Best Buy concept showcases the softer side of technology

DSN Retailing Today, Feb 7, 2005 by Laura Heller

RICHFIELD, MINN. -- When the news broke last fall that Best Buy planned to embark on a test concept in the health and wellness category, it raised more than a few quizzical eyebrows. Why would a consumer electronics specialty chain branch out into pharmacy and salon services?

The answer, said Mike Marolt, president of eq life, lies in a personal experience. A friend was battling cancer several years ago and couldn't find a health care experience that combined medical expertise with technology, one that could more easily provide answers and options to questions such as what he would look like following chemotherapy versus invasive surgery. Answers Marolt felt should be more readily available to consumers.

"It's been a two-and-a-half-year journey to link technology to health care," he said during a sneak peak into eq life, which opened Feb. 4 near Minneapolis. The company hired consultants, analyzed consumer research and survey data and quantified the market. "Thirty million Americans today are focused on healthy living, and $1.7 trillion is spent on health care each year," said Marolt. "We found there was a customer out there; this is a synthesis of all the research and customer findings."

The 18,000 square-foot-store nestled in a strip mall boasts a soft color scheme of sage green and tan and features cosmetics, health and beauty aids, hair care products, vitamins and supplements, home medical aids and even organic cleaning products and soft goods. Many of the products are high-end or organic and are typically available at salons or specialty locations such as Sephora or Whole Foods Market.

A Caribou Coffee bar sits to the right of the entrance, but the location is devoid of Caribou's signature Alaskan lodge theme to better conform with the stores' largely female demographic. To the left is a full-service salon offering haircuts and color, manicures and pedicures, and skin care and massage services. Treatment rooms resemble a high-end spa, complete with relaxation areas and spray tan facilities.

In the rear of the store is the pharmacy handled by Minneapolis-based Prairie Stone Pharmacy, which operates 11 locations in the region. OTC drugs, vitamins and supplements flank the fully-automated pharmacy and pharmacists are encouraged to come from behind the counter to consult with patients.

Although technology is intended to be woven into every aspect of the store, it is prominently found in the right half of the location. Portable music players (including iPods) and a small CD collection are positioned as workout accessories, in addition to the inevitable pedometers, scales and heart rate monitors. Kiosks and Internet-connected computers offer consumers access to health and medical information in the store, while products are merchandised by topic or use, rather than product category.

Signage is lifestyle-oriented, the music serene and canyon walls, as described by Marolt, run down the center of the store in what looks like rippling waves. Each segment of the wall represents a different feature of the store. Several portions are devoted to various lifestyle stages and age-related changes--one vignette addresses stress relief with medication, herbal remedies, yoga supplies, DVDs, candles, aromatherapy and literature.

A community room in the rear of the store hosts scheduled events including yoga and Pilates classes, health screenings and seminars, consultations, spa and beauty courses and technology classes focused on entertainment or family-related uses.

Eq life is a single store test, one of many that the company has opened in recent months. Studio D in Naperville, Ill., targets female customers; Escape in Chicago focuses on the largely young, upwardly-mobile technology enthusiast; and stand-alone Geek Squad stores are aiming to attract small business customers (see sidebar). But eq life represents the company's furthest reach outside its core competency of selling electronics and entertainment products.

"We didn't know anything about the health and wellness ecosystem; we knew retailing and inventory," admits Marolt. "But there are a number of competencies that are less obvious, such as real estate, finance, human resources and IT expertise."

"If you look at our mission statement, Best Buy wants to make lives fun and easy and our former mission statement was to improve customers' lives through technology," he said. "This store can not only help improve lives, but make it fun and easy too."

As for what Best Buy stands to gain: a possible share of a sizable new and growing market, additional consumer insight and perhaps an expanded customer base. "We'll acquire new customers for Best Buy," said Marolt. "Customers that would never have crossed that threshold."