Director's Note: New Bathwater, Same Baby

Technology at the new Giant Super Food Store prototype in Camp Hill, PA, which we had a chance to visit this month, is remarkable in two ways.

First off, it's impressive because of the services it provides to shoppers. Grab an EasyShop hand-held device at the entrance and you can scan products as you shop, then zip through self-checkout in seconds. Or, use the kiosks stationed throughout the aisles to find products, print coupons, scan prices or order items from the deli, bakery or even the pharmacy.

But just as impressive as what the technology can do is what it doesn't do, and that's get in the way of shoppers who don't want to use it. Those interested in a traditional supermarket experience can have that as well. Simply stand in line at the deli -- at least until your curiosity about the nearby kiosk wins out. A perfect illustration of the store's ability to mix old and new concepts is found in the back aisle, where a digital product directory is designed to look like an old-fashioned, static sign.

But the most impressive thing about the Camp Hill concept, and the one that most sets it apart from other recent supermarket redesigns, is the way it still treats the center store as the center of the store. While Giant has made innovative enhancements to perimeter departments and added a variety of traffic-driving services (cooking school, daycare center, community meeting area, WiFi-enabled lounge), it is paying just as much attention to the packaged-goods departments -- which other supermarket chains seemingly are conceding to the discount channels.

Departments such as health foods, baby care, pets, books and magazines, cooking aids, greeting cards -- heck, even the laundry aisle -- are designed as destinations that enhance the shopping experience and assist purchase decisions. And while there is a decided slant toward the chain's own products (two departments have been branded with private-label names), there are still opportunities for national brands to gain exposure. The temporary shipper has not been banished.

"We are a company that remembers what made us successful: EDLP and strong center store offerings," Giant chief executive Tony Schiano recently told Progressive Grocer. That's a message he'll probably convey tomorrow, when he kicks off the Institute's annual In-Store Marketing Summit in Oak Brook, IL. (We'll spotlight his talk next month.)

Giant Food, you see, isn't throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But it has given that baby a nice new bathtub in which to sit.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Research: "Supermarket Display Levels in 2005" from Information Resources Inc.

As they transition toward "lifestyle" store designs that focus on perimeter departments, supermarket operators are devoting less space to secondary displays, theorizes Steve Frenda, executive vice president of consulting for IRI's In-Store Solutions Group. In a presentation from IRI's annual Reinventing CPG & Retail Summit in February, Frenda uses store-audit data to examine the impact new supermarket formats -- and the supercenter expansion that's driving them -- have had on recent display levels in the channel.

Members: View the research here.

Store Check: Giant Food's Camp Hill Prototype

Ahold USA's experimental store is an impressive blend of new technology, unique services and old-fashioned merchandising techniques -- all designed to increase traffic and basket size. The Institute presents an overview of the store and its many features in a store check that includes more than 30 photos.

Members: View the store check here.

Store Check: Wal-Mart's Upscale Plano Supercenter

While Giant's prototype seeks to marry the chain's traditional strengths with new innovations, Wal-Mart's mold-breaking new supercenter in Plano, TX, has some industry experts suggesting that the world's biggest chain is reaching too far up the socio-economic ladder. The Institute looks at exactly why company executives are stating that this month-old supercenter is "unlike any other Wal-Mart store." Our recent coverage of the chain also includes more than 30 photos from traditional supercenters in Shippensburg, PA, and Orlando, FL.

Members: View the store check here.

Desktop Marketing Conference: "Packaging Packed with Personality" by Russ Napolitano of The Bailey Group

In many product categories, packaging is responsible not only for making that all-important first impression with consumers, but also for anchoring the brand's entire communication platform, according to Institute faculty member Russ Napolitano, vice president and partner at The Bailey Group. In a presentation from December's Total Retail Experience in New York, Napolitano discusses how color, shape and texture can be used to help define a product's "personality."

Members: View and hear the lecture.

Welcome New Institute Members

The In-Store Marketing Institute is delighted to welcome new and renewing members to the Institute family. Below is a list of the companies that signed up recently. Welcome aboard.

• Armstrong Partnership
• Benjamin Moore & Co.
• Cadbury Schweppes/Cadbury Adams
• Curb-Crowser Design
• Day-Timers Inc.
• Display Industries LLC
• DowellGroup
• FCB/Marketing Drive
• First Data Corp. - Western Union
• GN Netcom
• Integrated Marketing Services
• JWT
• K'NEX Industries Inc.
• Medela
• MKTG.partners
• Modernistic Inc.
• Pratt Displays
• Process Displays
• SAI Marketing Inc.
• Similasan Corp.
• TBWA/CHIAT/DAY
• Tecnosur
• VideoMining Corp.