While Target and Walmart have convinced millions of shoppers to buy groceries at the same store where you buy your furniture, towels, TVs, and just about anything else, traditional supermarket chains have not made much of a push to sell clothing to customers popping in to stock up on eggs, milk, and bread. But one Hy-Vee store in Minnesota is hoping to open shoppers’ eyes to a brave new world by including a clothing boutique alongside all the groceries.
Hy-Vee, which operates 240 stores in eight states, is banking on customers wanting to pick up more than what’s on their grocery list by partnering with a European clothing brand to open a store-within-a-store clothing boutique, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The F & F Boutique will take up about 3,300-square-feet of the 91,000-square-foot building, and sell clothes, shoes, and accessories for kids, women, and men priced between $8 and $45.
Products sold at the boutique — which are also located in Tesco supermarkets in Europe — will be refreshed every eight weeks.
“Whether it’s gourmet foods or clothes, we have to adapt to the needs of our customers. Everything has to be quicker,” Randy Edeker, chief executive of Hy-Vee said of the company’s entrance into the clothing world.
The company plans to expand the boutique stores at other locations in Minnesota, and Des Moines, IA in the future.
While it’s not uncommon for retailers to sell both clothing and groceries under one roof, it usually occurs at big box retailers like Target and Walmart, that have a larger footprint, generally of 130,000-square-feet or more.
Still the supermarket chain’s entrance into the clothing world could be a sign of the times — companies dipping their toes into all aspects of retail or providing convenience for customers who don’t want to stop at multiple places to check items off their shopping list.
New Hy-Vee grocery store in Lakeville will carry clothing, too [Minneapolis Star Tribune]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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