Store Analysis-Food Town, Pacifica

Initial Impression

Overall, the store is looking very good, it is easy to see that there is remodeling going on, and a number of areas need tending to, but as a whole, it has never looked better. There is a good flow of customers and a wide variety of ages. The Grocery Department, Produce, and Meat are all strong and the new lighting goes a long way towards creating ambiance. The Deli needs the most help. It is understood that this is where a good deal of the remodeling is happening, so it is understandable that there is some clutter in this and the Meat areas. Nonetheless, there are things that are not tied to the remodel, such as numerous loaves of old bread which was hard as a rock still sitting where customers could pick it up rather than being thrown away, a good deal of filth around the coffee setup, and selections in the Deli and Cheese counter that could use a shot in the arm. Understandably, a lack of personnel has contributed to this, but if the store is to rise on all levels, these areas must be addressed.

Following is a list of suggestions, first, general areas, then the front end of the store, followed by notes on the departments, and finally, a list of priorities.

General Concerns

The store needs to be painted inside. The colors should be selected soon as all other colors will need to be tied to this.

If possible, far prior to the painting, the old Department lettering on the walls around the store should be removed. It is like being in the present with one foot in the past. Nostalgia is good only when it is by design.

A store logo needs to be created and used on everything.

The store signage is not standardized. The solution to this is to decide on an everyday paper, a font, sizes for different applications, and a mandate that all signs must be laminated and hung with wide clear tape. Special fonts can be selected for specific situations and seasonal papers utilized as well. Any sign with incorrect information should be brought to the sign maker's attention rather than being changed with a pen.

If the financial situation allows it, a new floor should be considered. There is little that will do more to impact a store's aesthetics than a richly hued floor. If laminate is workable, it, or a stained and polished concrete overlay, will give the most impressive results.

Awnings over the Deli and Meat Departments will give a “market” feel if they tie together. Care should be taken not to have too many breaks, or styles as this will give a choppy look. The store as a whole should be treated as one body with different organs and appendages.

The bathrooms are unpleasant. They posses an odor and appear dirty. As businesses need to have public facilities, these should reflect the integrity of the store in the same way as every other facet. Start with air fresheners.

All ads which cover the windows should be removed. A public bulletin board should be installed. Any blockage of the windows is both unattractive and inhibits the ability to see both in and out.

A plastic bag recycling bin is the law as of July 1st, 2007. This should be installed soon to avoid customer complaints and possible fines. It might also be wise to introduce a five cent rebate for bags brought back by customers for their groceries.

The large pegboard unit at the front of the freezer aisle should be removed. (It is understood that there will be a three door freezer installed in this spot). The General Merchandise on this unit can be placed on slat wall on the ends of the center aisles. The hooks can be low profile and it will give a look of uniformity to this area.

Occasionally, some employees get a little loud, forgetting that they can be heard by all.

The Front Lobby

A café area should be established. The area just to the left of the main doors is ideal. It can be created at little expense using existing 4 foot displays in this area. Put end to end, they will create a 16 foot long multi-tiered shelving unit on the outside, facing the cheese arena. This will create an impressive display for many of the items currently on the shelving, but will benefit from the linear look of it. On the inside, it will create a simple wall with the addition of plywood, using the now extraneous end caps of the shelving units for accents, or buy grooved “bead board” plywood for a simple and clean look. A small shelf can be added to the inside as well for holding napkin holders, salt and pepper, vases, etc. The end of the café facing the check stands, should be comprised of the currently unused newspaper stand followed by a 4 foot section of the multi-tiered shelving, followed by the two 2 foot flower displays next to each other, painted black and with surface wood applied over the cubby holes. Galvanized flower buckets can then sit on the displays, rather than down into them. This will then create a 10 foot by 16+ foot café, cozy, but not cramped. The window sill should have a piece of stained and varnished wood applied over it. The café will hold six 30” square tables comfortably so three more should be purchased. An additional twelve chairs will be needed as well. Indoor/outdoor carpet would add to the café feel.

At the end of the café, the coffee and pastries unit can be installed, facing the café, this will make it visible to customers as they enter the store, give visual interest for the café patrons, and still be easy to see from other approaches as well. Angled at an “L” to this, two bread racks should be installed. These would be for specialty breads. Although this does cover over a couple of the window panels, they have already been frosted, and with the application of “stained glass” vinyl, available from Home Depot, they will create visual interest. The area behind the units will provide a nearby location for coffee and pastry supplies.

See attached drawing for dimensions.

The Front End

Place a customer suggestion box in the Lobby. Utilize input for buying practices and to get a feel for their concerns.

The Rug cleaning machines, the Vitamin water cooler, and the coffin freezer with ice cream novelties should be moved away from the lobby. They don't need to be eliminated, but should not be the first things you see upon entering the store.

If the doors in the Produce department are not to be used, they should have blinds installed on them. At any rate, the wire on the handles now is unsightly and dangerous.

The stair step unit in front of the windows is being underutilized. It is a perfect place to showcase plants. These can be purchased from a Produce company. If watered regularly, they can last for months, but are more likely to become added sales.

Greeting cards and gift wrap should be brought to the front end of the store, they are good impulse items and are attractive as well.

The magazine rack could be turned at a right angle to make it more visible to people as they walk by. Right now it is hidden, except to the Produce Dept. customers. An island could be created in the “dead space” in the produce front lobby which could hold greeting cards, gift wrap, and magazines as well as any gift items for sale.

A uniform standard should be established. This need be no more than a polo shirt, an apron, and a name tag. Jeans in good shape are fine, but shorts should go. White coats for the Meat and Deli Departments are a good idea as well.

Check stands should have numbers assigned to them.

The cardboard boxes on each check stand for school receipts should be replaced with four matching containers. These can be picked up at The Container Store, Staples, or simply improvised out of something better looking.

Food and beverage containers should be taken off the check stands along with various odds and ends. This area is the first impression customers get, and the impression should be impressive.

Grocery Department

Unified Western Grocers can be contacted to look at the store set. The set is actually very good now, it just might help to aid in expanding specialty and health oriented areas.

The General Merchandise areas could be brought closer together also, incorporating a good vitamin and supplements set too.

Aesthetically, it would be a good idea to cut down, or better yet, eliminate the cardboard shippers, there is plenty of room on the front and back hutches This and more attractive wood or metal units would be a better way to go. It's better to not use one company's unit to house another's product. This is alright if the logo can be covered.

Ends of Hostess product should be in-line, not floor-stacked. These are more Safeway and Albertson's items. Better to use the space to feature unique items not found in those stores.

Some of the front end hutches could have a more theme-like approach, putting a series of linked items together.

A new bulk coffee company should be contacted. Peet's and Peerless are a couple of suggestions. The current unit is dated and inefficient. More varieties can be placed in the same four foot set, tying in bagged and ground coffee, filters, and even some coffee pots and mugs.

Klein Brothers/Arroyo Seco has an excellent line of bagged nuts, they are full service and credit spoils. This could be cut in with the baking goods.

There is a shipper tagged “easter spices” from The Spice Hunter”. Is this an outside vendor? The spices should be cut in to the shelf or pulled until next Easter.

A small bulk food section should be cut into the Falcon section. It could be only the bottom half of a four foot set, and be top movers by their figures.

Deli/Cheese Departments

Selection in both areas should be greatly expanded, there are many products carried by companies such as Tony's that only need to be plattered, and many cheeses are available in prepack form from both Tony's and Columbus through UWG that only need to be priced. A list of core items needs to be established, and then added on as the business grows.

Whoever supplies the bread for the deli can be contacted to see about assistance with a new sign board.

The coffee/pastries unit needs some TLC, this can be accomplished with some stain, a rasor blade, and a new piece of wood spanning the two raised areas at the bottom. This creates a space for coffee cup caddies, and a shelf for creamers, sugar, stirrers, etc.

There is only one size coffee cup, a larger size should be introduced. 79¢ for a small cup of coffee is basically unheard of. $1.00 for a small cup and $1.50 for a large cup,(both including tax), is a good number to begin with.

A fresh bread company needs to be contacted, Il Fornaio is a good one. Brea and Raymond's can fill the section out. To reiterate, the following day, removing leftover bread should be done first thing in the morning and fresh bread baked. The old bread can be turned into croutons, stuffing, crumbs, crostini, or donated. Once the café is created, this area will be a focal point rather than a hidden corner.

Framed posters can be placed on the walls in the cafe as well as behind the cheese cutting station.

The shelving around the cheese cutting station has cookies on it. This is a perfect spot to work in the cheese plane gift packs and assorted spreads, crackers, panetini, etc.

Garbage cans need specific locations designated where they are not in front of product.

The lighting around the cheese cutting station is unbalanced and needs to be repositioned.

The low display units in front of the deli case are from another era and don't match anything either present or future. Metro shelving (or nothing) would be a better option.

Meat Department

The signage needs to be consistent, best to integrate it with all of the rest of the store.

The red bowls should be retired. Purchase new bowls at the same time as they are bought for the Deli.

Once the remodel is finished, a concept for the look of the meat department needs to be thought out. The back wall looks odd with the many cutouts, it would be optimal if the openings could be expanded with larger headers to create more of a column look than chopped out openings.

Produce Department

As with other departments, the signage should be standardized. The organic produce sign made from three sheets of paper can be recreated.

The front of the wet rack is pretty grungy, it can be faced with well stained and varnished wood strips, or strips of plastic. Signs can then be applied to the new facing with Velcro, or grooves in the material can be incorporated.

The watermelon bin doesn't fit, and the pallet sticking out from under it could be a hazard.

Wine Department

This department is in the midst of completion so it is hard to evaluate. A number of things could be moved out of the area once it is completed, such as floor stacks of Foster's beer. It would be better placed in front of the cold beer area. The whole part of the store from walking in, to the cafe, cheese area, coffee bar, deli, meat department, and wine section, will reflect the more “upscale” atmosphere and it will be good to have a consistent flow of product.

A few wines need to be evaluated for removal, some whites, especially, are getting on in years.

A couple of price discrepancies were noted, and it doesn't seem necessary to have UPC's on the shelf tags. A more elegant shelf tag might better suit the wooden cabinets.

Summary and Priorities

In summary, the main thing that needs to be done is to simply pull all the elements together. Many areas are where (or near to where) they need to be. It is easy to overlook problems when you see them every day, especially when labor constraints exist. Some dollars will need to be spent, both in materials and in labor to pull it off, but the return will be worth it.

Priority #1 Flesh out the cheese case, this is only a couple of phone calls and a couple of hours required to get it looking good.

Priority #2 Build the Café. The Materials cost is minimal, $500.00 max. Most of what is needed is already there. The impact will be profound.

Priority #3 Replace all the signage in the store. This also, will have a significant impact on the look of things.

Priority #4 Work on the excess product on the floor. Incorporate it into the ends.

Priority #5 Contact new vendors regarding bulk coffee, bagged nuts, bulk foods, etc.

Richard Williams

2007-08-01T15:19:39

Richard Williams