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What's a retailer to do when a shopper wants hard-to-find groceries like Campbell's Pepper Pot Soup, Quaker Wedding Oats or Kleenex extra-large tissues? On one hand, they want to accommodate the shopper to preserve loyalty. But placing a special order can lead to operational challenges.For Winn-Dixie Stores, Food Lion, Penn Traffic Co. and about 15 other chains, the solution is a Web-based service

What's a retailer to do when a shopper wants hard-to-find groceries like Campbell's Pepper Pot Soup, Quaker Wedding Oats or Kleenex extra-large tissues? On one hand, they want to accommodate the shopper to preserve loyalty. But placing a special order can lead to operational challenges.

For Winn-Dixie Stores, Food Lion, Penn Traffic Co. and about 15 other chains, the solution is a Web-based service that enables consumers to browse through more than 30,000 items typically not carried in stores.

It's all part of "Endless Aisle," a customized e-commerce, fulfillment and hard-to-find merchandising program from NeXpansion, North Brunswick, N.J. The technology lets retailers expand their product offerings without affecting space available in their stores.

"We can now offer the greatest variety of foods without tying up stores with excess inventory," said Joe Ramirez, spokesman, Penn Traffic, Syracuse, N.Y.

Launched in the summer of 2002, "Endless Aisle" is building a retailer following. Along with Winn-Dixie, Food Lion and Penn Traffic, retail clients include Lowes Foods, Harris Teeter, Pathmark Stores and Acme Markets, according to Steve Weinstein, vice president, business development and planning, NeXpansion, founded in 1996 as Netgrocer.com. Retailers offer the service through a link on their company's Web home page. Though NeXpansion calls the service "Endless Aisle," retailers have created their own brands. For instance, Harris Teeter calls its service "Special Item Request"; Food Lion, "Special Order Service"; Hannaford, "At Your Request"; Clemens Markets, "Clemens Open Pantry"; Shaw's, "Shaw's by Request"; Winn-Dixie, "Express Special Purchase"; Pathmark, "Beyond the Shelf"; Penn Traffic, "Specialty Shop Online"; and Big Y, "Unlimited Choices."

About 70% of orders are placed via retailer Web sites, with the remaining 30% handled by phone.

Now that the service is more than a year old, several food trends have emerged. Among them: British foods are "in," especially Crosse & Blackwell condiments, Hula Hoops salty snacks and a line of Heinz products from England, according to Weinstein.

Other international items are also in demand, including Guarana Antarctica, a South American soda; Thai Delight coconut milk; and Nan, a milk-free infant formula made by Nestle and sold in Mexico.

Traditional Grocery, International Foods and Special Diets are the leading categories at Food Lion's "Special Order Service," which launched this past June.

Items in demand vary from week to week at Food Lion, but top sellers include Jif Smooth Sensations Chocolate Silk Peanut Butter, Mott's Clamato Bloody Caesar Cocktail Mix, Roddenberry's Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts, Sweet'N Low Sugar-Free Fruit-Flavored Candy, Waist Watcher Sodas, Guarana Antarctica Soda, Heinz Baked Beans In Tomato Sauce From England and Panni Bavarian Potato Dumpling Mix, according to Jeff Lowrance, corporate communications manager, Food Lion, Salisbury, N.C.

European and Asian foods are popular at Penn Traffic's "Specialty Shop Online," which launched the service in May 2003. The retailer operates the service for each of its four banners: P&C Foods, Quality Markets, BiLo/Riverside and Big Bear.

At Pathmark's "Beyond the Shelf," Asian and British foods are in demand, according Rich Savner, spokesman for the Carteret, N.J.-based chain.

"English candies seem to be doing well," Savner noted.

One trend that surprised Pathmark is the number of orders coming from outside Pathmark's operating area. Saver declined to quantify such orders, but said they're coming mainly from the Southeast and Midwest.

"Perhaps people have seen or tried something while vacationing here, are familiar with our stores, and decide to order it when they get home," Savner said.

NeXpansion's "Endless Aisle" technology enables retailers to tap into some 30,000 hard-to-find, nonperishable and shelf-stable products. The service does not offer frozens, alcohol or tobacco. The company plans to expand its product offerings to about 55,000 by year-end, and to 70,000 in 2004.

While other online grocery programs have failed, the hard-to-find product concept has merit, said Don Stuart, partner, Cannondale Associates, Wilton, Conn., a sales and marketing firm.

"Supermarkets can offer a variety of products that's almost infinite, and in a manner that's far more affordable in terms of inventory-carrying costs," he said.

About 80% of sales come from items picked from NeXpansion's 120,000-square-foot warehouse in North Brunswick, N.J., according to Weinstein. Center Store products account for the bulk of the warehouse assortment. Health and beauty care items and a limited selection of pet supplies round out the selection.

Along with warehouse items, about 20% of sales come from "co-vendors," or distributors with their own warehouses. NeXpansion declined to name the vendors, but said they're mostly distributors of vitamins, pet items, general merchandise, fragrances, books and electronics.

Service fees vary depending on the size of the order, but typically range from $4.99 for orders up to $30 to $11.99 for $60 and more. The average order is $28. Items are delivered directly to the consumer's door.

NeXpansion won't divulge how many orders have been placed this year, but said the number is in the "thousands." The average customer uses the service twice a year.

Retailers pay as well. Although NeXpansion declined to release specific numbers, fees usually work out to less than $500 per store, per year, according to Weinstein.

This is typically more cost-effective for retailers than placing a special order, said Weinstein. In such cases, retailers usually need to purchase an entire case. If the customer only wants one or two items in the case, the retailer is left with the task of selling through the remainder of the merchandise.

"This can be an operational nightmare," Weinstein said.

Savner of Pathmark agreed, saying if a customer wants a product that's not carried in Pathmark's warehouse, the acquisition process wouldn't be cost-effective.

Savner declined to reveal how many orders have been placed, only to say Pathmark is satisfied with consumer response in the one year it has offered the service.

"It's an extended form of customer service," he said. "We're taking an extra step to try to satisfy a consumer need."

Ramirez declined to reveal the exact number of orders placed on Penn Traffic's "Specialty Shop Online," but said there have been 35,000 visitors since the service was launched five months ago.

"The No. 1 attraction is that they can get more interesting, exotic foods that may not appeal to everyone," said Ramirez.

The retailer is pleased with the service because it complements its in-store assortment of international foods, said Ramirez.

"Consumers get the best of both worlds: a wide array of products in our stores, plus more unusual items online," he said.

Penn Traffic aggressively promotes the service, including in-store signs and brochures, and circular ads. It even tapped into its loyalty card database to send out e-mail alerts. Each e-mail blast reached 300,000 Penn Traffic shoppers.

Penn Traffic is currently running a discount promotion. Consumers can get $5 off any purchase of $20 or more. The promotion is being advertised in the chain's weekly circular. Other retailers are running the $5 discount, too. Consumers who signed up to receive e-mail updates from Clemens Markets, Kulpsville, Pa., received an e-newsletter notifying them of a $5 savings on orders of $20 or placed via the "Clemens Open Pantry." The offer expires Oct. 30. Clemens officials were unavailable for comment.

Food Lion has not offered coupons yet, but is exploring that possibility, according to Lowrance. For now, promotions include signs at register lanes and at the customer-service desk, as well as circular advertising several times a month.

It's also considering highlighting certain products at different times of the year.

"We may use some targeted banners to better highlight seasonal selections, like kosher foods," said Lowrance.