After searching the Internet, Lyn-anne Revay with Dooney & Bourke, found D&P Custom Lights & Wiring Systems, Inc., a world leader in the commercial lighting and fixtures industry for more than 30 years, and contacted them about getting a quotation for one of the checkout lights she had seen on the website. Neil Aportadera, Vice President of D&P, responded with a quote and also sent them a copy of the D&P catalog highlighting the many checkout light, power pole, and wiring options the company offers. After having a chance to review the catalog and seeing the many different configurations available, Dooney & Bourke asked if it would be possible to have a checkout light incorporating the logo or similar in shape to the pennant flags they had traditionally used.

Revay wanted checkout lights which incorporated the highly-recognizable Dooney & Bourke logo, a stylized duck, and included checkout register numbers in the design. “We wanted to create a real atmosphere of excitement and fun for our customers. Because the tent sale is very chaotic, we also wanted the eleven registers to be clearly marked in order to provide the best traffic flow possible during the check-out process,” says Revay. “And because the sale is a once-yearly event, cost was definitely a consideration.” The D&P design team developed a pennant-shaped checkout light with the Dooney & Bourke logo, but the logo was not prominently featured, and the design team continued to work on different options that would reflect the Dooney & Bourke brand image and still stay within the budgetary constraints for the project.

For this unique project, the team wanted the logo to be as prominent as possible, and yet be clearly marked with the register numbers. The design which was finally chosen by Dooney & Bourke incorporated the duck logo and register numbers in hunter green and white in a 10” double-sided coin-shaped checkout shade. States Neil Aportadera, “As we were working together with Dooney & Bourke to come up with a suitable design, we also offered the option of building a sample to send them for final approval.”

One other element of the project was the power poles and switches for the checkout lights. Per Dooney & Bourke’s request, the power poles were painted a flat silver color. To assist the employees in manning the registers at the tent sale, the poles featured three-way switches (on, off, and blinking) for the checkout lights. By blinking the register light, employees were able to easily signal the many customers waiting in line to check out when the next register was available, greatly improving communications and speeding up the checkout process.

The mounting for the power poles also had to be specially configured to work with the wire shelving in place at the tent sale. A two-plate mounting system was used to securely fasten the power poles at each register station.

The time frame for completing the order was very tight, but D&P Custom Lights & Wiring Systems, Inc. was able to ship the order two days earlier than promised, saving Dooney & Bourke money on transportation costs. “We received the checkout lights and power poles and were able to easily set them up the same day,” Lyn-anne Revay comments. “We were extremely pleased with the whole process from initial contact to delivery; D&P listened to our needs and worked to accommodate all our requirements in a unique and yet cost-effective design. Our many returning tent sale customers commented on how unique and different our register lights were! We would highly recommend D&P to other companies.”

Take a look at Dooney & Bourke’s 2016 tent sale on YouTube to see the D&P checkout lights in action!