Grocery stores are not eliminating aisles of other products to make room but there is no question that some operators are cautiously moving beyond pantyhose, white socks, underwear and t-shirts associated with the local community to offer a broader range of apparel items.
Some chains with larger stores, essentially supercenters or multi-department locations as Kroger refers to Fred Meyer and others, already have a broader offering of clothing.
Other smaller formats are now exploring offering select items as a service to their customers, offering another enticement to bring consumers in and not head off to a competitor's location.
One of the most prominent examples of a retailer that is taking it a step further with more detailed apparel and accessories (all natural and organic) is Whole Foods. The uniqueness of the items sold by the chain is just another means of it separating itself from the rest of the pack.
Of particular interest to Whole Foods and others watching its progress is that consumers are actually seeking out and buying the clothing on display.
"We've been selling certain items of clothing--socks, for instance--in some of our stores around the country for seven years now," Noelle Wagner, whole body coordinator for Whole Foods' Midwest region, told the Chicago Tribune. "But we really started to expand our clothing line about two years ago, adding more merchandise, dressing rooms and dedicated shopping areas...I've been surprised by how quickly the concept has taken off."
"We like the convenience for our customers, but we also like that this clothing is in line with the Whole Foods philosophy," she said. "Cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops...Organic cotton avoids that harm to the earth. And the soy dyes used mean no toxic ingredients running into the groundwater. It's good for the environment and good for our customers. It's no longer just for crunchy folks in Birkenstocks."
According to NPD Group, sales of women's clothing items have increased 76 percent in the food channel. Shoppers spent $211 million on women's clothing in grocery stores for the 12-months from January 2006 to 2007. Interestingly, clothing sales in the food channel had grown only eight percent for the year prior.
So where is all this growth coming from? The answer, according to experts who spoke to the Trib, was supercenters.
"We expect to find everything from jeans to spaghetti sauce under one roof. If you go to Target you can put a Proenza Schouler in the basket beside your peanut butter. Do I go to food stores to look for clothing? Never. But I would definitely buy something I loved for myself or my kids even if it was in a grocery store," said Cynthia Nellis, About.com's women's fashion guide.
Discussion Questions: Has the expanded presence of supercenters made it almost a necessity for grocers to start testing targeted clothing segments? Are there enough slow turning products and/or unprofitable items in most stores to allow sizeable food/drug combo units to consolidate some space and open it up for mini clothing departments? How big an opportunity is there for larger food/drug combo units to make use of clothing to differentiate and provide another draw to consumers into the store?