Another retailer starts to move into the consumer-centric store model.
PEMBROKE PINES A woman's place is in ... the Home Depot?
The giant home improvement chain is trying to lose the cold and foreboding warehouse look. One of its first "female-friendly" prototypes is to be built in Pembroke Pines, on Pines Boulevard at Hiatus Road, near the Pembroke Lakes Mall. It's a strategy the company is pursuing at all its new stores nationwide.
"Better than 50 percent of the decisions about what products to buy in our stores are driven by women," said Don Harrison, an Atlanta-based spokesman for the home improvement chain.
Therefore, plans for the 140,000-square-foot Home Depot call for a "warmer retail feel, softer than their typical store, and to be more women-friendly," said Joe Carosella, president of Retail Property Group of Boca Raton, the developer of the property that will have Home Depot as an anchor. Once the new store opens, the old Home Depot built 11 years ago a mile to the west on Pines Boulevard will be closed, Home Depot officials have confirmed.
Instead of a dull, solid concrete wall, the new store's fa�ade will include glass and design features, such as towers along the roof. The garden center will be in an enclosure with ornamental designs instead of the typical chain-link fence, Carosella said.
Inside, the store "will look more warm and friendly," Harrison said.
Instead of stacking merchandise "to the rafters," stock will rise to only 12 feet. A new type of fluorescent lighting will be used to "brighten things up," he said, and aisles will be wider.
In addition, Harrison said, a "store-within-a-store" boutique to be known as Design Place will put all design and decor items and appliances in one location.
Read the full article: OrlandoSentinel.com: Business : Business and Technology News.
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