Home > News

Rotherham businesses got into the festive spirit in December by revitalising their window displays and assessing how they could add further artistic flair with the help of The Source. The Rotherham Town Centre Management team ran a festive window dressing competition to win a three week radio commercial worth £800 on Rother FM, and to help inspire them The Source held free visual merchandising workshops.

David Webber, Visual Merchandising Manager at The Source, held several free workshops to encourage local businesses to revamp their window displays and improve the look and feel of the area. The competition attracted interest from across all areas of retail and inspired several exciting displays for David Webber and Dianne Wainwright, The Source Centre Manager, to judge and award the winning prize. O'Brien Fey Opticians won first place, with Debra Charity and KS Prom Queens in second and third.

David, who has visual merchandising experience working with House of Fraser, Army and Navy and Harrods, held the support workshops which included demonstrating how to merchandise a window, drawing customers in and welcoming the festive season.

David said: "The competition was a fantastic way to encourage local businesses to create festive window displays and we made sure our team were on hand to support the businesses at all times. The standard created was excellent and it was a difficult choice to judge the final three. The winner, O'Brien Fey Opticians, created a beautifully seasonal window that added class and festivity to Wellgate."

Sean O'Brien, owner of O'Brien Fey Opticians, said: "As a business we are proactive in creating inviting window displays, but David at The Source showed us additional hints and tips and we are really proud of our creation. We were thrilled we won and it has encouraged us to be even more creative with the windows in future."