Combining value pricing with a high-end shopping experience, Here Today, a new discount concept from the former top executives at Save-A-Lot, Grandpa's and Deals, opened its first door in early November in Florissant, MO.
The 15,000 to 20,000 square-foot concept will sell a range of merchandise, from home decor to electronics to grocery items.
"It's difficult to describe because it really isn't like anything else," Bill Shaner, one of the investors and a former CEO of Save-A-Lot, told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "If you take a combination of a Trader Joe's, a HomeGoods and a Five Below and mesh them all together — put them in a pot and stir them up — that's Here Today."
The name, Here Today, underscores how the concept will particularly play up the treasure hunt experience, much like Costco. The mix will be helped by a focus on opportunistic buys, whether closeouts, overstocks, seconds or expiring products.
"You can visit the store every week and find new stuff," Tom Holley, another partner in the project, told the St. Louis Business Journal. Holley formerly ran Grandpa's, a chain of discount stores in the St. Louis region, and founded Deals Nothing Over a Dollar.
The concept also promises "fun" in more of a boutique format rather than the "over-jammed racks and dingy stores offering 'bargains' that turn out to be cheaper online," according to its marketing copy.
Here Today promises a contemporary, bright environment with eight key zones or "shops-in-shops." Identified by massive signs, the zones include Savor (food, beverage & wine), Chill (frozen/refrigerated), Play (pets) and Imagine (home decor). Free coffee is another perk.
Initial plans call for the opening of five to 10 more stores in the next two years in the St. Louis area.
Jason Long, owner of Shift Marketing Group, sees opportunities to elevate the discount shopping experience above the dollar store and other discount chains.
"If you look at what Five Below has done, they took what seemed like an old, tired concept and really spruced it up a little bit," Mr. Long said. "Dollar stores are pretty no-frills. So if you can take that model and 'Trader Joe's' it up a little bit, I think there's something there."