Predicting the pace and direction of change in the retail environment is traditionally difficult. Although customers are looking for experience and digital interaction, there is no set formula for how this actually translates in-store. One thing however is guaranteed: Energy efficiency will still be on the store manager’s agenda for 2016 and beyond. Fred Bass, Managing Director of Neonlite International Ltd, brand owner of MEGAMAN, shows how the latest LED technology can be used to shine a new light on white textiles as well as save retailers money and energy.
Bringing whites to life with LEDs
In the dim and distant past, lighting turned on, off and could sometimes be dimmed. It came in warm or cool white and a variety of beam angles. Thanks to the latest in LED technology, it is now possible for retailers to choose the lighting, based on what they are displaying in-store. Although supermarkets have long been using red-enhanced LED lighting to enhance the vibrancy of meats and fresh produce, it is now possible to bring the same level of lighting drama to white textiles – creating cost and energy savings whilst bringing whites to life.
Get more from your lighting
LED lighting has been developed to deliver the most light as efficiently as possible. However, to achieve
this, some colours on the light spectrum that are hardly visible to the human eye have been omitted. Although this isn’t a problem in everyday retail lighting scenarios, it does cause white textile fabrics to
appear less vibrant than if they were lit by natural daylight.
To overcome this problem and bring the vibrancy back to white textiles, a new breed of LED lamps is now available, using to MEGAMAN’s Perfect White technology. By manipulating the phosphors on a traditional blue LED, a near-visible, violet light is emitted from MEGAMAN’s Perfect White LED lamps. This violet light excites the Fluorescent Whitening Agents (FWAs) in textiles and they begin to absorb and emit light, causing the white item to stand out from its background. Importantly, the violet element within MEGAMAN’s Perfect White technology leaves the rest of the spectrum unchanged, so other colours maintain their vibrancy as well, resulting in a perfectly lit product range that stands out from the background.
MEGAMAN’s Perfect White technology is available in a range of colour temperatures, from warm white (2,800k) to cool white (4,000k), and offers retailers the superb efficacy and energy efficiency, they have come to expect from LEDs. The Perfect White range includes MEGAMAN Vito and Carlo LED Downlights, Modena LED Tracklights and retrofit LED AR111 reflector lamps for any new or retrofit application.
By using MEGAMAN’s Perfect White LED technology, white textile products leap out from any background, increasing contrast and making a big impact with customers. Since it was launched, to critical acclaim at Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition) 2014, retailers that have been trialling the new technology have noticed the difference, and the results have been very well received by staff and customers alike.
With Perfect White promoting drama whilst saving money and energy at the same time, this new technology provides retailers and store designers with exciting opportunities in 2016 and beyond.
