business

An organized posse of about 60 women fanned out across Twin Cities stores Monday, bringing with them an eye for trends and a keen sense of style. But these women weren't shopping for bargains. They wanted ideas.

It was all part of a Retail Safari, a trademarked event organized by New York-based marketing firm WSL Strategic Retail. Monday's five-store, 5 1/2-hour excursion drew retail executives from 11 states, all hoping to "explore the difference between innovation and ho-hum," according to WSL.

The journey took the women down aisles of a Cub and SuperTarget in Apple Valley, an Aldi's in Burnsville, a Trader Joe's in St. Louis Park and the Ikea near the Mall of America in Bloomington. The theme: shopability and innovation.

"The idea is to get people to think about what's unique about the stores -- who's doing new things with signs or displays, what are they doing to attract new customers or come up with solutions -- especially at a time when people are so budget-conscious," said Kimberly Charles of WSL. She guided one of four groups who piled on minibuses, ate boxed-lunches prepared by Cub, and -- being women -- snuck in a little shopping on the side. Ten of the 13 women in Charles' group hailed from Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.

At Cub, the only location where participants had a guided tour with the district and store managers, participants asked about dealing with spoilage in the produce section, and why the store used empty packing crates as a display in the area. They asked about the red and blue dots on the pricing labels, which district manager Russ Czapar explained helped inventory managers keep track of what's on display and what's back in stock.

The women asked about retention rates of employees and how store managers keep workers up to speed on products and store goals. They said they were impressed to discover that deli workers visit dairy farms where the cheese is made, so they understand the products and can better answer consumers' questions.

"It was interesting to hear the retailer's perspective on how they stand out, how often they change their displays or why they put their signs in certain places," said Beth Bunton of St. Louis, Mo., a senior vice president at the marketing agency Momentum Worldwide. "Even if it was their view of the world, it was really helpful."

Bunton works with clients such as Smuckers, Hostess and Allergan, the pharmaceutical that makes Refresh eye drops. Because she regularly goes on store visits, she specifically avoided those areas to try to open her mind to ideas from different product lines.

Heidi Schoeneck, who works in the Chicago office of marketing services firm Marketing Drive, went in search of a product display at the Apple Valley SuperTarget that she'd help develop with a client.

"We had a little breakout group at the end cap, where we were able to discuss ... how we worked with the retailer, and how it sort of came to be," said Schoeneck. "We were able to share our thoughts [with] other women in the group who didn't have the same insight from their perspective, so it was useful."

Participants included buyers, managers and executives who work in human resources, finance, brand strategy, marketing, merchandising and in the supply chain. They represented marketing and advertising agencies as well as employees of well-known brands, such as Purina PetCare, Novartis Consumer Health, Chiquita, Sara Lee, PepsiCo and Walgreens.

All were attending a three-day conference in downtown Minneapolis for the Network of Executive Women, which drew about 550 members, according to organizers.

WSL Strategic Retail has been running the Retail Safari events for a decade, tailoring them for specific retailers or hosting a more general tour for mixed groups of industry representatives. The firm also conducts consumer surveys, including the oft-quoted "How America Shops" survey.

A workbook offered a brief overview of the stores, along with special features that might be unique to each store. The SuperTarget on Pilot Knob Road in Apple Valley was singled out for its new fixtures and in-store health clinic. Trader Joe's was highlighted for its private labels with quirky names -- Trader Jose's Mexican food, Trader Ming's Asian food, Trader Darwin's vitamins.

Tour lengths varied from 15 minutes at Aldi to an hour for the Cub tour.

At Target, the women noted female-centric signs in the cosmetics area, and Target's coordination of products throughout its store. For instance, baskets weren't just in a single area, but were part of coordinated displays throughout the store, such as home, office and bath.

At Ikea, the self-checkout took a little longer than expected, but several participants got a kick out of what might seem an unlikely combination -- buying Swedish food specialties as rollmops herring or smoked elk sausage at, well, a furniture store.

At Aldi, the budget-conscious consumer can find quality, they said, but also what some thought was an odd mix of nonfood items: a $599 laptop computer, a leaf blower, pillows and bedspreads.

At Trader Joe's, the women pointed out that the store rang a bell to signal employees for customer service instead of blaring "Price check at register 4!" over the public address system.

While Twin Cities retailers didn't spark any blockbuster revelations, Shannon Shoptaw, an account manager at the Marketing Drive office in Rogers, Ark., said the event helped her focus in a new way.

"In your everyday work life you're so busy," she said. "It's great to have the time dedicated and blocked out away from your office and to be with a group of women with similar goals."

Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335