A&P SUPERSTORES EXPAND HOME GOODS

JOEL ELSON

MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P's 96-foot-long household department is set to go into two New Jersey superstore locations this quarter.

The general merchandise department, featuring brand-name merchandise, is part of the company's new superstore format that debuted here in May with the opening of a 54,000-square-foot store.

"The Mahwah store is the first that we put this into, and it will be followed in stores at Woodcliff Lake, N.J., and Garfield, N.J., later this year," said Mike Rourke, vice president of corporate affairs at A&P.

The department, which runs along one side of the aisle, is separated into three sections by clear Plexiglas signs: "Appliances," "Kitchen Shop" and "Kitchen Gadgets."

The appliance mix features small brand-name electrics such as coffeemakers, handheld mixers, hot pots, hair dryers and curling irons.

Cookware and bakeware are merchandised in the Kitchen Shop, followed by gadgets in the kitchen gadget section.

A&P established this section in its new store prototype to stimulate higher general merchandise volume and to enhance one-stop shopping.

"It's really a strong positioning in our larger [54,000-square-foot] stores to identify a kitchen shop and small appliance center so that it will become part of our customers' food shopping trip," Rourke said.

He said the merchandise, with retails between $9.99 and $30, is priced to be competitive with club stores and Wal-Mart.

The new section is "doing very well and bringing us incremental sales. These are products we don't usually carry in most stores except on a flier basis during an in-and-out seasonal period," Rourke stated.

In past years A&P has devoted smaller sections to a limited variety of kitchen countertop appliances in other operating divisions. But Rourke point out that new departments will carry a permanent, extensive selection of merchandise.

"These are products people relate to during their normal food shopping trip. If they need a new iron, small microwave oven, telephone or those kinds of products, you'll find them in the housewares department," Rourke said.