HERMITAGE, Tenn. -- A visit to the second Home Depot Fuel convenience store in Hermitage, Tenn., revealed a few surprises from what was initially released about the fledgling concept (See CSP, April 2006, p. 28).
At 5:30 a.m., the expected throngs of landscapers and contractors dropping by for coffee and breakfast items were conspicuously absent; customer traffic (a handful of shoppers within a half-hour span) seemed to consist solely of area residents.
The first store, located in the high-rent district of Brentwood, Tenn., is [image-nocss] situated closer to a highway and, as a result, may be more visible to contractor-type traffic. The Hermitage store, meanwhile, is located in a more residential and light-commercial area that seems to attract the local crowd.
Brian Smith, Fuel store manager at the Hermitage location, said customer traffic picks up considerably between 7 and 8 a.m., when business at the parent home-improvement store directly behind the c-store begins to increase.
The Hermitage store has its share of high-tech elements. Above the cashier area, three plasma screensprovided by London, Ontario-based EK3 Technologiescontinually scroll store specials in a customized series of images. Customers have taken notice. Smith told CSP Daily News the signs have been so effective that they made one customer remark that her breakfast sandwich's ingredients did not exactly match those on a sandwich promoted on the signs.
Outside, a large, light-emitting-diode (LED) price sign on the corner of the gas canopy displays the price for unleaded. The fuel island houses the latest dispenser models from Dresser Wayne, featuring full-color order screens and a 3-cents-off-per-gallon special for drivers using a Home Depot card. Another surprise: a touchless PDQ car wash, where a car simply drives in and parks while the wash does its job.
The store itself is very open visually, with tall, unobstructed windows allowing a clear view inside the entire store, which measures about 2,800 square feet. The second store has subtle differences from the first, according to Smith. The graphics on the walls, high above the merchandise in the initial store, used cork and other materials mimicking the Home Depot look. But from afar, planners felt that it made the store appear dark.
In its place at the second site, Home Depot used bright, colorful, enlarged graphics of product staples, such as fountain drinks and coffee. Smith said the in-store graphics are so effective that customers notice them from the road. Customers find some familiar in-store elements that reflect the Home Depot brand; store employees were orange aprons and the gondolas bear orange price signs.
Central to the store design is a proprietary Terra Java coffee bar, complete with a selection of gourmet flavors, orange refill mugs (regular and jumbo sizes) and custom-designed dispensers. The store also sells bulk coffee in reuseable bulk coffee carriers bearing the Terra Java brand image. Smith said the plasma screens above the cashier help educate customers of the bulk option.
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