Home decor pioneers take aim at Chicagoland's well-to-do - Sears, Home Depot - Brief Article

DSN Retailing Today, July 23, 2001 by Katherine Hutchison

CHICAGO -- Chicago's upper-echelon residents now have new alternatives to the Merchandise Mart for their decorating needs, with both Sears and Home Depot expanding their upscale home-remodeling concept stores into the area.

In June, Sears launched two new Great Indoors stores simultaneously in Lombard and Schaumburg, Ill., both in proximity to new Expo Design Centers, which entered the state in January with a store in Aurora, Ill. The Schaumburg Home Depot EXPO opened in May, and another is planned for Vernon Hills in October, according to Home Depot spokeswoman Melissa Watkins. Expo Design Centers will enter Chicago proper in early 2002 with a store on the near north side of the city.

The Great Indoors sites are among 11 planned for rollout this year, joining stores already operating in Denver, Dallas, Phoenix and greater Detroit.

"There's almost too much stuff," one overwhelmed woman mused at the Sehaumburg Great Indoors' grand opening, taking in the contents of the 130,000-sq.-ft. store.

A Jacuzzi J'Allure luxury shower and bath with a built-in television at a Great Indoors store will set customers back almost $17,000; at Home Depot EXPO, a nearly identical set-up sells for about $12,000. At both, shoppers will find plenty of merchandise that evokes exotic locales.

Among the Michael Sparks dinnerware and expensive Villeroy & Boch china at The Great Indoors, the store is chockfull of Tibetan chests, calligraphy boards:with Japanese lettering, jars and vases in a "Zen Garden" design, bamboo trunks, animal prints and multicolored, jeweled Indian-style pillows and bedding. Shoppers who want to go all out can opt for a $4,000 red-and-black Kohler "Seawall Vignette" bathroom with an imposing Oriental wall fresco over the tub.

Alicia Lozeau, manager of the Lombard Great Indoors, describes the selection as an attempt to capitalize on a pervasive home fashion trend rather than an appeal to local demographics or tastes.

"Within mainstream contemporary decor now, Asian is a big influence," she said. "You see it across a lot of areas, in home fashions and bedding pieces. There are several other trends we took a look at: Gypsy chic, safari chic, romantic revival."

The Far Eastern theme is okay with Trena Sefcheck, a devotee of feng shui, who said she has visited the new Lombard store every other day since it opened in mid-June. She has spent over $2,000, mostly on window treatments.

"We had nothing like this before," she said. "And it's very affordable, especially the drapes and panels." With a new Expo Design Center that opened across Butterfield Road July 5, Sefcheck now has a place to spend those days of the week she's not at The Great Indoors.

"The best thing about it is you don't have to go to the Mart anymore," she said.

Sefcheck prefers The Great Indoors' selection of ready-made items, but said Home Depot EXPO is the place she would go for a custom kitchen. "I don't think they compete with each other; they complement each other. The only area where they're in direct competition is floor tiles."

Both have fair prices, she said, although she thinks The Great Indoors is more customer-oriented. After she griped to management about the dim lighting in the "Great Bedrooms" section, the area got brighter. Sears has made much of the fact its Great Indoors rollout is a work in progress--one that is dictated by customer feedback.

However, Sefcheck doesn't really understand what their merchandisers were thinking with the framed art and some of the draperies.

"Where do they think they are, South Chicago?" she said, pointing out a pair of drapes with silver faux fur trim, which looked like they would be at home in the Playboy Mansion.

"You've got $400,000 townhouses here. People who buy Frederic Cooper lamps aren't going to buy this stuff," she said, indicating the section of mass-produced artwork.

Each Great Indoors site costs Sears about $25 million to launch, and the test stores have been averaging $50 million annually in revenue, according to the company.

Since customized, specialized work is a big part of what both retailers do, installation costs can be difficult to compare. The Great Indoors will give in-home estimates for about $40 and charges $45 for basic delivery and hookup of a kitchen appliance, according to a Schaumburg sales associate.

Home Depot's Watkins said that to deliver and install a standard washer/dryer, The Expo Design Center's Illinois stores would charge $60 and an additional $25 to haul away an old appliance. She pointed out that charges vary market to market, and Home Depot EXPO considers itself more a destination for custom orders and built-ins: "We don't have a one-size-fits-all."

The Great Indoors' Lozeau would not discuss specific installation charges, but said that Sears considers its pricing well researched and competitive.

What is evident inside both retailers' stores is that each is aggressively promoting its proprietary credit card. Sears is offering 0% financing for a year, free installation and rebates for certain appliances and flooring when purchased with The Great Indoors MasterCard. Expo Design Center is also offering credit card promotions such as $25 off first purchases more than $200.