Visitors also can't miss the wall of tobacco behind the cashier; the fountain dispenser offering 64 options that can be customized with additional lime, lemon, cherry and vanilla flavors; and the large fresh-to-order deli counter when they walk in the door. The deli offers 17 types of olives and 15 cheese selections, which Odeh said helps "capture common ground" among the 17 different ethnic backgrounds found in Elmhurst.
It has been a long road for Odeh, who said he has had the site on his books since 2005. The first two years were strictly planning, zoning, preparation and demolition, followed by demographics and studying Elmhurst culture and ethnicity and traffic flow. And while the site was originally slated to open in April, Odeh said he was very cautious and methodical in implementing all of the factors, delaying the opening to mid-November.
It also had a fairly large price tag: $5 million "from A to Z," as Odeh put it. "I think that what people need to understand in our industry is if you're going to do it, do it big, do it attractive, do it right... [Customers] need to say 'wow.' And the wow doesn't come cheap."
The concept is built on 2020 retailing. As Odeh put it, "What would the sites need to be, come 2020, to meet the consumer demands?
Food is a big focus for the location; Odeh said it will account for 80% of the product offerings. An American Wood Grill restaurant is slated to open in June 2010. Odeh is planning focus groups to help nail down the menu, which he described as "American cuisine with a barbecue flair."
Media also plays a big role, with five large plasma televisions facing every customer who walks in the door. Odeh points out that if each customer looks at each screen for just five seconds, that means 25 extra seconds they are in the store. Customers at the pumps outside can also see the screens, and they are often enticed in by sports or other events on the screens. First quarter of 2010, he hopes to launch vendor ads and Power Market's own ads on the screens, he said.
Gasoline hasn't been neglected either, and Odeh said renewables are a big focus. The store has E85, biodiesel and also Power Mart's own blend called Bolt 95, a 30% ethanol blend with regular gasoline, which will compete with premium unleaded, but has 95 octane as opposed to premium unleaded's 93. Two cents of premium and renewable grades of gasoline go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "That's the external attraction of getting people who may not purchase or come into our store, but they feel that we are giving back to our community in a big way," Odeh said.
There are operational innovations as well. A loading zone allows deliveries to go directly to the cooler without causing congestion in the store. The second story will serve as training facility for new franchisees and features a consumer behavior observation deck that looks out on the store. An underground water retention pond will capture rain water, with a pump using it for irrigation and for the car wash (Elmhurst allows a 50/50 mix of fresh water/conservation water). Although the capital investment in the system was $350,000, Odeh said that based on the average rainfall and usage, he should see a return on investment in seven years.
He said work is about 95% done. The car wash was set to open late Friday afternoon, and a drive-through to provide extra convenience to the store's customers will offer everything except beer and liquor and will open in February. "It will relieve congestion at the site and address the No. 1 consumer demand: time."
Odeh said that hopes to have five options for franchisees: Power Mart is the smaller format, Power Market is the midsized format, Power Pumper is large format and Power Center (opening in Spring Grove, Ill., in 2011) is an extra-large format; Power Express is an interim format (in place in Downers Grove currently, before that location becomes a Power Pumper in 2010) while sites are being built up. Odeh said the goal is to have one of each by 2013. "And then the plan is to introduce the five business models to the convenience store world."
He said the five models will allow the company to compete with big-box, superchains and midsized operators. But he added that the Power brand is not out to take their customers, but be a unique offering. "We are trying to position ourselves as a franchise offering that can truly give local flavor and differentiation," said Odeh.Click hereto view a CSPTV segment from earlier this year featuring Odeh. Click hereto view a slide show ofan earlierPower Mart store.Andclick here to read a CSP magazine feature on Odeh's Power Mart.
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