Piggly Wiggly

Grocery shoppers are pressed for time and retailers are experimenting with more non-traditional formats. Case in point: the new Piggly Wiggly store at The Market Common, a mixed-use development in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The store has been designed to accommodate the way customers intuitively shop. A reorganized layout has appropriate food items (both perishable and non-perishable) grouped together. So all the ingredients for, say, a cook-out – buns, ground beef, chips and beer – are stocked together in one kiosk or aisle.

“In the past, traditional design made it necessary to put all of the freezer and refrigerated cases together in long runs,” says Julie Dugas, senior designer and studio director for GHA design studios (Northville, Mich.), the firm that designed the market.

Piggly Wiggly has broken up the frozen food department and put those items in adjacencies that make more sense for the shopper, while also reducing the amount of aisles they must visit. Now their shopping trips can better resemble their shopping lists.

Client: Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., Charleston, S.C. – David Schools, ceo; Robert Mache, coo; Christopher Ibsen, real estate

Design: GHA design studios, Northville, Mich. – Nick Giammarco, partner; Julie Dugas, senior designer and studio director: Karen Currie, senior designer; Lisa Hill, designer; Lynn Nees, graphic designer

Architect
McCreary Snow Architects, Columbia, S.C.

General Contractor
Newton Builders, Charleston, S.C.

Cases: Hussman
Bridgeton, M.O.

Fixtures
Lozier, Omaha, N.E.; Metro Wire, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Decor Manufacturer
South Eastern Products Inc., Greenville, S.C.

Lighting
Amerlux Lighting Solutions, Fairfield, N.J.
Focal Point, Chicago;
Prudential Lighting, Los Angeles

Flooring
Karndean Intl., Export, Pa.

Ceramic Tile
Royal Mosa, The Netherlands

Photography
Fox Commercial Media, Charleston, S.C.