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Do IT this week: Layering
Special sales to herald both stores' new looks from $4.5 million redo
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Thursday, Nov 05, 2009
Acme has freshened up its look at two stores with the completion of major renovations.
The Akron-based grocery chain spent $2.5 million in Ellet on Wedgewood Avenue and $2 million at its North Canton store on North Main Street.
Both ''re-grand'' openings are this week, with special sales at those stores.
The last update in Ellet was in 1997, when the Acme Click shopping concept was changed to just groceries, said Jim Trout, Acme Fresh Markets vice president of sales and marketing.
''We're trying to bring shoppers here the latest concepts in grocery shopping,'' said Trout.
Many departments were moved to create an easier flow, he said. The store, which now has 58,000 square feet, actually lost about 1,000 square feet of shopping space. The produce area was squared off to make for easier shopping and allow for back-store functions with the deli counter pushed forward, said Trout.
The remodeling included opening a middle area, which used to include parts for refrigeration equipment. The adult beverage area selling beer, wine and liquor as part of the state liquor agency has become a destination department, said Trout.
''It's one of the highest growth areas of the store as people entertain more at home,'' he said.
The store also kept its Goodyear corporate decorating motif by creating a hangar area in the wine and beer section with metal rafters. Goodyear blimps also adorn tables in the eat-in cafe at the front of the store.
''It's part of the area's heritage and we wanted to reflect that,'' said Trout.
New colors have also been chosen for the store, which are rich fall tones with some appropriately grocery-store paint names like Strawberry Field and Lemon Meringue.
A new concept at the Ellet and North Canton stores, said Trout, is putting all the store's Valu Time private label brand items in one section.
''The consumer is looking for value. We turned them into a department,'' said Trout.
Dollar items are also in that section.
The frozen-food section was relocated to the back so it can be one of the last departments
for a customer to shop and then head to the checkout. The grocer added 30 more frozen-food doors to the department as sales in that category have also continued to grow, he said.
Shopper Kim Royer of Mogadore said she was still getting used to the rearranged departments, but liked the renovation.
''I think it's overall a better experience,'' she said.
This has been a busy week for Acme with the official re-opening of the North Canton store on Tuesday, the official reopening of Ellet today (both stores remained open during renovations) and the opening of a new Acme pharmacy at the Akron General Medical Office Building in Stow next to the Health and Wellness-North Center.
Trout said the changes complete this calendar year's renovations, and the company is starting to plan next year's projects. Almost all of the chain's stores have been renovated, Trout said. The company has been holding off on plans at its Cuyahoga Falls store on State Road while it waits to see what will happen at the new retail complex at State Road and Portage Trail in the former location of the State Road Shopping Center.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
Acme has freshened up its look at two stores with the completion of major renovations.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Cuyahoga falls, Oh
Posted 06:29 AM, 11/05/2009
Great news! Please shop local. All our jobs depend on it.
Posted 07:32 AM, 11/05/2009
Great. I forget sometimes that the Ellet branch is right around the corner from me. I will visit soon! Way to go Acme!
Realityville, OH
Posted 07:57 AM, 11/05/2009
Great! Now all they have to do is get rid of all the rotted meat and luncheon meats at the Cleveland store.
Posted 08:56 AM, 11/05/2009
Honestly i'm not that impressed with the new layout of the Acme in Ellet, they tried to make it feel more open i think, but to me lots of it just feels cluttered.
mogadore, oh
Posted 09:22 AM, 11/05/2009
I thought it was fine the way it was, As long as the kept the cow, my kids love pressing the cow button.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:24 AM, 11/05/2009
Acme #1 needs renovations. I feel like I am going back in time every time I walk inside.
Stow, OH
Posted 09:30 AM, 11/05/2009
For me, the Acme fuel program has been a bust. After my last 3 trips to Giant Eagle, I earned $1.20 in FuelPerks, which translated to $21.60 in savings for my 18-gallon tank. Prior to switching back to GE, my last 3 trips to Acme yielded $1.70 in fuel credit on their card. With Giant Eagle's new lower price program, doubling of my coupons (last week I saved over $18 with the coupons alone!) and FuelPerks, I just don't really have any reason to shop at Acme anymore.
tallmadge, OH
Posted 09:33 AM, 11/05/2009
Other than Acme #1, they don't have a REAL seafood department and what they do have is never fresh.
Canton, OH
Posted 09:53 AM, 11/05/2009
swordfish - i totally agree with the fuel perks program. and a lot of the items that earn higher fuel perks are more expensive than at other stores. I shop sometimes at ACME but i gave up on the fuel perks. I also don't really like the new layout at the Canton ACME - except i do like that they added scan your own lanes.
Akron, OH
Posted 12:02 PM, 11/05/2009
I haven't been to the Ellet Acme since they started this monstrosity of a remodel... their already high prices have went up more and you can't find anything. I'll stick to Ellet IGA, Giant Eagle and Save-A-Lot.
Kent, OH
Posted 07:34 PM, 11/05/2009
The renovations at the Kent Acme just made a good store better.
Since I do not have a car, either store's gasoline program is immaterial to me, and I wish they would just focus on food!
Akron, Oh
Posted 12:21 AM, 11/06/2009
Skip the store renovations ACME and renovate your help and customer service. ACME stores have the WORST clerks and rudest check out people. Their attitude is poor and they act like you are bothering them if you ask a question and the managers of the store are just as bad. They print out coupons from the cash register for items that are not even carried in the store. The check out people carry on personal converstaions between each other while you are waiting to be rung up and checked out.....I wrote a letter to their home office only to be totally ignored. The Manchester Rd store managers and clerks are the WORST. I dont care what they do to their stores or pricing I WILL NEVER SHOP AT ACME STORES EVER
