PLASTIC PALLETS IMPROVE LOOK AND SAFETY AT MILLER'S MARKET

LINDA PURPURA

WEST SAND LAKE, N.Y. -- Plastic pallets with anti-slip coating are enhancing the look of store displays, reducing damage to product and improving safety at Miller's Market here.

The anti-slip coating used on the plastic pallet reduces damage to product by preventing it from slipping off.

"We're always trying to manage [our shrink] numbers down," said Steve Quillinam, owner of Miller's Market. "That's why when product does get here and we want to palletize it for the retail floor-display area, we put the product on a plastic pallet to limit any further potential for shrink."

The plastic pallets also "give a nice clean look" in the store, he added. Miller's Market is a 30,000-square-foot store that does $8 to $10 million in annual sales volume, according to Quillinam.

For safety and aesthetic reasons, Miller's prefers plastic pallets to wooden ones for display purposes, he added. The retailer receives deliveries of approximately 200 wooden pallets per week. "Sometimes the product slips off, and both we and the wholesaler have to absorb that shrink," Quillinam said.

Miller's Market began using plastic pallets with the anti-slip coating six months ago and currently owns 20 to 30 of them. The plastic pallets are from EPC Loudon, Latham, N.Y.