Meijer 'signature series' replaces 'village' prototype - Meijer Inc. experiments with hybrid-format retailing - Brief Article

DSN Retailing Today, Sept 3, 2001 by Katherine Hutchison

ELGIN, ILL. -- Meijer has done it again. The Michigan-based supercenter pioneer has opened a pair of new prototypes in the suburbs of Chicago that push the envelope of hybrid-format retailing and strengthen Meijer's reputation as the player to watch when it comes to in-store innovation.

The new stores, which opened Aug.12 in the northwest suburbs of Elgin and Algonquin, take their cue from a concept store bowed in Greenville, Mich., in May. Although the new stores possess some similarities to the "village style" prototype the company debuted less than two years ago, they are essentially a departure from this format, which is being discontinued, according to Meijer officials.

As intriguing as the "village" format was, the new "signature series" prototype offers a wealth of new features. An entire new series of graphics and signage dramatically improve sightlines and make most departments more visible throughout the store. The 197,000-sq.-ft. store, called its 1.9 version, is smaller than some older 250,000-sq.-ft. formats. According to Holly Munson, store director of the Elgin store and former director of Meijer's Angola, Ind., store, the new layout was carefully designed to create a more open, customer-friendly layout. She added that this less-cluttered effect was partly achieved by eliminating the fake-brick storefront facade positioned above the various departments.

Other new features, first introduced in the Greenville store, include a pharmacy with a drive-up window. Pharmacy and health & beauty were moved from the hard lines side of the store adjacent to the garden center and combined with cosmetics near the fresh departments. Cosmetics itself was moved from its spot near jewelry and home fashions on the opposite side of the store.

The deli was repositioned from in front of the grocery gondolas to the side wall, where it is adjacent to the meat and seafood departments for labor efficiencies. Toys are still next to sporting goods on the hard lines side, but more playful signage was added as well as a new section called "Video Game Zone."

A new aisle of cards, candies, floral and jewelry serves as a sort of buffer between the food aisles and women's clothing. Apparel in general appeared pretty much the same with Whitefish Bay Falls Creek and the kids' Benchline brand among the dominant names.

The pet department, no longer relegated to a rectangular corner along the back wall, has been reconfigured into a box shape more prominently featured in the rear center. The signature display case with live fish and small animals is also more prominently placed with larger overhead signs. "Home Solutions" and "Home Repair" now occupy Pets' former spot; "Housewares" and "Home Fashions" have been renamed "Home Accents" and "House & Home."

As part of what Munson said was a new customer-service focus, staff members were positioned in aisles throughout the store solely to help shoppers.

What has remained unchanged is Meijer's aggressive promotion of its more than 25,000 private-label products. Like the village stores, the new supercenters also include onsite gas stations with adjoining convenience stores and feature four U-Scan Express counters, as well as more than 20 "price check" self-scanning stations located throughout the store.

The western edge of Chicago is growing rapidly and competition is intense. Menards opened two of its new large-format prototype stores in Algonquin in January and in Elgin in June. The Meijer in Algonquin is near an intersection occupied by relatively new Dominicks, Jewel Osco and Cub Foods stores. The Elgin Meijer is about half a mile from a Target Greatland.

Greenville was the site of the original Meijer store opened in 1934. Another store further north in McHenry County is scheduled to open next spring. Last May, the Daily Herald reported that the slow economy forced Meijer to delay plans to open stores in Bloomingdale and Hoffman Estates, Ill. Meanwhile, a proposed store in Lisle is tied up in the courts due to local opposition.