GENUARDI ADDS COMPUTER REPAIR AND SELF-SERVICE PICTURE COPYING

JOEL ELSON

NORRISTOWN, Pa. -- Genuardi Family Markets here has introduced two new major services: computer repair and self-service copying of photos.

The chain kicked off the Kodak CopyPrint Station, a self-service unit that can duplicate photos and snapshots, in three locations. It plans to have it in about 75% of its stores within six months. Computer repair services, meanwhile, are being offered chainwide. Currently, the program handles about three to five repair jobs a week chainwide, but orders are expected to increase now that school is back in session.

"With school back and vacations over, the pace should pick up speed," said Dorrie Martyniuk, operations manager.

"There's a lot of out-of-warranty computer equipment that people don't know where to take to be repaired or upgraded," said Fred Coldwell, vice president of operations at American Eagle Computer Services, a computer lab here that handles repair orders placed at Genuardi. American Eagle pays the chain a flat $10 to $30 fee for hardware repairs and about 10% of the hourly cost for software work. Coldwell also said that "the difficulties people are having installing the new Windows 95 program" may increase demand.

Genuardi launched the program in June to accommodate the growing number of consumers in need of computer repair, according to Martyniuk.

"There's a need for this type of service," she said. Under the program, customers drop off their computer equipment -- including any make or model of keyboards, monitors, printers or related hardware -- at the store service counter. American Eagle Computer Services picks up the items, along with a customer's work order detailing the problem. Free work estimates are approved by telephone. If a customer decides not to go ahead with repairs, the equipment is returned to the customer's home without charge by United Parcel Service or directly by American Eagle.

Services include reconfiguring a computer to accommodate or load software programs, and working out viruses. Along with computer repair, Genuardi also has a year-old VCR and television repair service through a different vendor. Both vendors go to a shopper's home to pick up products too heavy for the customer to bring to a store. "Genuardi stores act as a drop-off point for servicing computers and these other appliances," said Frank Puleo, director of nonperishables merchandising. Meanwhile, Genuardi wants to establish itself as a destination point for most photo needs. It said the Kodak CopyPrint station will help in this effort.

"When people want to come to a supermarket for photo services, this system tells them you are really serious about the business," said Puleo.

Genuardi plans to expand the photo program to stores with space for the system in the fall and winter. Other stores will get the program over the next two to three years as they are remodeled. Puleo said the CopyPrint Station is simple for the customer to use. Operating it like an office copy machine, users lay a picture down on the machine, close the lid and push a button.

Genuardi launched the system because "photo processing is now a big piece of supermarket business and has become a big supermarket item. A copy printing ability is just the next phase of photo processing," added the retailer. According to Puleo, the service duplicates any black and white or color photo up to 8 by 10 inches within several minutes. The retail price of the photo copy is $9.99. Genuardi has positioned the photo-copying system at the service counter. It consists of three pieces of equipment: a computer monitor, the copy machine and the unit that produces the finished print.

In the few weeks following the system's introduction, the sales pace was slow, "since a lot of people don't know what it is," Puleo said. But interest is expected to grow as more people learn about it. The chain plans to begin advertising the copying service "once it's more established," added Puleo.

He said it will be promoted at various occasions, including graduation and back-to-school, when many parents want extra copies of their children's photo packages. Genuardi is leasing the copying equipment from its photo supplier, Qualex. The retailer also plans to expand its one-hour photo minilabs to over half its 26 Genuardi banner stores as they are remodeled over the next two years. Currently, two units offer the faster photo-processing service.