Bradlees targets urbanites with trendier, multilevel unit - includes article on urban department stores

Discount Store News, Dec 6, 1993 by Jill Lettich

Bradlees took urban retailing to a bew level in 1993, a multi-level, in fact.

Its first multistory unit in Yonkers, N.Y., was also the Braintree, Mass.-based retailer's initial venture into the urban merchandising jungle.

The showcase unit is Bradlees' largest, with 144,000 sq. ft. of selling space on three floors, and it has set a new precedent for stores entering the urban marketplace.

Though no retailer has yet picked up the mantle of such inner city specialists as Zayre or Alexander's, Bradlees and its closest competitor, Caldor, has both set about building reputations as sophisticated shopping havens for urban consumers in the Northeast.

The Bradless city prototype, beginning with the Yonkers store, incorporates the chain's latest prototype design with an urban merchandising focus.

Merchandising is geared to a more trend-conscious consumer. The metro store's layout is focused on fashion departments, a strength already established by Bradlees in all its suburban stores. In addition, Bradlees is stressing several new categories--dresses and career wear, for instance--that have had a proven track record selling well with urban consum-ers. It de-emphasizes other areas, such as the automotives department.

The merchandise tweaking has resulted in the store performing "well above expectations," according to management, and the Yonkers unit is now one of Bradlees' most profitable stores.

Rather than resting on these laurels, however, Bradlees is continuing to examine the very populated Northeast corridor between Boston and Philadelphia, with special concentration on the New York area.

In addition to the three story unit in Yonkers, Bradlees announced this fall that it planned to open a two-floor store in Brooklyn. Planned sites in the northern New Jersey and the New York suburb of Long Island also represent recent additions to the stable of metropolitan area stores. According to local speculation, Bradlees is also the running for a site in Manhattan--the former New York Ciliseum--but no announcement about the site has yet been made.

In the last year, Bradlees and Caldor have battled it out for a1 number of former Alexander's sites. Caldor won six of the old locations, but sold the Yonkers unit to Bradlees because it was too close to an existing Caldor store.

In designing the Yonkers unit, Bradlees brought all of its merchandising savvy, and combined it with knowledge gained from the close scrutiny of the urban consumer and what worked for Alexander's.

According to Karen Cotton, divisional merchandise manager, ready-to-wear, the Yonkers unit opened with a bigger dress department and a larger juniors area than any other Bradlees store. That included representations of the latest trends in 1970s-inspired clothing, including bell-bottoms. And while the metropolitan stores continue to have a trendier fashion flavor than others, Bradlees has learned a little more about its customer base since that Yonkers opening.

Last month, it opened a store in Totowa, N.J. That unit featured plenty of trendy merchandise, but also included more tradtitional looks.

Cecilia Swartz, senior vice president, general merchandise manager, soft lines, told DSN that Bradlees appeals to a broad range of consumers and has to cater to all of them, even in the metro areas. The Totowa store has the trendy junior looks, but its original soft lines merchandising plan has been adjusted for these sites and now includes more traditional casual clothing in both its brand and private label selections.

Urban consumers are likely to spend more if the value is there. A robe at $29.99 vs. a chain average of $19.99 is a big seller in the metro stores. In addition, a dressier-style beaded sweater sells best in the metro New York area, but doesn't do as well in the Bradlees' New Hampshire and Maine stores, according to Swartz.

Even price points in children's wear can be significantly higher. One of the fashion items featured in the Yonkers store was a christening outfit at $69.99, a price point unlikely to be found in any other discount kids' department.

Beyond the soft lines mix, Bradlees' new units include a redesigned H&BC area that creates a department store-like display for cosmetics. Like other discounters, Bradlees has also begun to feature more prestige fragrances in counter displays.

One of the benefits of the urban units is the space that Bradlees has to merchandise its selections. The chain averages stores of 83,000 sq. ft. The Yonkers unit is 144,000 sq. ft., and the proposed Brooklyn site will house a 130,000-sq.-ft. store on two floors.

The Brooklyn unit, slated to open in late 1994 or early 1995, is truly an urban retailing phenomenon. The unit will be part of a New York City-sponsored renewal project and commercial development property called the atlantic Center Development. Bradlees will anchor the center, which will combine commercial and residential space.

Though Bradlees has not announced any specific plans for additional urban units, chairman Barry Berman makes no bones about the retailer's plans.