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Knives, swords, multi-tools and other cutting devices are core items for almost every army/navy store.

Yet unlike the knife specialty store, a niche retailer that is in decline, the army/navy store must dedicate selling and storage space to a daunting variety of products across a wide range of product categories.

That makes it more difficult for the army/navy retailer to determine where, how and how much space to devote to cutlery products in the store. It also requires help from cutlery suppliers in terms of display and presentation cases and in the need for selling tools such as posters, catalogs, signage and other sales aids.

Further complicating matters are the broad range of categories within the cutlery market; sporting, tactical, utility, collectible, tools, pocket knives and a host of swords including martial arts, fantasy, military, ceremonial and decorative.

There are some common sense rules for the display of knives that help the retailer narrow his choices as to location within the store.

For example, since safety and pilferage are always issues with knives, the products must be physically separated from direct contact with customers except under direct supervision. This makes an enclosed display case or countertop display a must, and knives that are not shown in this manner should be individually blister carded or clamshelled, to prevent direct contact with the blade.

Safety and pilferage issues would also seem to drive the choice of location to areas near the point of sale, where store personnel will most likely be present to help customers with knife selection and to monitor customer interaction with carded or blistered product.

METAL UNDER GLASS

The most common display vehicle for knives is the glass display case, either the floor-based type or the countertop-based version. The latter provides eye-level viewing of the product for the customer, but also usurps valuable countertop space, especially if located at the checkout counter.

The floor-based glass display case is usually short but wide, yet offers plenty of display space with multiple layers of glass shelving to maximize the viewing area to an even greater extent.

It does not present as optimal a viewing angle for the customer as the countertop display, though.

Blister carded or clamshell packaged knives has become a more popular presentation mode for low-to-medium cost knives. It is also a popular choice for display in big box or general merchandise stores rather than in specialty stores. This is partially due to the ability of individually packaged knives to feature selling points on the packaging, reducing the need for employee-customer interaction.