Archived Electronics Transition 2012

[Electronics Man]

Yep, it's that time of year again. I am looking at the Transition Guide right now, and while some parts make me chuckle, others have me scratching and banging my head. Then there are some parts that make me go HUH?


What I find funny is that the whole netbook/laptop section is going back into Computer Accessories, with the rational of "Attaching more accessories" when they had moved it out of there so we could "Help the guests better". It would appear tablets are going away, which kind of stinks because I liked having a variety to offer BESIDES iPad.

Which brings me to this question... 48 feet for Apple? How does that fit? Is this the special Apple center that we read and heard about earlier, or something else?

What I don't like is how the camera boat is changing. Most people like to shop per brand, and here they are going to group them according to camera type! I suppose though I'll get used to it.

What I really don't understand though is, what on earth is TV Deal Buy? it says "TV Deal Buy Planogram expands to all stores..." Can anyone shed some light on what that is?


All I can say is that April 15th can't come soon enough, our store is suffering because the DC is holding back product, and our cater scores are going down the tubes.

 

[Salesfloor_ETL]

Haven't seen the guide yet but I'm already sure the transition is going to suck. STL pulled me in yesterday to say he doesn't think we can support more than 150 hours for POG and 150 for Salesfloor that week despite the adjacency calendar calling for close to 300 for Plano that week. We're used to an average of 330 for Salesfloor per week...So basically we can't do O/N or 4AM for Electronics because apparently the Plano team will be the only ones on the floor lol.

Camera boat honestly just needs to shrink - people hardly buy cameras anymore. Use your cellphone lol. Tablets are never instock anyway plus the displays dont work so good riddance.

Hopefully our hard copies of the guide will be come in tomorrow but I haven't heard anything about additional Apple space or the TV Deal pog.

 

[Signguy1030]

the TV Deal Buy is explained on the front page of the guide. Its bascially a pog that will have TVs that dont have displays and that will go on sale and revise once a month or something to that effect iirc

 

[upupandawave]

The 48ft of Apple isn't the Apple retail experience, it will just be a much larger selection of Apple accessories and I would imagine it will include Target carrying Apple TV, Airport, software, etc... but not the full line of Apple computers or laptops that will be with the Apple experience.

 

[Serri330]

What I'm most confused by is their decision to move camera accessories AWAY from cameras, just to expand on prepaid wireless. All of our camera cases, tripods, and memory cards are going to be moved to the aisle next to the portable speakers. And that's helpful to our guests/attachment rate, HOW...?

 

[RednTacky]

Camera boat is probably adjusting to attempt to help to eliminate brand discrimination. It's no secret that we sell more Canons and Nikons than anything, and for many stores with the "U-Boat", those are the brands that are front and center... with Sony and the other brands sitting off to a less prominent side.

If tablets are really going away, awesome. They're a waste of space, and no one buys them from us unless they go on sale. I know, it's nice to offer something else from the iPad, but the majority of consumers that shop Target for electronics are only doing so as a last resort, or are the casual consumers that Apple/Target caters to.

 

[jjman114]

I've been looking at our store's new adjacencies and I agree with some things but I know as old school as they are that we could get portable cd players and boomboxes back lol. I asked our STL if we can request they be added to an upcoming transition or revision and she said no, is this true? Jw if we can even ask. I agree about the whole moving camera accs thing, ridiculous!

 

[CrazyTarget]

I saw it. It makes more sense, the aisles. I think is it going to be better.

 

[arloiscool]

the TV Deal Buy is explained on the front page of the guide. Its bascially a pog that will have TVs that dont have displays and that will go on sale and revise once a month or something to that effect iirc

We have this currently at my store. The name of the POG is "TV Wall Flex Space." They had the 40" Samsung LED from Thanksgiving until a couple weeks ago coming in over there. We kept selling it because it was always on sale for $499.

 

[Electronics Man]

Camera boat is probably adjusting to attempt to help to eliminate brand discrimination. It's no secret that we sell more Canons and Nikons than anything, and for many stores with the "U-Boat", those are the brands that are front and center... with Sony and the other brands sitting off to a less prominent side.

Yeah I see your point there. I do sell a decent amount of Sony cameras though, as there are a bunch of Sony loyalists that come in my store. Probably the least I sell is the Samsungs, I actually sell more Kodak's than Samsung. Which reminds me, Kodak exiting the marketplace might be a reason why they are moving towards grouping by type and not by brand. Because with Kodak gone, this leaves a gap that they would have to fill with a different maker. My only concern is that the variety of camera's stay the same, because as it stands now we have a decent variety of models (better than most other retailers IMO) of each brand.

If tablets are really going away, awesome. They're a waste of space, and no one buys them from us unless they go on sale.

The timeframe we actually sold Android tablets, I sold quite a few of the XOOM and Acer tablets. People want a choice, and those tablets hardware wise offered more for a lesser price.

...but the majority of consumers that shop Target for electronics are only doing so as a last resort.

I don't know about that, it gets pretty busy in my store. I see all kinds of people come through. I do agree most of the people that come through are the casual crowd, but I do get quite a few of the hardcore electronics shoppers in here too.

I've been looking at our store's new adjacencies and I agree with some things but I know as old school as they are that we could get portable cd players and boomboxes back lol.

Get them back? We've had boomboxes at my store since I started working 1½ years ago. With the last transition we actually got personal CD players back in.

We have this currently at my store. The name of the POG is "TV Wall Flex Space." They had the 40" Samsung LED from Thanksgiving until a couple weeks ago coming in over there. We kept selling it because it was always on sale for $499.

GTC to you! That is exactly the info I wanted to know. Well that's pretty cool I suppose, we should have better sales (and attachments) with that type of concept.

 

[jjman114]

I swear from the research I've done lately and here on this board my ULV store must be one of the few stores that had all our boomboxes and personal cd players go dcode last year and I haven't seem em since. But trying to explain to a guest why we don't but area stores do does not go over well. Overall I do like the new breakdown of electronics by aisle.

 

[Ajax11]

I swear from the research I've done lately and here on this board my ULV store must be one of the few stores that had all our boomboxes and personal cd players go dcode last year and I haven't seem em since. But trying to explain to a guest why we don't but area stores do does not go over well. Overall I do like the new breakdown of electronics by aisle.

My ULV store had them move to the portable DVD aisle, on the other side of electronics from audio.

For the longest time I thought they had gone away since it made no sense to have them down there away from all of the portable audio.

 

[arloiscool]

My ULV store had them move to the portable DVD aisle, on the other side of electronics from audio.

For the longest time I thought they had gone away since it made no sense to have them down there away from all of the portable audio.

"Everybody just loves the Jensen boom boxes! Perfect for almost any occasion! For only three dollars more, it can even play cassette tapes! You can even protect your new Jensen boom box with one of our Extended Service Plans! Only $4! If you act now and use your Target RedCard, i'll take an additional 5% off! With this kind of a deal, they won't last long!"

Would anyone else like to see a battery-powered NOAA Weather Radio added to the Electronics department permanently? The one from the Jensen holiday cheap crap endcap went clearance the second week of January. With all of the crazy weather we have been receiving lately, it is a common request from guests.

 

[commiecorvus]

Would anyone else like to see a battery-powered NOAA Weather Radio added to the Electronics department permanently? The one from the Jensen holiday cheap crap endcap went clearance the second week of January. With all of the crazy weather we have been receiving lately, it is a common request from guests.

This.
Anytime we get a hurricane or a flood people come in looking for battery or handcranked radios.

 

[Darikona]

Sad news about the Tablets, but then again Target seemed pretty unenthusiastic about actually keeping the stuff in stock or being price competitive.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Sad news about the Tablets, but then again Target seemed pretty unenthusiastic about actually keeping the stuff in stock or being price competitive.

So true!

 

[RednTacky]

I don't know about that, it gets pretty busy in my store. I see all kinds of people come through. I do agree most of the people that come through are the casual crowd, but I do get quite a few of the hardcore electronics shoppers in here too.

You sound like an electronics enthusiast yourself. Be honest, if you weren't employed by Target and had that 10% employee discount, would you make Target your first stop when looking for a new TV/tablet?

If you lived in an area without a lot of shopping, Target might be a choice destination, but the most common thing I hear from guests in Electronics when I talk to them is "Well, I was just at Best Buy..." or they mention they went to some local mom and pop shop in town that sold electronics first. Target is not a first choice for serious buyers.

 

[dek067]

You sound like an electronics enthusiast yourself. Be honest, if you weren't employed by Target and had that 10% employee discount, would you make Target your first stop when looking for a new TV/tablet?

If you lived in an area without a lot of shopping, Target might be a choice destination, but the most common thing I hear from guests in Electronics when I talk to them is "Well, I was just at Best Buy..." or they mention they went to some local mom and pop shop in town that sold electronics first. Target is not a first choice for serious buyers.

but target will probably get a bump now that best buy is closing so many stores...

 

[MrMrIce]

but target will probably get a bump now that best buy is closing so many stores...

But they are opening so many smaller ones. The reason they are closing down big stores is to make more smaller ones that don't need to sell huge bulky items that require delivery along with other reasons.

They close 50 regular stores and open 100 new, smaller ones with a focus on computers, tablets, phones

With that said, Target wouldn't be my first stop for anything electronic and I'm a huge geek.

 

[Darikona]

But they are opening so many smaller ones. The reason they are closing down big stores is to make more smaller ones that don't need to sell huge bulky items that require delivery along with other reasons.

They close 50 regular stores and open 100 new, smaller ones with a focus on computers, tablets, phones

With that said, Target wouldn't be my first stop for anything electronic and I'm a huge geek.

Uh, specialized boutique stores like Bestbuy are not doing so hot. We'll see where they lie in a few years, for now though they will, of course, out run any other retailer on sales and stock of electronics. Target may not be the most primary place to shop for electronics, but it has climbed up the ranks over the years.