PRICE CHOPPER GADGET, TOY SECTIONS EXPAND

JOEL ELSON

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Price Chopper Supermarkets this month is completing the rollout of expanded toy sections and upscale kitchen gadgets in 50 to 60 stores of the 81-unit chain.

The retailer is merchandising a larger toy variety and establishing new toy sections to help stimulate impulse sales. "Whether in the cereal aisle or on power panels, toys are high-impulse items that represent sales potential for supermarkets," said Bob Hunt, director of general merchandise and health and beauty care.

He also mentioned that improved packaging and attractive price points have made toys "a product [category] the female shopper can relate to very easily."

Besides the expanded toy sections, Price Chopper is introducing a larger upscale gadgets mix to capitalize on the solid sales potential and appeal that more stylish selections offer, said Hunt.

"There is good potential for gadgets, and it's a category that isn't particularly price-sensitive," Hunt said. "We're going into a new gadgets program as we believe there is room for step-up gadgets, especially those with the larger hand grips and in newer colors, including black. There are different European-designed [gadgets] in black with white accents, and [implements] in stainless steel in the heavier tools -- spoons, spatulas and other implements," he added.

Toy sections are expanding to 4- or 8-foot departments, with most set in 8 feet, and ideally located in the cereal aisle or set as a seasonal area. The chain will also test a larger 12-foot version of the department, Hunt said.

A large assortment of basic toys and smaller sporting goods is being stocked, including products for outdoor activities such as soccer balls, shinguards for roller blade skating, hockey sticks and pucks, and sports accessories for activities such as biking.

Some of the toy mix includes basic peggable toys merchandised at the cereal aisle. Other items are carried in the regular toy section. Basic toys, for example, are squirt guns, merchandised during the summer months, that retail up to $2.99. Small, hot-selling licensed figurines are being supplied through a rack jobber.

Although the toy sections will be a regular year-round department, the mix will be changed to coincide with popular seasonal products like baseball and street hockey. "Although products may be a little more limited during the winter months, toys make sense as gift-giving items for Christmas," Hunt added.

Toy pricing will top out at $12.99, and will offer the kind of variety "a shopper would typically go to a mass merchant, whether a Kmart, Wal-Mart, Caldor or a Toys R Us, to buy."

Hunt is avoiding high-end goods like $20 to $25 baseball gloves, and is staying "inside a reasonable price area that fits into a grocery budget.

"You've got to find the right mix [in toys], and don't want to be overextended," Hunt said.

In stores that have the room, Price Chopper is adding 4 feet of upscale gadgets to a 12-foot section. "We've had some upscale gadgets, but we're redoing all gadgets at all stores with 4 more feet of step-up products."

The new gadgets strategy "will give us 5% to 10% more variety, provide us a higher retail and help increase the category's sales. The retails will be about 20% to 25% higher priced and will go from $4.99 in the regular gadgets mix to $8.99 for the upscale products," Hunt said. "As shoppers buy an upscale gadget they are also likely to pick up others of the same type if they like the way they look. This could be a windfall if that happens."