MILES OF AISLES

JULIE C. BOEHNING

The Gateway City is on the fast track when it comes to frozen foods.

St. Louis had the most significant improvement in fair share indexes for nearly all frozen food categories during National Frozen Food Month this past March, according to A.C. Nielsen, Schaumburg, Ill. For instance, frozen breakfasts went up 37 points; frozen entrees, 22 points, and frozen vegetables, 15 points.

Schnuck and Dierbergs Markets, two family-run chains, dominate the area. The third major player is Shop 'N Save.

Frozen food is a priority for all three chains. Sections at all three retailers are bright and spacious.

"Our standard is 2,500 cubic feet," said Jerry Beck, category manager for dairy and frozen food at Schnuck Markets. That usually means 85 30-inch door units and 40 feet of coffin.

Dierbergs frozen food departments have about 102 doors in 72-foot aisles, according to Terry Ritchey, Dierbergs frozen food merchandiser. Shop 'N Save has the least amount of door space among all three chains -- about 60 or 70, SN found in store visits. However, the warehouse-style market uses more coffin space for storage than its competitors. Shop 'N Save officials were unavailable for comment. St. Louis retailers go to great lengths to make their frozens departments a pleasant shopping experience. All tend to favor bright blue neon department signs. "We have many hours in meetings with each section of the store, analyzing the light angles to get the right fixture, the right color bulb and the right combination of lights," said Darryl Wikoff, president of Dierbergs.

At Schnuck and Shop 'N Save locations, products in coffin cases are illuminated by suspended lighting fixtures.

While all three chains are similar in that they have large, clearly marked and well-lit frozen food departments, they differ in their pricing strategies and promotions.

"About all our features are multiple prices," Beck said of Schnuck. "It's a very effective sales tool for us."

During visits to Schnuck stores, SN noticed several small signs that identify both special buys, which are listed in Schnuck in-store shoppers guides, and advertised specials, which appear in the chain's direct mail circular.

In most locations, "special buys" and "as advertised" signs are taped to doors and clipped to the top of coffins because Schnuck gives double exposure to promotional items in its frozens departments. Hot promotional items are featured in center-aisle and end coffin cases.

"None of this is permanent," Beck said, referring to a row of coffins filled with promotional items. "All of this is display."

Dierbergs favors half-price promotions. "[They] are very effective for us," said Wikoff. "Other than that, multiple pricing is our strongest."

Dierbergs, like Schnuck, mails a circular and provides a separate in-store circular for its shoppers. Items that appear in the circulars are featured in coffins, but also receive exposure in the doors.

"We do better with ad items out in the coffins," said Ritchey of Dierbergs. In all Dierbergs' locations visited by SN, promotional items in coffins are clearly identified by large signs with the Dierbergs' 142nd anniversary logo on them. Half-price promotions are marked with large red letters. Small temporary price reduction and advertised special shelf tags hang below promotional items featured in doors. Shop 'N Save promotes its everyday low pricing and TPR items in two, separate in-store circulars. Its Red Tag values circular lists all TPRs, while its Total Values circular compares its EDLPs to Schnuck and Dierbergs.

Within its frozen food departments, Shop 'N Save uses red and yellow shelf tags in doors and on coffins to identify values to shoppers. It further explains its pricing policy on large signs that hang above doors throughout its frozens departments.

Like Schnuck, Shop 'N Save favors multiple-priced items for its Red Tag Values.

Though Schnuck and Dierbergs rarely advertise in newspapers, Shop 'N Save takes a different approach. During SN's visit, Shop 'N Save ran several full-page ads in the Sunday edition of the Post-Dispatch. The ads included three frozen items.

All three chains also differ in their cross-merchandising strategies for frozen foods. In each case, cross-merchandising techniques reflect the unique environment each chain strives to create. Dierbergs cross-merchandises items that directly complement its frozen products. At the ends of doored cases, Dierbergs uses power panels to hang ice cream scoops and pizza cutters. Across from end coffins, it shelves toppings and cones.

"We're really not very big on clutter," said Wikoff of Dierbergs. We're definitely not going for a warehouse look."

The warehouse look, however, is Shop 'N Save's identity. At one location SN not only noticed cardboard displays of cones and toppings, but seasonal merchandise stacked in the department as well. Shop 'N Save also cross-merchandises promotional items on top of coffins and doors. Some Schnuck locations visited by SN use built-in shelving to display cones, toppings and Parmesan cheeses. Others use cardboard vendor displays to place cones near ice cream or seasonings next to entree doors. Schnuck also cross-merchandises wine on coffins of promotional entrees and desserts.