Patent Application
20080245827
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for the display of multiple garments. More particularly, the present invention is directed to the display of three or more garments on a single hanger so that they may be displayed and sold as a group.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exist in the art a wide variety of devices and methods for presenting articles of clothing, shirts, hats, pants, etc., for display so that they may be viewed by potential buyers. One of the most common of these devices is the hanger.
Generally the garments which are placed on the hanger are then hung from some sort of bar arrangement by a hook which extends from the hanger. The bars on which the hangers, with their associated garments may be hung, come in a wide variety of styles including simple straight bars and circular formed bars. The hangers are generally placed on the bars such that the hanger body is perpendicular to the bar. Often when multiple garments are hung for respective hangers and placed on the bar, only the side of the garment is visible. Alternatively, the bar may be so arranged that the front of one of the garments is visible to a potential purchaser.
Hangers come in a wide variety of styles and shapes. The shapes and styles of these hangers generally evolve from the article which they are to display. For example, many hangers have specially formed bars which provide a place to securely fasten pants on the hanger. Other hangers have particular shapes to support the shoulders of, for example, sport coats and suit jackets.
Other garments are not typically placed on hangers. For example, hats, such as ball caps are typically presented for sale either by placing the hats on a flat surface, by attaching a hook like plastic tie to allow the hat to be hung on a metal post, or alternatively by placing hats in cubby-holes where hats having the same logo are store together. As can be imagined, each of these arrangements necessitates the use of the limited amounts of floor space that is available to a store operator.
In selling apparel, particularly sporting apparel such as T-shirts, ball caps, etc., a store manager will often attempt to place related sporting apparel in close proximity, this is particularly true where one is selling in a primary market for a particular sports franchise or university sports team. Thus for example, if one is selling T-shirts and hats in Ann Arbor, Mich. it is very common to find the U of M hats, T-shirts, and sweatshirts in close proximity to one another. Similarly, if one is selling such merchandise the New York metropolitan area the retailer may have a concentrated display New York Jets, New York Giants, New York Yankees, New York Mets, New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and/or New Jersey Nets apparel. As can be imagined to have separate locations for T-shirts, long sleeve T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and other items will take substantial amounts of floor space. The use of so much floor space to house shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and other items from so many teams, to say nothing of other clothing items can be challenging for store operators.
Often it occurs that a person who wishes to purchase a particular T-shirt will also wish to purchase a similar long sleeve shirt and also a hat. Thus while to have a sale of two or more different items is beneficial, the fixed amount of floor space presents a balancing issue for the operator, wherein some operators may choose not to sell certain items because the floor space will not accommodate them and/or the operator may thing that the sales do not justify such a use of floor space.
Another aspect of the garment sales industry is that many garments are delivered to the point of sale already loaded on a hanger or having the display attachment devices already included in the packaging of the garment. Thus by effectively placing garments on hangers and arranging the garments in an effective manner, the store operator can more effectively allocate floor space and in some instances sell greater numbers of garments.
Thus there is a need for a multi-garment display that will enable a store owner to display multiple garments without taking up unnecessary floor space. Moreover there is a need to present an opportunity for a purchaser to purchase multiple items as part of a single purchase. Finally there is a need for a method of affixing garments for display so that when received by store operators the garments are already effectively placed for efficient placement in the store.
A kit for sale of multiple garments in a single transaction, the kit including a first shirt, a second shirt, and a hat. The first and second shirts being placed on the hanger with the hook of the hanger through a neck of the shirts. The hat connected to the hanger with a tie, the tie extending through a loop formed on the hanger and extending through a portion of the hat.
A method of presenting multiple garments for sale including steps of placing a first shirt on a hanger, placing a second shirt on a hanger over the first shirt, inserting a tie through a loop formed on the hanger, and connecting the tie through a hat to form a multi-garment display.
A method of providing multiple garments for a single point of sale transaction including steps of placing a first shirt on a hanger, placing a second shirt on a hanger over the first shirt, inserting a tie through a loop formed on the hanger, and connecting the tie through a hat to form a multi-garment display, placing the multiple garments on a display bar for view by a potential purchaser.
These and other objects and features of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
Extending from an underside of the body 13 of the hanger 12 is an attachment loop 20. The attachment loop 20 has an opening into which a tie 22 may be placed. The tie 22 enables a user to attach another garment such as a hat 24 to the hanger 12. Thus as shown in
This arrangement of multiple garments on a single hanger for sale together can be performed by a clothing distributor, such that the distributor or another party up-stream in the commercial transaction can place the long sleeve shirt 18 on hanger 12, followed by placement of the T-shirt 16 on the hanger 12. Next a tie 20 is looped through the attachment loop 20 and then through a portion of a hat 24 to form a multi-garment display that can be placed on a bar and display all three items together. Moreover the three garments are presented together for purchase as a group.
As such the two shirts and hat are presented for sale as a kit or combination. As will be readily appreciated, more garments may be placed on the hanger to achieve similar savings in space for display and to increase the volume of garments sold in a single transaction.
Another aspect of the present invention as shown in
Another aspect of this is that it allows the clothing distributor to pre-package combinations of garments having appealing color combinations, which are aesthetically pleasing to the purchaser. For example a NY Jets fan might find a white long sleeve shirt and a green T-shirt to be an appealing combination, particularly when placed in further combination with either a white or green hat, such that the fan could wear the three garments together or in various combinations.
It will be appreciated that details of the foregoing embodiments, given for purposes of illustration, are not to be construed as limiting the scope of this invention. Although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. For example, features described in relation to one embodiment may be incorporated into any other embodiment of the invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention, which is defined in the following claims and all equivalents thereto. Further, it is recognized that many embodiments may be conceived that do not achieve all of the advantages of some embodiments, particularly of the preferred embodiments, yet the absence of a particular advantage shall not be construed to necessarily mean that such an embodiment is outside the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60850766 | Oct 2006 | US |
