No Turn On Red

Was in an Old Navy this weekend, really briefly. Didn’t get much chance to dive into the new merchandise, but it looks like they are starting to transition into Back to School. Saw that the denim has been moved back to the front on the Missy side and is supported with a new graphic package that looks really sharp. Die cut words calling out the “Denim” shop on the Mens side and the different cuts of denim on the Missy side. Looks like they are cut out of foam core or something similar, but did not get a real good look at it. The picture above is an example of what the Mens side looked like.

I’ve gotta give credit to the store I was at (Freehold, NJ) as they were looking real sharp (presentation wise) going into the weekend. Look at the fold on those jeans! Typically, I haven’t been seeing that when I go to the mall on a Friday afternoon – and honestly, it’s not something I’ve seen at Old Navy all that much lately. First thing in the morning, their stores look great but the on-going maintenance, during the day, isn’t always there. But this store nailed it.

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In what I think is one of the most brilliant move marketing campaigns of the past few years, 7-Eleven has turned 11 of their stores into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience store from the Simpsons. This is to promote the upcoming release of the Simpsons movie. 11 stores across the country have been outfitted in Kwik-E-Mart branding, complete with brands featured in the show that never actually existed before (Buzz Cola, Squishees, and KrustyOs cereal).

What makes this interesting is that 7-Eleven is putting up the bulk of the cost associated with this promotion. They’ve put out the money (”somewhere n the single millions”) to outfit their stores with the new look for the month. They believe this will show that they have a sense of humor about themselves and attract new customers.

It is a big gamble for the company, but the press they will generate from this will probably be great. The important thing is that they didn’t half-ass this – this is a company who took an idea and ran full force from it. The level of detail is impressive and will attract die-hard Simpsons fanatics, as well as casual viewers and non-fans alike.

The messageboard the No Homers Club has a thread with tons of photos of the interior and exterior of one of these converted locations while the Associated Press has more on the business end of things.

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This week, I’ve been talking about the retail growth in Atlantic City. The recently completely Nike Factory store is another fantastic example of how great retail in that city is looking:

The store opened within the past two months and is reportedly the first store of it’s kind for Nike.

The location of the store is unbelievable. Situated in the median of the Atlantic City Expressway, right as you get to the beachfront/casino area, it is one of the most visible, non-casino properties in the city. The exterior of the building has floor to ceiling windows, filling the interior with natural light. I was there on a beautiful, sunny Summer day and I couldn’t believe how bright the interior was.

Merchandise is presented well, with the full range of Nike products shown. Mannequins and innovative fixturing, mixed with huge (over 10 feet tall) graphics showing their products in action, lead to a great shopping experience. Sneakers are presented in a self-serve format, with a range of products offered.

There is also an separate, smaller store that is dedicated to the Converse brand. Same level of excitement, innovation, and merchandising excellence.

I was really surprised to see how nice this store looked. It compliments the rest of the Walk outlets. Atlantic City is becoming a destination shopping experience, with a great mix of high and low-end retailers. If you are in New Jersey and looking for a great place to shop, check out Atlantic City.

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This weekend, the New York Times ran a pretty interesting piece examining how some supermarkets are changing to a one line for all registers approach, versus the traditional one line for each register. Called A Long Line for a Shorter Wait at the Supermarket, they explain:

By 7 p.m. on a weeknight, the lines at each of the four Whole Foods stores in Manhattan can be 50 deep, but they zip along faster than most lines with 10 shoppers.

Because people stand in the same line, waiting for a register to become available, there are no “slow” lines, delayed by a coupon-counting customer or languid cashier. And since Whole Foods charges premium prices for its organic fare, it can afford to staff dozens of registers, making the line move even faster.

This approach has worked well for banks for years and has been adopted by some retailers and department stores. I believe that it (usually) a great way to expedite the checkout process, as I hate when I get in a line and realize that a person is paying by check and making a dozen exchanges and has questions about all of the merchandise.

My local Old Navy usually maintains a single line for all registers – but I’m not sure if it is by Old Navy’s design or whether the customers who frequent the store have adopted the practice on their own. I’ve yet to see the same thing happen at any other Old Navy.

I know Kohl’s has their stores running a similar program during the holiday season and it works. It not only helps to create a (more) efficient checkout experience, but it also cuts down on the confusion that would be created from long lines for each register. On the busiest of busy days, I know it even cuts down on arguments between customers!

So, I support the single line process but I wonder how well it will translate to supermarkets. I can see some supermarkets adopting this policy, but on a whole, traditional food retailers will shy away from this innovation. Fact is that the majority of supermarkets aren’t designed for a system like this and a single line would eventually force customers down aisles and block merchandise. If a retailer redesigns their supermarket layout, with a single line concept in mind, they can get it to work. But the majority of supermarkets will never see this.

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Just a few more days until Apple unveils the iPhone, in what is the most highly anticipated technology launch this year. I love the giant iPhones that Apple has in their retail windows:

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Good article on Sears, focusing on the new Lands End shop, from today’s Asbury Park Press. Called “Changing clothes“, it focuses on some of the stores in my area (New Jersey) that have rolled out the new Lands End shop, what it means to their business, and what Sears is trying to do to turn things around.

I had previously written about Sears’ Lands End shop when they rolled out out, as one of the stores in my area appeared to be one of the first to roll it out. I have been enthusiastic about the concept. I think that the Lands End shop is one of the more exciting shopping concepts in any department store today. But I still worry that Sears is not doing enough in the rest of the store to match that experience.

They need to figure out a way to make the entire shopping experience in the store more exciting. The Lands End shop should be reflective of the store as a whole, not awkwardly sticking out from the messy racks of markdown merchandise in the department next to it. Between the Lands End concept and the new marketing campaign, I think Sears is starting to turn some heads.

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It has been a long time coming, but we are all one step closer to seeing Vera Wang’s new collection in Kohl’s stores. A preview night was held last week, were the press and the public got to see the first glimpses of the collection, known as Simply Vera. WWD released some preview photos of the collection:

This style is much more fashion forward than anything else Kohl’s is currently offering. But I’m excited to see what the individual pieces look like when the line rolls out in September.

I first talked about this collection last August (here and here) and personally, I think this is a huge move for Kohl’s. When it was announced, it may not have seemed like a perfect fit between the designer and the retailer. Why Kohl’s? But as Kohl’s has unveiled other brand launches and grown their contemporary fashion offerings over the past few seasons, it now seems like all the wheels are in motion for a very huge launch.

After announcing a very positive Q1 results on today’s conference call, the retailer outlined some of their future merchandising plans:

The launch of the Simply Vera collection and the new housewares line by Food Network will be supported by new fixturing. This is on top of new fixturing that most stores already received this year for the expansion of Chaps into the Home and Plus Size areas.

Intimates will see much growth in the so-called contemporary and updated areas with the launch of Simply Vera, the expansion of the Daisy Fuentes line into more doors, and the launch of a new private label Intimates brand called Moments. The new line will launch in 200 doors in June with further growth in the Fall and will be available in all stores by Q1 2008.

Also on the growth front, they say that the launch of the new Elle line in Misses is going so well that they are ramping up the rollout with an additional 250 stores receiving the product in September and all stores carrying the line by Q1 2008.

Like I said before, it may have seemed that the match between designer and retailer may not have seemed to mesh with the core Kohl’s shopper. But as I look across the ‘blogosphere’, I’m seeing a lot of early positive reaction to these preview photos. Judging by the comments, Kohl’s is attracting attention from people who previously hadn’t shopped at the retailer.

Just a few of the blogs that I’m seeing activity on: Miss Lovely, The Budget Fashionista, Catwalk Queen, nitro:licious, MTV Style Blog, and FabSugar.

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Is Wal-Mart the shot in the arm that VOIP technology needs?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is adding an array of Skype phone gear to the electronics section in 1,800 stores, bringing the renegade provider of cheap calling over the Internet to a huge mainstream audience.

The dedicated Skype section will feature handsets, headsets and webcams designed to work with Skype, a provider of free and very cheap long-distance calls, including to phone numbers abroad. Wal-Mart will also sell the first prepaid cards for Skype calls to be sold in this country, the companies were announcing Monday.

The new section at more than half of Wal-Mart’s roughly 3,300 U.S. stores will feature Skype-compatible gear made by Motorola Inc., Plantronics Inc., Logitech International SA, Royal Philips Electronics NV and others.

Obviously there are huge positives in this move for Skype. The more doors that they are able to sell in, the more consumers that they are exposed to, the more their sales increase. Although Wal-Mart already offers Vonage products, increasing the VOIP offerings in the retailer will also increase aware of VOIP technology as a whole. Offering a lower cost alternative to major telephone companies, Skype could be a very good fit for the Wal-Mart demographic.

My concern is whether or not the consumer walking into Wal-Mart is going to be able to really find out what Skype and VOIP is about. I’m going to guess that in the majority of cases, they are not. It seems that product knowledge is not a trait that most retailers are pushing on their employees these days. I hope that this really isn’t the case, as Wal-Mart makes a huge push to increase their electronics offerings, but I have my doubts.

More from the Asbury Park Press / Associated Press.

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Got a chance to go to the NRF Annual 2007 today. Just wanted to share a couple of quick photos from the X07: Ultimate Pop Up Boutique exhibit:

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A search on monster.com for “sephora manager” comes up with four opportunities at JC Penney in San Diego, Pleasanton CA, Northridge CA, and Columbus OH. During JC Penney’s Q3 conference call, they said that they were looking to add Sephora locations to 50 JC Penneys in 2007. Could these four stores be the next four to get this new shop concept?

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