Sunday, October 12, 2008
Retail Roundup: Milk makes a move to store front
Jenny Kincaid Boone covers retail and real estate.jenny.boone
@roanoke.com
981-3235
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Retail Roundup columns
- Readers, thanks for your support
- Bastians Bar-B-Q to reopen
- Woolworth's space is being renovated in downtown Roanoke
The Storefront blog
The places to buy a gallon of milk are endless. From convenience stores to discounters, such as Dollar Tree, nonfood retailers have added refrigerated cases to their stores.
Milk, a household staple and often a loss-leader, is sold as part of that mix.
Some traditional grocery stores are trying harder to capture the milk business and offer convenient access to other essentials that consumers buy often. Inside some grocery stores, you'll see small selections of milk, eggs and orange juice separated and stocked in refrigerated cases near the front aisles.
Kroger has placed these cold cases up front in its new stores or in those that are being remodeled. The stores include the Kroger at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke, where some aisles recently have been reconfigured.
A total of 13 Kroger stores in Southwest Virginia have these up-front cases for "on the go" shoppers, said Carl York, a Kroger spokesman.
It's a convenience for consumers, but likely there is another incentive to flagging these popular food items near the front of the store.
It's competition.
As small convenience stores and discounters move into the food business, grocers realize they, too, need to provide quick access to products, said Jon Springer, associate editor of Supermarket News, a food retailing publication.
Often, dairy products and other necessities strategically are placed in far flung areas of a store. Grocers hope that shoppers will buy more items if they have to traverse the store to find a common staple, such as milk, Springer said.
But "the grocery stores realize they can't afford to inconvenience the shoppers who want to come in for a couple of items," Springer said, so many are trying the smaller up-front cases.
Cursed Castle
A Salem native who is visiting the Roanoke Valley for several months from Los Angeles is using his vacation time to create Halloween entertainment.
Mike McGee, who owns a company that crafts costumes and special effects for movies, commercials, theme parks and music videos, has opened a temporary haunted house at Spartan Square on West Main Street in Salem.
It's called the Cursed Castle.
The theatrical-themed haunted space is a maze-style, semi-guided tour, led by an actor dressed as a servant.
The costumes reflect the early 18th century. Some actors will be dressed as werewolves, goblins, mad court jesters and evil butlers. McGee has hired 17 people to play different characters in the haunted house.
It's open from 5:30 p.m. to midnight, Wednesday through Sunday. During the week of Halloween, it will be open Tuesday through Sunday. Nov. 2 will be its last day.
McGee opened the Cursed Castle as part of his company, Ogre Productions. McGee's California-based costume and special effects business is Alex in Wonderland. Visit cursedcastle.com for more information about the haunted house.
Collector's World
A local collectibles business has shifted its store to a larger location.
Collector's World, which sells comic books, sports cards, action figures, NASCAR merchandise and other collectibles, opened last month at 6024 Williamson Road in Roanoke County, which formerly housed a furniture retailer.
The 5,000-square-foot space is bigger than the retailer's former storefront at 5217 Williamson Road in Roanoke.
Co-owners Corey and Diane Bell sought a new spot for the store, open since last year, because its former location had a leaky roof, Diane Bell said.
Support Systems
Support Systems, a mental health service, has moved into the former spot of PG Computer Outlet in Vinton.
The business at 519 Hardy Road, which is owned by licensed professional counselor Jennifer Gobble, offers mental health support and outpatient counseling. PG Computer Outlet closed several months ago.
News from the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/storefront/:
Anytime Fitness will open a Bonsack location in November or December.
Retailers' holiday merchandise is moving onto shelves.
What's cheaper than a gallon of gasoline? Grocers target consumers with price comparisons.
