Pallet stacks and seasonal rhythm in wide aisles

Wide aisles tempt hypermarkets to stage bold pallet stacks. The planogram often shows a perfect grid; the store remembers last year’s forklift dispute. We map seasonal stacks against egress rules first, then aesthetics, because fines and blocked rescue paths erase margin faster than a weak display. We also align pallet stories with replenishment cadence. A gorgeous stack that collapses night crew into overtime is not a win. We talk to receiving leads before we bless a stack pattern, then annotate the planogram with realistic build/break times. If a stack idea fails those checks, we do not bury the failure in a footnote. We publish the “no-go” rationale beside the alternative so buyers see you chose safety and labour honesty over a photo opportunity. That transparency is part of trade marketing maturity, not cowardice.