GODIVA TEST IS STRIKING GOLD AT WEGMANS

RICHARD TURCSIK

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- In a first for the supermarket industry, Godiva Chocolatier is testing a full-service Godiva Shop inside a prototype Wegmans Food Market here.

The shop runs about 30 linear feet and is located in the rear of the store near the deli. It is placed directly across from the World of Cheese department, far removed from the store's traditional candy aisle. In addition to fancy rosewood fixtures that are used to merchandised Godiva's boxed chocolates and gift items, a bulk counter sells individual loose pieces.

Initial results from the department, which opened last summer, look promising, said Eugene Dunkin, vice president of global marketing and sales for New York-based Godiva Chocolatier, a division of Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J. He said Godiva is "clearly reading" the results of its test in terms of brand imagery and volume generation. Officials at Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans declined comment.

"It has only been a few months, but the early results look very positive," Dunkin said.

Dunkin declined to comment on whether or not the department is leased, except to say Wegmans employees staff the counter.

While the Pittsford test is open-ended, Dunkin stressed that the shop is a one-store test of a full-service department and doesn't mean that Godiva is about to enter the supermarket mainstream.

"We also believe that we have to keep an eye on the evolving landscape of retail. There are a lot of exciting new ideas out there and that Wegmans Pittsford store is one of them. We need to have some involvement in the ones we think have future potential," he said.

"This [Wegmans] is one of the most exciting and beautiful food format stores I've seen in the country," Dunkin added.

The price points in the Wegmans Godiva Shop are identical to those found in other outlets selling Godiva products. Godiva has a heavy presence in Rochester through its own freestanding boutiques in area shopping malls and Godiva departments in the major department stores in the city.

"While our Wegmans department is smaller than our freestanding store, it is more comparable to a major presentation that we would have in a flagship department store -- one that would require staffing and sell loose bulk chocolates," he said.