CompUSA emphasizes CE in new prototype; computer superstore adjusts store design and stresses customer service - consumer electronics

Discount Store News, May 17, 1993 by Pete Hisey

Computer Superstore Adjusts Store Design and Stresses Customer Service

VIENNA, Va. -- Comp USA debuted a new format here that takes the computer superstore chain a step closer to being a full-fledged consumer electronics retailer.

The new prototype, which is heavier on wholesale and corporate support and instore merchandising, doesn't look a lot different from the average CompUSA superstore, but the changes have greatly impacted sales and profitability, store manager Mike Edwards said.

As more and more consumer electronics chains emulate computer superstores in mix and merchandising, it's not too surprising to see the superstores taking on some of the elements of the consumer electronics industry.

The new prototype is clearly more entertainment oriented, with a newly signed Game Zone at the front of the store, which is loaded with 30 or so hit titles for kids of all ages to try out, as well as a multimedia canyon and expanded selections of noncomputer consumer electronics products like cordless telephones. The company will probably enter the cellular telephone market in the near future as well.

"Clearly, technologies are merging," said president and ceo Nathan Morton. "As we get more and more into multimedia, imaging and so on, the boundaries between consumer electronics and computing continue to blur. As long as [a technology] is related to or interacts with a PC, we'll be in the business."

Morton said that CompUSA is even evaluating Philips' CD-1 (interactive compact disc) as well as other entertainment/educational systems. Right now, the chain stocks some Sega and Nintendo products, like controllers, games and peripherals. Multimedia, Morton said, will be expanded even further as time goes by.

And, the new prototype has emphasized customer service as well. CompUSA has installed a greeter at the entrance, moved the service and returns counter to the front, enlarged the corporate and government service desk, and debuted a "wholesale" department that merchandises highend specialty items like motherboards and memory in a high-service environment.

"Before, these products were out on the floor and often hidden," Edwards said. "We've pulled them together, under glass, and added knowledgeable help. Before establishing the department, you might have found the product, but it might have been a little harder finding someone to explain it and tell you how to install it. This allows us to offer technical support on the fly."

The corporate and government sales desk allows these larger customers to phone in an order, show up with a purchase order and some identification, and walk out without having to deal with a cash register line.

In design terms, the company has lowered its fixtures to offer a clear view of the entire store from the entrance, improved signage to make it both more informational and better organized, added more brand signage to emphasize quality national brands, and introduced more subdued lighting in the computer department.

Software is now presented and grouped in a manner similar to a book superstore, with major areas of interest individually signed and grouped together. "This encourages browsing," Edwards said, "and makes the whole selection more immediately understandable."

Similarly, all IBM-compatible and Mac products, including hardware, peripherals and software, have been segregated from each other, with separate sales staffs. "The Mac customer couldn't care less about IBM products, and vice versa," Edwards noted.

Office furniture near the front of the store has been expanded somewhat. Major suppliers here are Rubbermaid's Microcomputer Accessories subsidiary and Bush, which is also represented by its Case Casard brand.

Other changes are less dramatic in physical terms, but have had dramatic impact on sales. The company is endcapping a lot more, which delivers two distinct advantages; spotlighting new product, and delivering a value message. "The endcaps let us emphasize special buys and promotions," Morton said. "As we have become larger, our vendors have been coming to us with special buys, and by spotlighting them, we send out a very strong price message."

The same can be said of the company's decision to eliminate backroom stock, putting everything on the floor. "When you bulk it out like that, it says to the customer that nobody buys that amount unless they got a good price," Morton noted. "We're as tough on price as anyone, and this gets the message out."

The new prototype positions important new products upfront, in bulk displays. For instance, during our visit, a pallet of DOS 6.0 was being featured at the entrance. Impulse type staples, like diskettes, labels and mouses, are also bulked out in the front of the store, while magazines and other publications have been moved to the center of the store from the checkout, in favor of like pens, Post-It notes and batteries.

According to Morton, this remains a prototype in transition. "We're seeing the number of skus rising, we're at about 5,300 now, and we're looking at additional related businesses, so we anticipate more changes." The multimedia canyon, he noted, will almost certainly become a discrete department in the near future. Also, networking and communications products will probably get the department treatment in the not-too-distant future, store manager Edwards said. "We're already devoting more space to the category, but there's more on the way," he noted.