A&PS TO DOUBLE SECTION SIZE IN MOST OF ITS NEW STORES

RAMONA G. FLOOD

MONTVALE, N.J. -- A&P here is doubling the footage of health and beauty care sections in most new stores, according to Harry Conway, director of HBC and general merchandise for the New York metropolitan area.

"The greatly enlarged HBC format will contribute to the one-stop shopping image that we are targeting," said Conway.

The new format contains about 2,500 stockkeeping units, up from about 1,600 SKUs, and averages about 330 square feet. It has been adopted by three A&P stores, as well as several new stores at A&P divisions, including Farmer Jack, Detroit, and Super Fresh, Florence, N.J. Other stores in the A&P company may put in the format, but that has yet to be determined, he added.

"Given the variables of square footage available," said Conway, "the new format will be implemented in most of our new stores."

Sections that will be new or significantly expanded include homeopathic remedies, vitamins, pharmaceutical-related supplies, hair accessories and body and bath. Small personal care appliances, such as hair dryers and curling irons, are now being offered to consumers as well. The sections also feature a new area for natural, environmentally friendly personal care products.

"We have the section because we are anticipating that it will grow in popularity as time goes by," said Conway. The revamped HBC sections debuted about a year ago with a test store in Holmdel, N.J. Holmdel was the prototype of the new HBC sections, said Conway.

By doubling footage, Conway said, "Not only do you increase variety but you increase the perception of variety because of the expanded section size. Maybe we could cram the same number of items into an 8-foot section. But now we provide the space to lay the product out in a way that is visible to the customer."

The revamped format also offers the retailer an opportunity for additional HBC promotion because it has space for permanent display areas, said Conway.

He said the expanded departments in the Mahwah store are well above average in sales dollars and HBC's share of total store sales. Conway declined to give specific figures, but said that in all HBC areas pricing is geared to be competitive with the mass merchandisers.