The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a nice rundown of renovations being completed to local big-boxes:
Wal-Mart Stores, the largest retailer in the world, is updating the look of two of its Fort Wayne stores. The 10-week Coldwater Crossing renovation project is just ending, and the Apple Glen makeover is scheduled to begin next week....Note the meeting of local needs:retailers can count on an immediate 10 percent surge in sales after such makeovers....
Wal-Mart�s changes include wood-look tile in formerly carpeted areas in the apparel, shoes and accessories departments. The company is also installing new apparel racks and counters, adding in-store Subway sandwich shops and creating an updated floor plan. Some departments have been given more space and others less, depending on the volume of sales they�ve been generating.
Wal-Mart will also paint the outside of the buildings light brown when the weather warms up. Wolf said the shade is brighter than the current gray and blue color scheme....
Wal-Mart is also tweaking its offerings. Although the retail giant attributes a large chunk of its financial success to economies of scale, it remains nimble enough to respond to the demands of individual markets.Wolf, who formerly worked in Baltimore, remembers starting with an 8- to 12-foot ethnic hair care aisle and boosting it to a 40-foot layout before he left....
Wal-Mart�s store on Maysville Road, which sits closer to an Amish population, sells more fabric, especially blue, black and white broadcloth, than its sister stores in Fort Wayne...
That location also sells greater amounts of candy and family-oriented games than other stores its size.
Posted by Kevin on March, 21 2005 at 10:48 AM
