Our regular review of what’s happening in the retail channel begins with Peter Huskins’ visits to new format Coles and Franklins stores.
#1 Coles Balgowlah – Stockland Mall
Gee it’s nice to see a supermarket retailer doing something a little different and in some instances just plain logical. The new 4000 sq mtr Coles at Balgowlah is a hybrid of some of the initiatives unveiled at more recent openings such as Chatswood here in Sydney and Ivanhoe in Melbourne, plus they’ve added a few more whistles and bows as well.
It certainly marks a clear point of difference between the WW latest format and that of the old style Coles formats….and mostly for the better, and about time the trade are saying.
Theatre and Shopper intimacy have made a welcome return and don’t the locals like it!
Some great points:
- Open front without security gates or trolleys across checkouts which treats us all as valued Customers not suspected thieves
- Well lit open feel with wide aisles and low height fixtures, well merchandised and a good weight of stock
- Low height Dairy/ Chiller cabinets adjacent to Fresh depts. – logical
- All bread together, in house bakery and Proprietary bread – logical (shoppers buy bread and don’t intentionally shop either/ or – have a look at a shopping list!)
- Milk at the front of store – logical, for small baskets and big alike
- No big bulky ends – an aisle of value down the middle which is just as aggressive
Theatre:
- Open meat counter with real live butchers you can ask a question of
- Fish dept that again has a fish monger feel with knowledgeable staff
- Fresh vegies and fruit on ice
- Salad bars
- Indian naan bread oven
- Cheese, cheese and more cheese
- Plenty of sampling and spruiking
- Staff that are actually interested in helping you, bubbly pleasant personalities and plenty of them
- Pharmacy, Baby, checkouts, new uniforms….and the list goes on.
Points to work on:
- Why isn’t freezer near the entrance with the rest of the fresh/ chilled depts? This consigns the Freezer to back up supply only rather than the location of genuine dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow meal alternatives.
- Bakery would be better at the front, but hey, something has to give
- Home Entertainment (DVD’s and Magazines) looks like it was a last minute add on rather than a considered strategy/ location
- The Seasonal Wall in the back left hand corner appeared to be a patch up, seasonal stock requires a high profile location to get the most out of the impulse nature of seasonal lines and this location will get a low % of store traffic – it’s behind Petfood and Laundry
- Will they cross merchandise the store? The open space cries out for it.
- Location and access to Vintage Cellars, pity it’s a fire/ smoke wall
Let’s wait and see:
- Will this store fade after the traditional new store opening honey moon period?
- Will the higher potential GP mix that is being targeted return the investment in fitout and higher running costs such as wages?
- Will the out of stocks and the poor standards return or will the current high standard be maintained?
- Will this store be the direction for the future (you’d have to think so based on the recent openings?)
- Will this snap WW out of their cookie cutting lethargy?
- Will this format be transferrable to other footprints? Will it translate to a 1600 sq mtr store for example as all stores are not of this size.
Conclusion – a great store – do yourself a favour and pay a visit!
The “New” Franklins at Mosman and St Ives
And now for something completely the opposite – we were pretty disappointed in these stores after hearing the PR that went ahead of the launch. Franklins supposed ‘store of the future’ looks like it is a throwback to the 80′s and 90′s and quite like an older generation WW or Coles store.
The St Ives store has a freshened feel about it with an added Deli/ Meals/ Bakery area but the fixtures and design treatment are dated.
- The font for the dept signage is white on a timber background and does not stand out
- Weight of stock and range was average and did not make a statement
- Grocery/ centre store felt cold and uninviting, very wide aisles with little merchandising, few cut carton displays or anything to tempt Shoppers
- Produce bins looked a direct copy of the old WW units
- Traditional layout with traditional category treatment – certainly not a progressive format
- Good South African ranging but if they couldn’t get it right in this store (and with the current ownership) I’d be pretty worried!
The Mosman store has just been relaunched, again with a refreshed feel. This store is adjacent to a booming Harris Farm Market and Franklins have added a small (read meagre) range of fresh and baked products plus a Deli area, but the width of range and display was poor leaving you with the impression they are going through the motions but not really serious about a genuine offer and therefore a genuine competitive contender.
Again :
- wide aisles but with little to no theatre
- traditional category treatment
- no real attempt to leverage the local affluent Shoppers
- No WOW to much at all in the store
Is Price the ace card Franklins used to play still valid? Still surfing off reputation more like it and these formats do little to support the myth.
Conclusion – Mr Luscombe and Mr McLeod don’t have much to worry about.
