Target, multiple locations

With the economy in a doldrums and much of the store-build industry sitting on its hands, Target Corp. (Minneapolis) began the year with a remarkable announcement: It would be spending $1 billion to renovate much of its general merchandise chain, beginning this year. The mass merchant, always known for attention to the shopping experience, says it will be brightening its stores with better lighting, widening the aisles and changing some of its product mix.

The biggest change? With an initiative that it’s internally calling “PFresh,” Target is rolling out its fresh food effort, which began being tested in Philadelphia in 2009, with expanded grocery sections for a whole new offering of things like vegetables, fruit, baked goods and packaged deli meats.

This spring, Target chairman, president and ceo Gregg Steinhafel reassured securities analysts that the company is on track to remodel more than 340 stores this year. “By the end of the third quarter, we expect to have more than 450 general merchandise locations with the expanded assortment and presentation,” he says. Ten new stores will open this year.

Why more food? “Because that’s what the guest has told us she wants,” says Rich Varda, senior vp of store design (using that unvarying term for “shopper” that is part of the Target vocabulary).

“We’ve accumulated some 4 million guest responses to online surveys,” says John Griffith, executive vp, property development. “She wants a bigger, more-inviting grocery presentation, so her Target store can be an all-encompassing, one-stop shopping trip for her.”

The new store layout has been designed to meet that, and other, shopper needs. In the new traffic pattern, as the guest reaches the first aisle intersection, grocery is prominently visible at the end of the row to her right. Overhead signage leads her there, where the retailer has increased the square footage and also the presentation, using brightly lit open shelves and well-lit freezer cases.

“Our expanded grocery layout includes items such as basic pre-packaged fresh produce, like bags of bananas, seasonal fruit, lettuce; some fresh packaged meat; and pre-packaged baked goods,” Varda says. “This is the first time we’ve offered fresh or perishable food in our general merchandise stores.”

In most of the renovated stores, grocery occupies one entire end of the store instead of being squeezed into a corner. But it’s not treated as a separate department, simply as a destination within the overall environment. “When we began offering groceries, in our Super Target stores, we tried to differentiate the food department,” Varda says. “We’ve gotten away from that. Now, it will all look and feel like one big store – same ceiling, flooring and lighting. It makes it a seamless experience for the guest. And it encourages her to shop through the food section, rather than going there and then checking right out.”

“It now looks like a grocery store,” says Griffith, “instead of a big-box store with coolers.”

On the way to the improved food offering, shoppers pass another of the newly reinvented departments, health and beauty. It has been slightly expanded with a better product line and with new display and in-shelf lighting systems. “Some of our curved fixtures in this department are the same as those found within specialty shops,” says Varda. “We have most of the same mass brands, but I think our presentation has improved.”

Other areas of emphasis for Target’s new look are home, consumer electronics and shoes. Home has been reinvented to improve visibility and give shoppers greater exposure to the product assortment by lowering gondolas, widening pass-throughs and updating graphics.

The gondolas in consumer electronics have also been lowered, allowing shoppers to see the entire department – and, not incidentally, allowing sales associates to see the shoppers, to improve security. There’s also a new video game Learning Center, featuring a 40-inch definition touch screen where guests can read reviews, learn about game features, sort by ratings, view in-store price and inventory, receive recommendations on best sellers, or page what Target calls a “team member” for assistance. There will also be trial stations for the latest video game titles.

How is the “guest” reacting to the new environment? Hopefully, says Griffith, in a very subconscious way. “Our best designs are when people don’t see what we’ve done,” he says. “All they know is they’re pleased with the store, it feels clean, it smells fresh, the temperature’s right, the lighting level is pleasant, the journey’s easy and efficient. We hope they appreciate the new initiatives, but we don’t expect them to say, ‘These are great display cases.’ ”

SIDEBAR: Urban Planning

As another part of its long-term plan for growth, Target has been looking for ways to bring unique stores to urban areas.

One of the newest of these is due to open this summer in a Harlem shopping center in Upper Manhattan called East River Plaza. It will be Target’s first Manhattan store.

The key to Target’s success with urban stores is flexibility, says Target spokesperson Sarah Bakken. Of course, the merchandise selections will be edited, she says, depending on location. “In most of these cases, our guest might be an apartment dweller or owner of a small home,” she says. “So we’re going to have to determine, in each case, ‘What items do these guests need the most?’ ”

Flexibility will also play a part in construction and store layout. Some of the stores will be in pre-existing shopping centers, as in Harlem, or historic downtown buildings. And, says Bakken, each location will have to be reactive to localized habits, including transportation needs and brand preferences. The Harlem store, for example, will be in a multi-level building and have a special place on the outside of the store to accommodate taxicab pick-ups. —SK