SUPER KMART ALTERS BAKERY PRESENTATION

ROSEANNE HARPER

TROY, Mich. -- Super Kmart Centers here has made some changes in its bakery presentation that are reflected in its supercenter opened in late June in Dearborn, Mich.

Those changes include relocating the bakery kiosk, remerchandising the retailer's crusty bread program and adding pretzels and handmade bagels to the product mix.

So far, the tinkering appears to be paying off, according to a company executive.

Six weeks after the store's opening, the bakery continues to ring up the largest dollar volume of any of Super Kmart's bakeries and is sustaining its percentage of store sales, said Jan Higgins, Super Kmart bakery merchandiser.

Typically, Super Kmart layouts feature a freestanding salad bar and a bakery kiosk and deli kiosk, both with service, in addition to full-service perimeter departments with self-service sections. The salad bar, until now, has been situated further toward the front of the store than the bakery kiosk. In the new unit, the bakery kiosk has been moved toward the front of the store and further away from the perimeter bakery department. The goal is to quickly give the perception of quality and spur impulse buys.

"We put the bakery kiosk first in line at the new store so customers see it immediately. In our other stores, it's between the salad bar and the deli kiosk. We also moved the crusty bread display from the side to the front of the kiosk, so that's the first fresh product seen," he added.

"The refashioned layout effectively isolates the salient point we're trying to make: that we

stand for high quality and a high-level of customer service," Higgins said, adding that the new configuration will be incorporated in other new stores. Aggressive sampling by staffers at the kiosk and at the bakery counter will continue to be part of the program.

The products are sourced frozen and baked off. Frequent baking is designed to keep the aroma of baking ever-present in the store, Higgins said.

Higgins said it's too early to determine which factors are key to the bakery's sales performance at this location. "It's a strong store, it's near our headquarters, and it's in a good strip mall, all of which could affect it. But we're definitely on an up. A lot of the things we're putting together are working," he said.

An espresso bar at this store probably helps sales, Higgins said. "We installed our first one in a store that opened last November, but this is the first kiosk to have the combination of the espresso bar and bagels and pretzels, a gourmet cinnamon roll and a higher quality muffin-type product." All but one Super Kmart unit have bakery kiosks as well as in-line bakery departments, but by the end of this year all will have been retrofitted to have both.

A revision in the conceptual design of the bakery department in future stores is on the drawing board, he added, but declined to offer more information at this time.

On a fast-track expansion plan, Super Kmart Centers has opened 24 units since January, bringing the total number to 41. The target is to have 71 opened by the end of this year, Higgins said.