IMRA conference addresses ADA - International Mass Retail Association's Store Planning and Design Conference, Miami, Florida, Americans With Disabilities Act

Discount Store News, Jan 6, 1992 by Pete Hisey

IMRA Conference Addresses ADA

MIAMI - The International Mass Retail Association's third annual Store Planning and Design Conference, held here with record retailer attendance in late November, featured key addresses from Wal-Mart executives concerning cost containment at the front end. And perhaps on a more timely note, it also addressed retailer response to the Americans with Disabilities Act, set to go into effect in late January.

The ADA issue will put pressure on discounters to truly serve disabled customers, said Wal-Mart senior vice president, merchandise planning, Bill Woodard.

"We're on the offensive," he said. "Disabled people make up 15% of the population and we want their consumer dollars. People who best implement the standards of ADA will get that business."

Panelists warned of subtle distinctions suggested by the Act. "The general rule is full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, advantages, accommodations and so on," said IMRA vice president Mo Cain. "Except in certain cases, that doesn't mean separate but equal."

Implications include not asking for a driver's license when cashing checks (sight-impaired people rarely have one), making aisles roomy enough for a wheelchair to pass comfortably, installing sound-based fire alarms for the hearing impaired, removing turnstiles which would bar wheelchairs, redesigning doors to let wheelchairs fit in and out, installing new emergency exits or "fire rooms" for the disabled, and keeping checkout and showcase levels to 36 inches in height. Standards vary for existing buildings and conversions (in effect Jan. 26, 1992) and new construction occupied after Jan. 26, 1993.

(IMRA has published a 400-page compliance manual for mass marketers, available to non-members for $125, which outlines practical considerations, specific guidance, suggested priorities, audit advice and more. It is available by calling (202) 861-0774.)

Panelists and retailers agreed that while most ADA requirements either have been or will be met, special interest groups will try to make an example of a major retailer.

"I think there's a very real possibility of that happening," noted IMRA director Robert Verdisco. "The federal government has limited resources, so they'll be looking to get the most bang for their buck. To get major national headlines, they'll be looking for a major company. ADA is a very tough law to comply with fully, but retailers have to understand that it is the law, and they're going to be scrutinized very carefully to make sure they're in compliance."

In an address called "Store Planning for Profit," Wal-Mart senior vp, store planning, Mel Redman noted, "the No. 1 priority [for us] is keeping preopening expenses to a minimum, because we are opening more and more stores every day." The California stores have presented expense problems in that crews of assistant managers have to be flown in from far away to supervise preopening.

"But the biggest opportunity to control costs is in the area of fixtures," Redman said. Wal-Mart has moved from a 54-inch gondola height in 1980 to 66 inches in 1986 to 78 inches now, and while cost per fixture has risen, productivity has increased by much more.

"If I'm selling dog food, I need the capacity to get my sales per square foot without needing two people stocking the display all day," Redman said. "We're implementors," he added. "Our job is to squeeze dollars down while keeping productivity up."

An area covered, he said, is the merchandise wall beyond checkouts, where items were stacked too high to be useful. "Now we have graphics on top of the wall, not merchandise."

Fixtures were emphasized at the conference. One seminar, led by ShopKo's director of store planning, construction and engineering Michael Wilson and Target's vice president of store planning Jim Bowser, addressed safety and design issues in fixturing.

A major problem in existing gondolas, Bowser said, is safety. "Fixtures fall over, shelves give way, customers trip over endcaps," he said. Target has instituted a Quest program to identify safety problems and to suggest solutions, he added. Recommendations include developing total weight ratings for the whole fixture, not just one component, so planogrammers can devise safe loads.

Fixtures should also be made stronger, he said. As fixtures get higher and shelves get deeper, cubic capacity has far outstripped the fixture's ability to withstand the weight. "Give a stockboy a deep shelf and he's just going to fill it to the max," Bowser said. "But we all know that the deeper you go, the less the shelf can hold."

Also, some sort of foolproof assembly is needed, he said, so no component can be left out. Other needs include more contrast between the fixture and the floor. Non-skid material is important ("People climb all over some of our furniture fixtures, then fall trying to get back down."), and reinforced endcaps for items like anti-freeze and oil, which can cause serious injury if dislodged.

Shelf pricing is a problem. "We're 95% on price removal [shelf pricing] and moving to 100%," Bowser said. "But customers shop from close up, about two feet away, and ticket molding is angled straight at the customer's ankles."