Special Report: Half-finished or undone?
The
eagerly awaited new Warehouse Megashed opened in Whangarei last week.
After a visit on Saturday, October 25, 2003, we bring you some
impressions and pictures.
The store suggests more questions than it answers. Clearly the intent was to introduce a supermarket-style grocery offer. But instead finding the first New Zealand supercentrer combining general merchandise and food, we found empty shelves, missing signs and a pathetic grocery offer.
What grocery was present was similar to what is found in the average Warehouse - some confectionery, some cheap cereal from Bahrain, some end-of-line merchandise. But nothing that could in anyway replace a weekly trip to the supermarket.
The big
question is why? Did they pull the plug to focus on the struggling
Australian business or is management still working away on a soon to
be released grocery offer? Speculation is rampant and theories
abound. We think the latter, but you be the judge.
First, this thing is big! At 140,000 sqft or 14,000sqm this is the one of the largest retail outlets in New Zealand, rivaled only by hardware operators like Bunnings. In addition, the parking lot and the streets surrounding it were full of cars.
Wal-Mart is the model. The
megashed is clearly a copy of a North American Wal-Mart Supercenter
in terms of layout, floorplan and presentation. The only question
is what goes in the unmarked space labeled zone 3 and zone 4 on the
above floorplan? Also note the two docking bays, one for general
merchandise, one for food?
Fitout and fixtures are cheap and cheerful.
Fitout and fixtures were warehouse standard red racking and
polished concrete floors. The store makes excellent use of natural
light through extensive skylights providing natural lighting, an idea
first piloted in the Wal-Mart Eco-Store in Kansas and later rolled
out to all their new builds. However, it was disconcerting when
the computer automatically turned out the lights partway through our
visit.
The grocery offer was poor. The
much anticipated Warehouse grocery offer was nowhere to be seen.
Range, space management, presentation and ticketing were poor.
What grocery was there had the feel of space filler awaiting the arrival
of a proper 'supermarket-type' set.
Range was haphazard. What
range was present had the feel of being opportunity buys from Asia
and end-of-line products.
Product was being used as space filler.
There were eight bays of shampoo spread out through three
locations in the "future" supermarket section, most one
sku deep. Compare this with Pak'N Save Whangarei which had a
much larger range in only two bays. In addition, price tags
were often hard to find or non existent.
Out-of-Stocks were rampant. The health &
beauty care section used low level supermarket-type shelving but shelf
disciplines were weak. The Warehouse's push-model computer driven
ordering system appeared to be struggling to keep the shelves full.
More Out-of-Stocks. Quite frankly the out-of-stock
situation was a disgrace.
Pet Care showed the potential. In contrast
to other traditional supermarket sections, the pet food section was
excellent. Signage was clear and plentiful. Range was
limited, but adequate - similar in many ways to what you would see
at a Costco. Clearly The
Warehouse has the ability to execute on categories when it tries.
Limited range and large packs. When the complete
food offer arrives, we expect it to have a look and feel similar to
this pet food offer.
Read more from Coriolis Research on our research page.
-
Do you have something to say? Do you have an opinion about an important industry issue? We want to know! Please call or email us your comments, questions, gripes and suggestions.
Share the wealth! If you know someone who would be interested in Chart Watch, please let them know.