the one who will literally drive all the way around Sydney to get everything they want at the cheapest price. I've come across people who've spent $50 on petrol buying $300 worth of products. My advice here is to never haggle with these customers. They have no loyalty to anyone except the cheapest price. Let them waste your competitors time and margins!

Are there scenarios where haggling is ok? Well, any business owner hates to give away money of course, but there are times when allowing a customer to haggle a bit is a good way to generate some goodwill or finally get your foot in the door with a client you've been working on for a while.

If someone has bought a good sized order from you, then look at ways you can give them a package deal. And be creative about it too - if there's a product or 2 in that deal that has a low cost and high margin, then throw them in as freebies. Sometimes a gesture like this gives away less margin than an actual "X percent off discount", yet still leaves your customer feeling good about the deal.

If you're trying to help out a client who has credit with you, then offer them a discount if they pay up front instead of the 30 days they usually pay in.

The most dangerous downside to haggling is setting precedents - once a customer knows they can get you over a barrel, you will then spend every transaction in a haggling match. 

And don't be too scared of losing a bad sale to a competitor - there are businesses out there selling at ludicrously thin margins trying to get sales. Let them. Their money is working way harder than yours for less reward, and unless they are an amazingly lean and efficient business, they will not be able to sustain that kind of business model. The worst thing you can ever do is roll out the welcome mat for customers whose only loyalty is to the cheapest price.

Lastly, the best protection against the haggler is to work on your product range. Find exclusive product where price comparisons are not an option. Here at Rax & Dollies, we work hard on making sure our mannequin and retail shop supplies range stands out from the rest of the pack. When you're starting from this place, you're dealing with a better level of clientele who value service, style and product quality over price. You're probably still going to end up haggling at some point with these clients, but I guarantee you're going to feel better about it and you know the haggling is going to be on your terms. By all means, reward good customers with a good deal, just make sure its win - win for both you and your customer!

Happy haggling!

Ivy Abstract Mannequins spotted at Westfield Parramatta

Proof our warehouse team has no budding artists....

Raw Finish Mannequins

Rather than being painted like traditional mannequins, raw mannequins are sanded by hand to produce this edgy raw look. The raw look works well in stores wanting to portray a grungy, industrial image. 

Any of our premium fibreglass range can be produced in raw finish. To see more images of raw finish mannequins, visit our galleries page here.

Wood Grain Finish Mannequins

You can stand out from the crowd with amazing wood-grain finish mannequins. Wood grained mannequins can be ordered in male or female - with or without heads. The process to finish our mannequins in a wood grain colour is similar to old-school marbling. This finish is perfect for prime front window real estate in fashion boutiques and is sure to distinguish your fashions from the pack.... 

To learn more about this premium product please contact us

Choosing the right mannequin for your retail store

When choosing the right mannequin for your retail store, you should be aiming to portray your brands image and feel.

While large chains can go to great expense with their mannequin window displays, for small retailers the same principle applies, even if you don't have the big corporate budget to dress your window. It can help to go to fashion websites or magazines and get some ideas to find poses, feels and imagery that suits your desired look.

Don't be afraid to add some touches of the exotic or flamboyant to your mannequin displays if it fits in with your brands aesthetic, after all the reason you have mannequins in your front window is to stand out from the crowd - right?!

Also, if you have time up your sleeve, custom colours and finishes are easy - we have done custom colours for both small and large orders - and it has been as simple as giving us a colour swatch from the paint colour boards at a paint store or Bunnings. And remember while you can always pick from a mannequin that is in stock and catalogued, its easy for you to "mix & match" - alot of customers love that they can pick one mannequin, add a different head or pose characteristic from our other mannequin ranges.

And, if your budget allows - go chrome - in colours as diverse as silver, gold, blue and red!

How a Rax & Dollies Fibreglass Mannequin is Made

Many people ask us "how is a mannequin made"? We should note that before we begin, there is a very vast difference in the factories that make cheap low quality mannequins and the factories that make premium high quality mannequins. From the materials used to the care taken during the process (i.e quality control) through to the working conditions, there is a great chasm between the (very) rare good factory and most of the others in China.

Our factory, we are proud to say, is one of the best facilities in the world, with a determined dedication to following environmental regulations and satisfactory working conditions, as well as a meticulous quality control program.

Most of today's retail shop display mannequins are manufactured from fibreglass moulds, and here is a brief summary of the process.

First there is the actual sculpting process - where a clay model is sculpted. This model when finished is submitted for approval and if all is ok, the sculpted form is made into prototype moulds - usually moulds are made for the heads, hands, arms, legs & torso. This process also allows for changes to these parts later (eg. a different head) without having to start from scratch with a new sculpture.

Once the moulds are completed, we can begin making the mannequin.

First the moulds are filled with fibreglass, sealed and cast - above is a video of the factory floor

during this process.

The next step after removing the moulds is the sanding. This is actually the part of the process where some of the most skilled workers are required. A very labour intensive process, sanding is one of the areas where the quality level of a mannequin is determined. For instance, at our factory, the general manager is very reluctant to use workers from other mannequin factories - as their workmanship is not up to the right standard and it is hard for them to correct bad habits learnt at inferior factories. During the sanding process, all the rough edges left from the moulds are sanded back, and the surface of the mannequin is prepared properly for painting. At this point the pieces of each mannequin are inspected by the quality control team before moving on to the next part of the manufacturing process.



Next the mannequins are sent off to the painting floor, vast areas which can look like a macabre body shop, with dismembered bodies in all shapes, sizes and positions waiting to be painted! The mannequins go through spray booths and then ovens to dry, before once again, the mannequins are subject to rigorous quality control procedures - if something is not right, even if it is microscopic, it goes back to be rectified before the mannequin is allowed to progress. Notice in the first part of the video below, little stickers over the skin colour mannequins - these are the areas identified by quality control to be rectified - you can see how thorough they are!

For the headless mannequins, this is almost the end of the journey, but for the realistic mannequins, the heads and torsos now move on to the make up department, where - in a high quality factory - the make up is actually done by hand. Eyelashes are added (purchased from a local doll maker factory) and the team of make up artists work with a sample head in front of them, to ensure the mannequin's make up is correct.

Make up can either be standard designs, or can be customised to suit clients or brands.

From here, the mannequins go through one last quality control inspection - are fully assembled to make sure all the parts align correctly, and then are packed together with their base and from there, the clients order is packed into a shipping container and sent to the port.

So that's a crash course in how a mannequin is made!



How to assemble a Rax & Dollies Wheelie Rack

Here's a quick how to on setting up the most popular of all retail racks - the Wheelie Rack. The wheelie rack is so popular because it is ready for use in 30 seconds after unpacking from the box. There are no tools required, and is extremely simple to assemble. It is a multipurpose rack which is just as functional in retail stores as an essential part of the travelling salesperson's toolkit. The rack collapses into a flat position to fit into back of most cars, which makes it ideal for party planners.

Click here to view large image of assembly instructions

Our fake children safely buckled up!