Second Sears grand store opens in Illinois

DSN Retailing Today,  April 5, 2004  by Laura Heller

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GURNEE, ILL. -- Sears opened its second prototypical big box store positioned to compete better with discount stores while simultaneously strengthening the presentation of the company's trademark brands. It's an experiment, but one on which the retailer is banking its future.

According to Sears chairman and ceo Alan Lacy, Sears Grand is expected to be a growth vehicle for the chain over the next few years. It is expected to allow the company to carry a broader array of traffic-increasing items, allow a more convenient shopping experience and enable Sears to increase its penetration in growing communities that are not located near malls, Lacy told attendees at the Merrill Lynch Retailing Leaders/Household Products & Cosmetics Conference in New York last month.

The first Sears Grand bowed in September 2003 near Salt Lake City, and this new r unit in north suburban Chicago already represents changes--lessons learned from the initial venture. Adjacencies have been adjusted and certain categories shifted to better facilitate cross-shopping.

The Utah store was divided into male and female categories. Children's apparel is in the center, with boys on one side leading into men's apparel, sporting goods, fitness equipment and ultimately hardware and automotive; and then girls apparel on the other side, flowing into women's apparel, home goods and health and beauty, consumables, grocery and finally appliances along the far wall.

The Gurnee store tends to shake these placements up. Although the store has two exterior entrances--as does Salt Lake--this unit boasts a mall entrance as well, where the retailer has positioned its juniors and children's apparel in order to make a strong statement with teens and young mothers.

"This store has to connect with a younger shopper," said Jerry Post, Sears senior vp of off-mall-strategy. "This is very much about young mothers, and it has to connect with that customer who is 20 to 40 years old with children." The juniors department even has its own separate sound system that will feature a hipper, pop music content than the rest of the store. Two cash registers flank this department near the mall entrance.

Already, Sears reports strong performance in the apparel and home categories from its Utah store. "Productivity per square foot in apparel is much better than expected," said Post. "As is home, due to the presentation, added space and the addition of storage products. It delivers a more complete package." Storage and organizational items are not typically carried in Sears' full-line stores.

Mattresses have been added to this unit, a program Sears has been incorporating into its full-line stores as well. Like many of its newer initiatives, the mattress department is being monitored for performance prior to a full-scale rollout.

A parts department has been added, adjacent to appliances, that features hoses, adapters and other components to perform home repairs. The Gurnee Grand unit is the first Sears store to relocate these products from the back room to the sales floor.

Areas such as books are performing better than the retailer anticipated.

"We way underestimated the importance of this category," he said. As for the grocery and consumables area, "We don't have a whole lot to benchmark against," he said. "But it is doing what we expected in terms of driving transactions." In fact, said Post, health and beauty, grocery and other household products are "driving a disproportionate share of the store's transactions," he said. "We're selling 1,000 gallons of milk a month out of Salt Lake; I never would have dreamed we'd get thousands of transactions out of four feet of product."

Consumer electronics, home entertainment and toys are situated along the rear of the store, and two seasonal pads are near each of the exterior entrances--the same as Salt Lake.

On first impression, the store seems smaller. But at 200,000 square feet, the units are the same size. A lower, finished ceiling in Gurnee gives the impression of a smaller store, as Salt Lake features a higher, open ceiling for more of a warehouse feel.

According to Post, the Gurnee store had already been planned by the time Sears had an opportunity to evaluate the first, in terms of structural elements.

"We were concerned Salt Lake would feel too warehousey, too downscale," he said. "Today, we are very comfortable with Salt Lake and probably would not have done [the finished ceiling]." The open ceiling is more economical, as well.

Services are situated along the front of the store including Sears Portrait Studio, an Aramark-operated cafe, optical center and a Citibank facility.

Post stresses that each of the Grand units represent a test, with every unit varying to some degree. "It's to get a better idea of what works best," he said. "To find out customer preferences and what provides the best overall experience.