Pergament plugs home decor - Pergament Home Centers Inc.'s Islandia, New York store - Home Products

Discount Store News, July 8, 1991 by Mary Ellen Kelly

MELVILLE, N.Y. -- Home decor, a hot spot in an otherwise sluggish retail environment, is among the departments with added prominence in Pergament's new superstore, opened last month in Islandia and Oceanside, N.Y.

Unlike similar efforts made by competing home center chain, Rickle's HOM stores, the Pergament format did not venture into soft home merchandise like domestics, and remained firmly anchored in home improvement categories while adding higher margin hard lines merchandise.

Another indication of the chain's new dedication to home decor is Pergament's plan to unveil a new specialty store chain in September, according to Bruce Falk, vice president and general merchandise manager.

The name of the chain was being finalized at press time. The first seven proposed locations will be housed in remodeled Pergament locations in markets where superstore openings are planned. Five of the seven openings are slated to take place before Labor Day. The new specialty stores will enable the retailer to make use of smaller, out-moded Pergament units.

The average size of these home decor stores will be 25,000 square feet and will feature furniture, lighting, wicker/rattan, framed art, mirrors and related home decor merchandise. The assortment will have a "coordinated" look and offer a "heavily accessorized" presentation, Falk said. A lifestyle approach to the store is expected to make shopping easier because colors and styles have already been coordinated by the buying staff. "We are investing in ambiance," said Falk, "and we will be providing a high level of service," including delivery.

Prices will be somewhat higher than what would be found at Pergament, and overlap of merchandise between the two retail formats will be very limited. "The lion's share of the product will be unique to the specialty store," he noted.

The recently opened Pergament superstores roughly tripled the housewares area from 1,500 square feet to as much as 5,000 square feet.

A boost in prototype store size to between 55,000 square feet and 107,000 square feet from a previous range of 25,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet has given several other home products categories, such as artificial flowers and closet storage, additional footage.

A department called Plants & More, which was tested in its Long Island City store for the past year, will be part of the superstores going forward. The artificial floral and tree department is positioned at the front of the store and occupies between 1,000 square feet and 2,500 square feet. Plants & More is already averaging $500 to $600 per square foot, according to Bruce Falk, vp, general merchandise manager. Fica trees, silk flower stems and hanging baskets are complimented with related floral arranging supplies.

"Previously we had a 6-foot to 8-foot section with some floral arrangements, but it was certainly not the full-blown department it is now," said Falk. The store now sells $99 artificial trees and is looking to expand to even higher price points. Plants & More falls under the broader heading of "seasonal" within the Pergament buying structure.

In housewares, Rubbermaid gained the most footage of any single vendor as part of what Pergament calls a boutique approach to the plastics area. The chain had previously sold about 250 sku's from the vendor. Now a full Rubbermaid "shop" offers "just about everything they make," said Falk: about 1,000 sku's will have a 1,000- to 1,500-square-foot home, depending upon overall store size. "Even though it is still very new, Rubbermaid sales have been phenomenal," he said.

Rubbermaid trash cans, storage products, wallpaper borders, stick goods and other lines are located in the center rear of the Islandia store.

Closet shop, which falls under the broader category of lumber at the home center chain, is another category which is being considered for a vendor shop concept. Falk said the company is in discussion with Clairson International, a major supplier of organization products to create this shop presentation.

As with other departments, home decor merchandise now embraces a much larger spectrum of goods due to expansion. Under the department banner, "International Shop," a small Pier 1-type assortment is given 1,000 square feet to 2,000 square feet. Wicker, rattan, throw pillows, brass, dinnerware and related home decor merchandise are now being offered adjacent to ready-to-assemble furniture.

The 36-unit chain plans to have 40 stores in operation by October, 20 of which will be of its new "mega" size and format.