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Midwest test
Wal-Mart's interior, exterior changes, implemented to
improve store experience, on display in Elyria
JOHN BOOTH
JANINE BENTIVEGNA
"We're trying to get out of that 'box-store' look," says Elyria Wal-Mart manager Bob Butler.
Every day, unsuspecting guinea pigs pass through the doors of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Elyria. From experiments with department layouts to new merchandise and even exterior architecture, the place essentially is a 207,000-square-foot proving ground for the mammoth retailer. "A lot of companies, Wal-Mart included, test things in the Midwest," said Mia Masten, Wal-Mart's Midwest director of corporate affairs. "It gives you that real-world feel. What does she, your female consumer, want? What does she need? What does she give honest feedback to?" Elyria's Supercenter opened in April, and even viewed from the parking lot, it's set apart from most of the chain's 2,300-plus other Supercenters. Only one other Wal-Mart has built a similar exterior, which mimics a row of close-set storefronts, complete with different brick colors and faux awnings, windows and columns. Inside and outside, store manager Bob Butler said, "We're trying to get out of that 'box-store' look." Entering the store, there's no doubt it's still a Wal-Mart: There's the row of checkout lanes stretching into the distance; the Luxor-size pyramid of paper towels; the occasional juxtaposition of things like beer on sale within an arm's reach of winter coats. But there's still a different feel to it. There's not a lot of white glare anywhere. The floor is brown, buffed concrete, the high walls are tan, and there are more browns and greens in the shelves and backdrops. It's over in what Wal-Mart calls the "home living section" that the changes stand out the most. Instead of the typical towering shelves and long aisles, a few shelves of towels bracket an area of much lower displays that are stocked with related merchandise. The idea, Mr. Butler says, is that rather than have customers walk up and down aisles grabbing towels, say, and then marching to another aisle to match them with other accessories, they can stand in one spot and take in the whole picture at once. It's an idea that has been the standard at stores such as Bed, Bath and Beyond. "And we didn't cut any (merchandise)," Mr. Butler said. "We just used our space more efficiently."
Come see the statues
The philosophy is at work in the small appliance section, where blenders and the like are on shelves set up as kitchen countertops. Such details, though they may seem small changes from Wal-Mart's standard stores, are at work throughout the Elyria store: Backdrops to computer desks to simulate what it looks like in front of a painted wall; book and magazine racks near the electronics section instead of at the front of the store. "The way it's set up in Elyria is only in 19 stores," Wal-Mart's Ms. Masten said, "but there are some elements of that setup we've incorporated in Steelyard Commons and other remodels." The store also has a section for test-marketing merchandise that Mr. Butler says "you wouldn't normally find in a Wal-Mart store." Things such as carved statues, sleek magazine racks and intricately carved wooden lamps.
A prime test market
Fred Bidwell, president of Akron's Malone Advertising, which has a big consumer focus, says Wal-Mart simply is playing the retail game by the industry's changing rules. "In the past, Wal-Mart's model has been, 'Let's be very efficient about how we buy our product, about how we manage the supply chain, how we stock our shelves,'" Mr. Bidwell observed. "Now, that's not as much of a competitive advantage, and they're looking at 'how can we now improve the store experience?' There are many more choices out there, and retailers are differentiating themselves on more than just price now." Mr. Bidwell said he also isn't surprised that Wal-Mart is trying out its new ideas in Northeast Ohio. Elyria, for instance, has an urban market, a rural market to the south, and the higher-income suburbs to the east. "Northeast Ohio has an amazing range of little micro-cultures, micro communities that are all 15 to 20 minutes away from each other," Mr. Bidwell said. In other words, we make good guinea pigs.
Sustaining supply