Published on: October 1, 2008
Delhaize-owned Food Lion is scheduled to open its first ground-up Bottom Dollar Food store today, a 20,000 square foot prototype in Mooresville, North Carolina, that the company says represents “a significant redesign” for the concept.The 27 previous Bottom Dollar units opened in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland since the format was created in 2005 were all converted Food Lion stores. Paul LaCroix, vice president of Bottom Dollar Food, says that “the goal in this design is simply to right-size the store, have the right product and deliver incredible savings to our customers … Customer segmentation has been used to find the very best item selection for this store, as well as making use of the unique things learned in current Bottom Dollar Food stores, which allows us the opportunity to deliver something really special."
According to the company, the new store will feature a walk-in produce cooler that doubles as part of the sales floor, allowing customers to shop in the cooler while still feeling like they are in the store and not the backroom.
And, the new store will be decorated in Bottom Dollar Food's signature colors of bright orange and lime green, and store employees wear uniforms in the same colors. The stores also have humorous phrases adorning the walls, such as, "With these prices, there's no need to cry over spilt milk."
- KC's View:
- Good timing on the part of Food Lion, since a lot of customers have fewer dollars than they used to, and Bottom Dollar will seem like a pretty attractive alternative.
I should note that I’ve had the recent opportunity to spend time with the Food Lion folks, and I’m impressed by the way they’ve segmented their stores – Bloom, Food Lion, and Bottom Dollar – to capture various segments of the marketplace. I think that’s smart marketing, especially because it keeps the company sharp on a variety of edges.