Small California chain puts upscale face on watch business

Drug Store News, March 16, 1992

Drug store owner Eddie Dallal has made the time to experiment with his watch assortment. The owner of Camelot/Big A stores in Southern California, Dallal captured an audience for his new Lorus watches at up to a $60 everyday price.

"We tell the customers that it's made by Seiko, and that carries weight," says Dallal, who operates two stores in Long Beach and one each in Southgate and Lomita.

His Lorus inventory of 300 watches per store gives an upscale alternative to his primary Timex assortment, he said. Consumers often buy the watches at $40 to $60 everyday retails. An advertised Christmas promotion of 25 percent off brought out the buyers attracted by a $37.50 price point.

Dallal expanded his watch category with help from wholesaler Bergen Brunswig, which began offering Lorus last year in its Advantage Plus drop-ship program for front-of-store merchandise. The Lorus items, from importer Gerson International, have met "a need that our customers had" for a complete watch-clock program, said Angie Wiest-Pugh, manager of merchandise services.

Watches run from $14.99 to $89.99 every day. Bergen wants to emphasize a "mid-range price point," helped by "four or five promotions" including Fathers' and Mothers' Days and a Disney and a watch-clock promotion, Wiest-Pugh said.

Camelot/Big A's experience shows that drug stores can manage watch sales at prices over $50 - in appropriate markets. But on the whole, consumers are spending carefully. And last year, 88 percent of Bergen's watch sales were in the under-$50 range.

"The people really watch those price points, and they really want more value for what they're getting," said Wiest-Pugh.