RETAILERS SATISFIED WITH SALES FROM SEASONAL AISLES

STEPHANIE LOUGHRAN

Despite reports of sluggish sales in other sectors of the retail community, supermarkets interviewed by SN last week were pleased with general merchandise movement out of their Christmas seasonal aisles.

Along with the traditional trimmings, trappings and wrappings, plush toys, treats for animals and more variety of higher priced merchandise were selling well, said nonfood buyers.

No complaints were voiced about soft sales as has been heard from specialty and broadline retailers. Last week Redbook Retail Sales Average, a periodic report released by Instinet Research, New York, on the retail sector, reported sales slipped by 0.2% during the first three weeks of December compared to the same period in November. Compared to the same period one year earlier, retail sales were up in December 1.9%.

The report attributed the somewhat lagging sales to a combination of consumer concerns over the slowing economy, bad weather in the Midwest and Northeast and a general weak interest in seasonal gift categories.

However, food retailers like Hy-Vee Food Stores, West Des Moines, Iowa, were pushing holiday-themed general merchandise by widening their assortment of trendy and traditional items, cross merchandising and strategic placement.

"Sales have been strong, [because] we're getting better at knowing what the customer wants to buy," said Jeff Swartzendruber, assistant vice president of general merchandise at Hy-Vee.

Ray Wallace, nonfoods director, Cub Foods, Lithia Springs, Ga., said, "We're strong in plush teddy bears, fluffy stuff that has developed into a trend for all holidays."

Bi-Lo, Greenville, S.C., a division of Ahold USA, headquartered in Chantilly, Va., merchandises an Ahold signature plush Christmas bear for $9.99 that sells well, according to seasonal buyer Janice Reece.

"We've gotten more into the Christmas business to capture sales and make profits," she said. Bi-Lo broadened their assortment this year to include spiral light-adorned outdoor Christmas trees made of wire for $24.99 and strings of tube lights for $8.99, along with their selection of gift wrap, boxed cards and toys.

Polly Smith, general merchandise department leader at Iron River, Mich.-based Angeli Foods, said their decorated assortment of plush animals has done surprisingly well. "I didn't think they would sell as well as they did," she said. The three- to four-foot-high stuffed animals, priced at $19.99, are displayed prominently on the main wall as customers walk through the doors. "It's something that has worked for us this year," Smith said. With 300 of the plush items, she said only 30 remained as of last week.

George Fiscus, vice president of general merchandise, Bashas Markets, Chandler, Ariz., attributed higher holiday sales this year to "more variety, more upscale items and people seeming more receptive earlier [in the season]." All retailers surveyed said they displayed Christmas items the day after Halloween.

Hot items high on Bashas' customers' lists this year included interactive pets like Poo-Chi the puppy for $29.99, five stockkeeping units of Harry Potter games and puzzles, and the $19.99 Dr. Suess' Grinch animated home decor item. "It sold out in a week and a half," said Fiscus. Bashas bunches seasonal nonfood items together in a 20-foot aisle on both sides with island space in the middle, according to Fiscus.

Cross merchandising in food aisles has been an important strategy in stealing more general merchandise space for the season, according to Wallace. He said turkey fryers, discounted from $79.98 to $59.98 for the holidays, are cross merchandised with peanut oil in the meat department. "They sell by the truckload," he said.

Retailers said other popular cookware items include throwaway foil pans, primarily because of "price points and convenience," said Wallace.

Angeli Foods displays popular seasonal cooking and baking items such as basters, timers, cookie cutters, candy thermometers and disposable foil pans in eight-foot aisles, separate from their seasonal general merchandise aisle.

Other fast-selling items bypass human consumption altogether. Smith said the three Angeli Food Stores sell lots of rawhide for pets to give as gifts, such as $1.99 rawhide candy canes.