Victor Moldovan Has One Word For You: Lighting

Mr. McQuire: Come with me for a minute. Ben — I want to say one word to you — just one word.

Ben: Yes, sir.

Mr. McQuire: Are you listening?

Ben: Yes I am.

Mr. McQuire (gravely) : Plastics.

This classic scene, of course, is from the movie, "The Graduate," when Ben -- famously played by Dustin Hoffman — gets advice from his parents´ friend just after graduating from college.

Well, similar to Mr. McQuire, Atlanta interior designer Victor Moldovan has one word for retailers:

Lighting.

"I see wonderfully merchandised gift stores with horrible fluorescent lighting," Moldovan said. "I´ve walked into so many stores where the lighting level is so uniform, it´s almost flat looking." Lighting can create lots of highs and lows in the retail environment, he said, and many retailers "just really miss the boat on that."

Moldovan´s recommendation for any up-market retailer is to use accent lighting throughout the store. Otherwise, he said, "You are going to lose that customer because your interior is sort of like a Marshalls."

In the movie, after Mr. McQuire delivered his now famous "Plastics" line, he and Ben looked at each other for a long moment.

Ben: Exactly how do you mean?

Mr. McQuire: There is a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?

Ben: Yes, I will.

Mr. McQuire: OK. Enough said. That´s a deal.

Ben, of course, did not heed Mr. McQuire´s advice. But you, hopefully, will heed Moldovan´s.

Next in Retail Strategies, Moldovan offers a simple suggestion for retailers.