Wal-Mart shows its Smartz - opens department called Smartz The Computer Store

Discount Store News, July 17, 1995 by Pete Hisey

STATE COLLEGE, PA. - Computer and consumer electronics retailers have historically consoled themselves with the observation that "when Wal-Mart can install a hard drive on the spot, we'll start worrying."

Start worrying, folks.

Not only is Wal-Mart rolling out its expanded computer selection nationally, it's conducting an even more aggressive experiment in this college market, home of Penn State University.

A new 1,500-sq.-ft. computer department, dubbed Smartz The Computer Store, has replaced the photo department at the store entrance in the company's North Atherton Place store in Patton Township. Smartz features an upgraded selection of hardware and software and can install and upgrade anything it sells, from hard drives to microprocessor upgrades.

The department is decorated with a brightly yellow light bulb logo, trimmed in bright blue and purple, as well as oversized Albert Einstein graphics. "Many small towns don't have access to the latest technology," Wal-Mart computer buyer David Gurney told reporter Jim Mackinnon of the Centre Daily Times, a local daily newspaper. "This is an $8 billion market and we feel it's important to keep up with it."

But the major difference at Smartz is the level of training. Several employees visited PNY Electronics, Wal-Mart's memory module vendor, for advanced training and others reportedly spent time at hard drive and multimedia upgrade vendors, also studying installation procedures.

This marks a significant departure for Wal-Mart, which has informally stationed its better-trained associates in the consumer electronics department, but has rarely, if ever, invested in specialized training for them. That, apparently, will change with Smartz, should it be rolled out. The Daily Time's Mackinnon revisited the store after the debut, and counter. "They seemed to know what they were talking about," he reported.

According to PNY retails sales manager Mike Metro, the initial results have been gratifying. "Whether by luck or design, it happened, and so far it looks really good," Metro said. "They've already made a sale to a corporate customer; it was only 100 pieces," but it hints at what Wal-Mart is capable of accomplishing, he said. "They're really going after the business, and part of our job was to teach their associates not only how to install our products, but also how to sell them to advanced users. We were impressed things up really fast."

Smartz is so far a limited test, but Wal-Mart is in the process of increasing its chainwide commitment to the computer category, which was barely measurable at store level only three years ago. Its latest prototype, which reached stores over the July 4 weekend, nearly doubled its software presence, from 20 linear feet to 36 linear feet in larger stores, and gave more room to peripherals and accessories as well.

The redesigned consumer electronics department also dispenses with the security corral that has been a fixture at Wal-Mart since the 1970s, melding it in with surrounding departments and opening it up for easier shopping.