- Mar 31, 2003
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some notable quotes:
"the employees' aprons and vests have been replaced by a more polished navy polo and khaki uniform"
"This customer doesn't work on the family's cars"
"We won't stuff a George tweed suit in a grocery sack"
Wal-Mart experiments in Plano
'Lab' store to offer premium items, more help
08:32 AM CST on Wednesday, March 22, 2006
By MARIA HALKIAS and JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO ? From now on, Plano shoppers will have a lot to say about what Wal-Mart sells in its stores.
The world's largest retailer opens a first-of-its-kind "laboratory" store Wednesday in this city, with the purpose of studying how to entice shoppers to consider Wal-Mart for more than everyday essentials. A more upscale Wal-Mart with a specialty-store attitude, it carries premium products and services not found at a typical Supercenter.
JUAN GARCIA / DMN
Large flat-screen TVs hang over the wider aisles at the Wal-Mart store at Dallas Parkway and West Park Boulevard in Plano. John Menzer, vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores USA, said the chain has put its best ideas inside this Supercenter, which is at the southeast corner of West Park Boulevard and Dallas Parkway. "Now we'll see what the customer thinks," he said Tuesday during a store tour.
The 203,091-square-foot store has the chain's only sushi shop, more than 500 organic products and a wine department with more than 1,000 varieties ranging up to $500 a bottle. It features a Wi-Fi-ready Kicks Coffee Café at the front of the store and a kiosk in the meat department that prints recipes and shopping lists.
Even the employees' aprons and vests have been replaced by a more polished navy polo and khaki uniform. Customer service will be available during peak hours from specialists in electronics and cosmetics. Bikes are assembled out in the open so that staffers can answer questions at the same time.
About 1,500 premium items not sold in other Wal-Mart stores are being tested here, said Ryan Lincks, project manager and senior analyst for U.S. strategy for the Arkansas-based retailer.
The store doesn't sell fabric or guns and carries less fishing gear than a typical Wal-Mart. Instead, that space is now devoted to fitness equipment, kids' crafts, sporting goods, patio furniture and hot tubs. Automotive supply aisles are also smaller.
"This customer doesn't work on the family's cars," Mr. Lincks said.
The store has been shaped to fit the lifestyle of area residents, many of whom strongly opposed its construction.
Nearby homeowners who opposed the store during a contentious City Council battle have shifted their focus to work with Wal-Mart and the city on softening the neighborhood impact.
JUAN GARCIA / DMN
Shoes are displayed in glass cases as the new Wal-Mart aims to draw upper-scale shoppers. Last year, after the council had approved the store, opponents mounted an effort to recall Mayor Pat Evans and two council members. The bid ended when organizers were unable to gather the roughly 4,000 signatures needed to put the recall issue on the ballot.
Linda Parkinson, president of the Glen Heather homeowners association, said Wal-Mart representatives have responded to neighbors' concerns throughout the construction process: "If there's a problem and we tell them about it, they've fixed it," she said.
"Had we not done everything that we did, the store wouldn't look half as nice as it does," Ms. Parkinson said. "We're still sorry it's there, but we're hoping to make lemonade out of lemons."
The Supercenter, near the high-end Shops at Willow Bend mall, is designed in atypical beige tones with a brick façade and a berm, wall and trees.
Inside the store are many of the departments found in a standard Wal-Mart. But the feel is different, with departments such as bicycles, greeting cards and books that mimic specialty stores.
The book section, which has cherrywood shelves, is designed to tie in with the company's Web site.
"We're trying to make the connection more in this store to Walmart.com." Mr. Lincks said. A sign reminds shoppers that "750,000 more titles are available online."
The high-traffic paper products aisle leads into children's apparel.
An expanded produce and grocery section is among the features at Wal-Mart's new store in Plano. "We think we have a selective shopper who will try children's apparel first," Mr. Lincks said.
Women's apparel has been expanded. Wal-Mart brands George and Metro 7 have been given significantly more space. Women's apparel has its own checkout, with apparel hooks and garment bags.
"We won't stuff a George tweed suit in a grocery sack," said spokesman Gus Whitcomb.
Dressing rooms have been redesigned with doors that go to the floor for more privacy.
The home goods and furniture area feels more like a Target than a Wal-Mart. It has small displays for how to put together bedding, and accessories are grouped by luxury, casual and modern decor. Window treatments have been expanded to include several choices of decorative rods, reminiscent of Pottery Barn.
The store's electronics department is experimenting with higher-end merchandise, such as a Hewlett-Packard dual home theater and personal computer system. The chain is No. 2 in consumer electronics behind Best Buy Co., and last year it began expanding its selection and space devoted to HDTVs, cameras and wireless phones.
In addition to stocking more technology, the store is filled with it. Shoppers can control HDTVs too high to reach from a touch pad. The Kicks Coffee Café has two computers set up for public e-mail access and two private areas with big-screen TVs "to plug in your own laptop for a quick PowerPoint presentation on the road," said Ken Johnson, chief executive of Plano-based Kicks.
Finally, the store has a quieter shopping experience with fewer PA announcements and no in-store radio. Wal-Mart TV broadcasts are confined to distinct areas of the store. Even the cash registers are quieter.
Area homeowner representative Ms. Parkinson said she hopes Wal-Mart achieves its goal of creating a store with a more upscale feel.
"I really hope that their whole image change comes to fruition," she said. "I really honestly do, because that would be the best for us and for them. The jury's out on that one. We're all anxiously awaiting to see what happens."
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