Abstract:
A retail cosmetic product display and a method for merchandising cosmetics are disclosed. The display comprises display pods that each display an individual product and include information about it for the potential customer to review as well as a UPC code for the item. A plurality of the display pods can be aggregated into a unitary display.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention is directed to the field of retail cosmetic displays. The displays are utilized by retailers selling cosmetics to display a manufacturer&#39;s goods it is offering for sale. The displays are used to provide basic information on the product to the consumer as well as to make the products readily available for purchase. The displays are typically utilized for a variety of items such as lipstick, lip gloss, eyeliner, mascara, etc. 
         [0002]    Cosmetics are generally sold by mass merchandise stores where sales people may or may not be available to assist customers interested in purchasing the items. Retail displays that can provide basic information about the products are thus useful for increasing sales of the products that are generally sold on a self-service basis. Such cosmetics displays are of great interest to both manufacturers and retailers as a way to increase sales. 
         [0003]    The available retail displays are typically relatively large displays directed to a specific product. The present invention is directed to a modular type of display where smaller displays can be aggregated into a larger wall-type or free-standing display. The present invention allows far greater flexibility in the presentation of related items produced by a single manufacturer or by different manufacturers than available displays since four (4) individual pods of the present invention can fit within the size of one presently available retail display. The interchangeability of the pods allows the retailer to move the various products to different locations on the display so as to make the appropriate presentation to the customer or to replace a product with a different product. Thus, the retail display of the present invention provides a great deal more flexibility to the retailer then available displays. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    A merchandise display for cosmetic products comprising a rack for holding a plurality of interchangeable display pods and a plurality of interchangeable display pods for insertion into the rack wherein each of the plurality of interchangeable displays pods comprises a first front surface adapted for displaying information about a cosmetic product offered for sale in the display pod and an area for insertion and storage of the cosmetic product offered for sale in the display pod and a first rear surface comprising a means for attaching the display pod to the rack. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a front plan view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a front plan view of an embodiment of the present invention in use. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a front plan view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a rear plan view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a front view of a retail display incorporating a plurality of embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present invention will now be described in terms of the presently preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 
         [0012]    The retail display  10  of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings.  FIG. 6  illustrates a retail display comprising a plurality of individual display pods  12 . The plurality of display pods  12  are each adapted to display a single product  13  and are described in further detail below. The display pods  12  can be inserted in any of the plurality of locations on the retail display unit  10 . 
         [0013]    The display pods  12  are illustrated in detail in  FIGS. 1 to 5 . In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the display pods  12  are approximately 6″ wide and 6″ high on the front face  14 . The display pods  12  comprise a front unit  16  and a rear connecting unit  18 . 
         [0014]    The front unit  16  comprises a series of transparent holding devices  20 , a header  24  and an outer frame  26 . The transparent holding devices  20  are adapted to receive a plurality of the cosmetic items being offered for sale in the particular display pod. The holding devices  20  comprise a plurality of openings  22  through which the cosmetic items are inserted for display and sale. The plurality of openings  22  are adapted in shape and size to accommodate the particular items offered for sale such as lipstick, lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, etc. 
         [0015]    The front unit  16  also comprises a hinged header  24  for the cosmetic items. The header  24  contains information on its front surface  25  about the cosmetic item displayed on that particular display pod  12  so that the customer can readily understand the product and its advantages. The header  24  is hinged as shown in  FIG. 2  so that it can be opened outward. When it is opened, the rear surface  26  is revealed upon which is imprinted a UPC bar code  28  for the cosmetic item displayed in that particular display pod  12 . This particular feature of the invention allows the retailer to easily monitor inventory and price for the item displayed in the particular display pod  12  as well as track sales of the item. The hinge can be provided with a spring so that the header  24  will automatically close upon being released. 
         [0016]    The rear connecting unit  18  is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The rear connecting unit  18  comprises a frame  28 , a hanging hook  30  and a plurality of locking projections  32 . The hanging hook  30  allows the display pod  12  to be suspended from a wall display or rack while the locking projection  32  secures the display pod  12  to the rack  34 . The locking projections  32  and the hanging hook  30  are adapted to fit in any of the positions on the rack  34 . 
         [0017]    In practice, each of the plurality of display pods  12  would be provided with a header  24  setting forth information on different products on its front surface  25  with a UPC Bar Code  28  on its rear surface  26 . The particular product described on that header would be placed in the openings  22  of the holding device  20 . The plurality of display pods  12  would all be prepared in this way and placed into the rack  34  in a chosen order. After a period of time, the display order of the products in the rack  34  could be rearranged by the retailer to maximize the sales of the products. 
         [0018]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the foregoing merely represents an embodiment of the present invention and that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.