NEW SHELVING AT SCHNUCKS HELPS PRIVATE LABEL

CAROL ANGRISANI

ST. LOUIS - Radius shelving is boosting private-label sales at Schnuck Markets' new prototype stores.

"As consumers go up and down the aisles, they can really see a difference," said Randy Wedel, senior vice president of marketing and merchandising. He credited the curved shelves for higher private-label sales at the prototype stores compared to non-prototype stores, although he declined to provide sales figures.

In Schnucks' newest store - a 63,000-square-foot unit that opened Nov. 14 in Bridgeton, Mo. - the curved shelves are used in about 24 different Center Store categories. About half of these feature private-label groceries, including cookies, flavored drinks, macaroni and cheese, and noodle and sauce mixes. The rest highlight natural and organic, gourmet and specialty foods, including marinades and enhanced water.

The 103-store retailer began testing the shelving about six months ago in its prototype stores in Cottleville and Eureka, Mo., and Bettendorf, Iowa. The shelving is used to underscore about one dozen categories in those stores.

Most of the units are 4 feet long, though several 8-foot sections are used for large categories, such as soy milk and private-label salad dressings.

Ken Ringkamp, manager of the Bridgeton unit, said the shelves emphasize all that the store has to offer. "We're accentuating our variety and selection by bringing it out to the view of the customer," he told SN during a recent store tour.

While Schnucks has tested colored, wire and other types of special shelving, it has found the most success with the radius units, Wedel said. He said Center Store remains a significant part of the chain's overall sales, and that radius shelving is another way to keep it alive and vibrant.

"We don't want the Center Store to become just aisle after aisle of products," he said.

Schnucks Embraces GM Integration

ST. LOUIS - Along with radius shelving, Schnuck Markets' new prototype also calls for greater integration of general merchandise into the Center Store.

Brita water filters, Bonny can openers and other name-brand gadgets are being positioned in the bottled-water section. Bakeware is now merchandised across from baking products, while balloons are placed in the card department.

Generating impulse sales is a key goal of the new initiative. But equally important is making the store more user-friendly, said Ken Ringkamp, manager of the newest Schnucks store in Bridgeton, Mo.

"We want to make it easier for our shoppers so that they don't have to go looking all over the store for certain products," he said.