HARRIS TEETER'S BEER IS HOT DRAW IN A WALK-IN COOLER SHOWCASE

RUSSELL REDMAN

ATLANTA -- A Harris Teeter supermarket in the upscale Brookhaven suburb here merchandises beer in a walk-in cooler, which a chain spokeswoman said helps draw customers to the beer section and showcase its variety.

The cooler, 19 feet by 24 feet, has an automatic glass door that says "Walk-in Beer Cooler" on it. Various-sized packs of domestic and microbrewed beer, plus some non-alcoholic imports, are stacked on a platform in the center of the floor and on metal shelf units against the walls. A glass-door freezer containing bagged ice stands near the entrance.

When SN visited the store in early June, plastic and foam ice chests were being cross-merchandised with beer inside the walk-in. They were displayed atop packs of beer stacked on the platform.

"The advantage of a walk-in cooler at this store is that it is a high-volume beer market," said Ruth Kinzey, corporate communications manager for Harris Teeter, based in Matthews, N.C. "The cooler permits a large inventory of cold beer and the ability to offer customers extensive variety."

Overall, the store has 283 stock-keeping units of domestic beer and 233 SKUs of specialty beer, which includes imported and microbrewed beer, according to Kinzey. The only non-refrigerated beer the store offers is in end caps or floor stacks for items on sale or with specials, she noted.

The beer department is situated amid the fresh foods area, but that resulted from space considerations and not an attempt at cross-merchandising, Kinzey said.

A colorful painted mural helps draw shoppers' attention to the beer section. The pastoral-themed artwork stretches across the wall above the walk-in cooler entrance and an adjacent 28-foot refrigerated gondola, which displays an array of imported beer plus some domestic bottled beer. Neon letters above the gondola read, "Beers & Ales from Around the World."

The focus on international beers is to underscore the store's beer selection, Kinzey said. "One thing we pride ourselves on is the variety of selection that we offer our customers. And you will find that we have a large variety of imported brands."

Of Harris Teeter's 142 stores, the Atlanta Brookhaven location is the only one with a walk-in beer cooler, Kinzey said. However, she added that there is some discussion about adding walk-ins at two other stores, possibly within the next year and a half.

"Overall, the walk-in coolers are not as visible as open coolers. Also, there is a cost associated with maintaining the larger walk-in cooler vs. the open cooler," she explained. "Therefore, we weigh such factors before making a decision to incorporate the walk-in cooler design feature into a store."

Murals, too, are in other parts of the Brookhaven store as well as in other Harris Teeter locations, according to Kinzey. "Each store is designed individually," she said. "If you've been to one Harris Teeter, you have not seen them all."