Photos courtesy Scott Bennett
Scott Bennett, produce sales and merchandising manager for Jewel-Osco, commissioned a number of custom produce fixtures for the company's newest store to create a unique, abundant look to engage shoppers and promote quick turns.
“One of the biggest concepts that we wanted to have was the wow factor without the shrink factor, so more sales, less shrink,” Bennett said in an interview with PMG. “Everything was measured perfectly so it would look mass without all the extra inventory on display, so you can turn it faster, customers will have a better shelf life at home, a better eating experience at home. It's a win-win for everybody.”
Adroit Design Group had already built some standard fixtures for the new department, but Bennett wanted some unique pieces to elevate the presentation, so over the course of about three weeks, he and Adroit's Joshua Llames worked on making his ideas reality. The design team created mockup displays — after which the product was donated — to make sure the measurements for the new fixtures would be perfect for the items they would hold.
It was a quick turnaround from idea to finished product, with the team doing final assembly of some of the displays in the store on the final day before the grand opening.
From tree-style fixtures for pineapples, cauliflower and broccoli, bagged green beans and Brussels sprouts, to stylized round displays with elevated pieces for tropical produce, to a massive set of steps designed for mandarin boxes, the collection of pieces succeeded in letting the produce shine.
“Scott can definitely push the envelope sometimes with design and infrastructure and stuff, but if you build the same thing over and over, it gets really boring, and that's not what we're all about,” Llames said. “Yeah, we do build the same things, but yet when someone challenges us — and like Scott said, it's not about the displays, it's about displaying the produce, and we work together in synergy to make that happen, so this was a really good experience for us.
“Definitely pushed some of our limits, but if you're not pushing limits in business in 2020 and pushing it through, then you're going to have some real issues moving forward,” Llames said.
Based on the reaction of shoppers during the grand opening, the collaboration delivered the desired wow factor.
“That department is actually my first time I've seen hundreds and hundreds of people photograph a produce department and put it all over social media, Facebook,” Bennett said. “It was kind of cool, from whatever age, from a 12-year-old to an 80-year-old, leaning back, putting themselves (in front of) the cauliflower trees and taking selfies.”
For more on this behind-the-scenes look at the newest Jewel-Osco produce department, check out the video of the interview with Bennett and Llames.