Sears/Orchard nexus gets brighter

Home Channel News, Jan 25, 1999 by Pete Hisey

Calif. division's lighting department becoming the standard for all Sears Hardware stores

Two years after its purchase of the Orchard Supply chain of hardware stores in 1997. Sears is introducing some of the best of Orchard's approach to the Sears Hardware format.

In the Bartlett, Ill.. store, which opened in June 1997. shortly after the Orchard purchase, many of Orchard's ideas, particularly in selection, appearance, and merchandising, have been fully adopted, according to Roger Mietzner, store manager. In particular, the test format incorporates wider aisles. better lighting, more endcaps. and an increased number of vendors in key departments.

"Orchard has at least two or three vendors in most departments." Mietzner said about Orchard's large-format stores. 'In many cases, we used only one."

That point is illustrated clearly in the lighting and electrical departments, where, for instance, the replacement bulb department, once exclusively the domain of Sylvania, is now about equally split between Sylvania and GE.

The lighting department stocks about 200 skus, and consists of two 32-foot aisles, a center riser between the two, and about 28 feet of the rear wall. One aisle is devoted completely to bulbs; the other is devoted to outdoor and security lighting, fluorescent lighting and fixtures. landscape lighting, and motion-activated lighting.

The center aisle is devoted primarily to ceiling fans and ceiling lighting fixtures, while the rear wall merchandises indoor and outdoor decorative lanterns.

Each sub-department merchandises at least two brands, and sometimes more, counting Sears' own private-label brands. In the ceiling fan area, for instance, brands include Hunter, which dominates, along with Sears own Kenmore. Litex, Angelo Lighting and Encon.

The lighting department includes a scattering of specialty items, like plant-protector lights, party lights, crystal halogen bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs, and halogen shop lights, generally from smaller vendors like Lights of America and Abco.

Unlike many competitors, Sears stays away from selling fashion products like indoor lamps and other decorative products.

According to Mietzner, both lighting and electrical are relatively slow-turning but profitable departments. "We don't really attract much contracting business, so sales tend to be by ones and twos," he says. With most products selling for $20 or less, that doesn't make for eye-popping sales particularly compared to core departments like tools and paint supplies.

However, he expects to see an uptick in the near future. Bartlett, a suburb about 45 miles Northwest of downtown Chicago, experienced a building surge during the early 1990s, and many of the fixtures and decorative products are starting to wear out, he says.

The store's electrical department is more typical of the traditional Sears Hardware approach. Single vendors dominate some sub-categories, such as audio/video accessories, where Gemini is the sole supplier. The department is clearly aimed at the consumer market, with only a small section devoted to wiring, wiring tools, and fixtures. For the most part, it is made up of consumer items like batteries, smoke detectors, flashlights, extension cords, and telephone supplies.

The department was due for a chainwide vendor reset, Mietzner said in December. It will be expanded slightly from its present size, and include additional skus, he says.

The battery department is about to lose a major supplier -- Sears' own DieHard line of alkaline batteries, which is being phased out chainwide. Duracell and Energizer share the category about equally, with the Energizer selection now being converted to its new environmentally friendly line.

In other product lines. Sears is sticking to the low end. The leading price point in surge protectors, for instance, is under $10, with a handful of products priced in the $15 range. Higher-tech surge protection is primarily a computer add-on sale, Mietzner says.