Aris Isotoner, a division of Sara Lee Corporation, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of gloves. It was the first company to put gloves in boxes and its four-way stretch fabric, which enables it to offer one-size-fits-all for most of its products, has made it unique in the industry. But what makes this company even more unusual is that it does 75 percent of its annual sales in just five weeks—the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The company has learned from experience that point-of-purchase display is the key to capitalizing on this brief window of sales opportunity, because this five-week period is when store traffic is highest and when impulse buying is at its peak. Thus, Aris Isotoner puts most of its promotional emphasis on designing and getting retailers to use POP displays. For example, one of its newest display units, costing about $200 each, uses all neutral colors so as to blend with any retailer’s décor. 

  

Why do you think Aris Isotoner has been so successful in employing POP as its key promotional tool in a retail environment that is often hostile to POP?