When floods in March overwhelmed the Target store attached to the Warwick Mall, it fell to Mike Hille and his team to put the store back together again. A real estate manager at Minneapolis-based Target, Hille helped organize the renovation of the store, which opened July 11. It is one of two Target stores in Warwick – the other is located in a plaza off of Bald Hill Road – and the company calls the mall location Warwick North. Hille recently took some time to speak about the “new” Warwick North.
PBN: The “new” Target looks a little different inside. Why?
HILLE: The Warwick store was remodeled to include Target’s new expanded fresh food layout. This provides our guests with new food additions – including items that are on their grocery shopping lists every week – such as basic pre-packaged fresh produce, a limited assortment of fresh packaged meat and pre-packaged baked goods.
The Warwick North store also showcases more than just our expanded assortment of fresh food – this store features reinventions in other areas of the store such as beauty, home, electronics and video games.
In our beauty department, we’re providing our guests with a more engaging shopping experience, featuring compelling in-store visuals, softer lighting and curved fixtures often found within specialty shops.
Our home department has been reinvented to dramatically improve the in-store shopping experience.
We’ve created a department that helps our guests choose the right products for their home. Updates include lower gondolas, wider pass-throughs, compelling fixtures and updated graphics.
Finally, we’ve created a video games department that is more intuitive and compelling for gamers of all ages. The updated environment features our patent-pending tether system, which allows guests to browse our games at their convenience.
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PBN: Will this store serve as a model for other locations in the region or the country?
HILLE: Target introduced the fresh food format at two Minnesota stores in October 2008 in direct response to what our guests have requested – more fresh food in the convenience of their local Target store. We intend to roll out the expanded food offering to approximately 350 general merchandise stores in 2010 and to a substantial portion of our chain over the next three years. Beyond that, we’ll continue to monitor results and determine next steps.
PBN: Renovating the Warwick Mall location was not a typical, planned renovation. What challenges did Target face as a result?
HILLE: Aside from the major clean-up required from the flood debris, the biggest challenge and concern was the immediate closure of the store and the impact that had to our guests, store team members and their families. Our primary objective was to immediately assess the damage and issues, develop an expedited action plan and reopen the store. In the interim, many of our team members worked at the Warwick South store to accommodate the increased traffic during the Warwick North closure.
PBN: Still, you were one of the first stores to re-open in the mall. How did you rebuild so quickly?
HILLE: At Target, helping our teams and communities prepare for and recover from disasters is a top priority. We have teams at our Minneapolis headquarters, as well as at our stores and distribution centers, who work closely together to do whatever is necessary to help and coordinate response. That response includes a state-of-the-art corporate command center, staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help our field teams respond to and recover from disasters.
The city of Warwick and mall owners were also great partners throughout the rebuilding process. City representatives expedited the plan review and permit process for local businesses, allowing Target to quickly rebuild our store and re-open in less than five months. We could not have opened as quickly as we did without the resources available at our Minneapolis headquarters, the swift action of our teams in Warwick, and the partnership of the city of Warwick and Warwick Mall owners.
PBN: Any interesting lessons learned as a result of the unplanned renovation?
HILLE: The quick turnaround of the Warwick North store confirmed that preparation and teamwork are paramount in effective disaster recovery. Because of the strong teams Target has in place to prepare for and recover from disasters, we were in a unique position to assess the damage, develop a rebuilding plan for the store and begin construction almost immediately after the flood. The grand opening would not have occurred this quickly without the partnership of our teams in Minneapolis and Warwick.
