VIDEO-PHOTO SECTION A BIG DRAW AT BAKER'S

DAN ALAIMO

OMAHA, Neb. -- Baker's Supermarkets here reports im-mediate and favorable consumer response to a new department that combines an array of video and photo products.

The department was designed to take full advantage of the synergy that exists between two related nonfood profit centers by creating what Louis Stinebaugh, director of general merchandise and video at Baker's, referred to as a "destination department." Signups for the video program were running well ahead of the pace the retailer expects for new stores, said Stinebaugh. "We reached 3,000 active members in that video department within six weeks. The earliest I've seen that happen in other stores is 12 weeks and usually it is about 16 weeks before we reach that goal," he said. The store opened in May. Besides a full array of videos and related products, the 1,200-square-foot department also includes one-hour photo processing, a Kodak CopyPrint Station, overnight photo processing, small cameras for less than $60, camcorder accessories, film, batteries and photo frames. "We are trying to project a full-service image department," said Stinebaugh. Demographics of the new store's marketing area and the attractiveness of the department contributed to the section's quick acceptance, said Stinebaugh. But its success is also due to the synergy of a comprehensive photo and video program in one department, he said. "By tying in the one-hour processing and CopyPrint Station with video and other services, we have created a destination department. We are the market leader

in Omaha among all classes of trade for overnight processing. Since we are the market leader, there is a built-in clientele that we pull into the department," he said. "We believe that the synergy of photo and video is a natural. Tying it all together has helped us grow that department more quickly than if it were just video and if it weren't as dramatic a presentation," said Stinebaugh. After this success, Baker's will combine video and photo in future stores, he said. "We believe the marriage of photo and video is a good one."

"If you've got a good strong photo department and a good strong video department, they feed off of one another. Overnight photo processing is a large part of the photo processing out there. If customers are coming in tonight to drop off their film, why not rent a video and come back tomorrow to get their photos and drop the video off?" said Stinebaugh. This combination of services uses store personnel efficiently, he noted. "They can cross over. Photo drops and pickups typically fall at a different time of the day than video rentals, which tend to be later in the evening," he said. The new department, with its five prominent video monitors, is a focal point at the front of the store. "You can see those five monitors playing from anywhere in the store. That makes a visual impact," he said. "The overall presentation of the department is much livelier, attractive and eye-appealing. It is very dramatic in its presentation and it is an automatic magnet that draws people over to look at it," said Stinebaugh. This is Baker's third live inventory video rental department. Ten of the retailer's 11 stores now have video departments. In the new 75,000-square-foot store, video and related product offerings include 3,000 rental tapes, 300 games, audio books, sell-through videos, previously viewed videos, video accessories, collector cards and candy. "It's got the widest variety of games and movies that we have in any of our stores," Stinebaugh said. In most of Baker's other stores, a reduced image display card system is used, supplied by Video Home Theater, Des Moines, the chain's racker. The new store is also supplied by Video Home Theater, but the actual boxes are merchandised on black grid fixtures with full-face display of all new releases. The black fixtures and track lighting "really highlight the product -- the rack almost disappears. The upkeep might be a little greater, but we believe it is a good trade-off," Stinebaugh said. Four of Baker's stores have combined overnight photo processing and video rental. But this is the first to also include one-hour photo, the CopyPrint Station, small cameras and an expanded variety, said Stinebaugh. At the Kodak CopyPrint Station customers can make their own photo enlargements in about five minutes, he said. "It's touch-screen, user-friendly and very easy to use," he said. "We've had a lot of customers who, once we show them how to use it, they are hooked," he said comparing it to the American Greetings CreataCard machines. "Once the customers use it, they are not afraid of it any more, and it produces very high-quality images," he said.