Everything from upscale amenities to drive-throughs can make your stores stand out from the competition.
By Erin Rigik, Senior Editor
In an era of increased channel blurring, where dollar stores, quick-serve restaurants (QSRs) and drug stores are vying for the same customers, smart store design can help differentiate your c-store over the competition.
Pak-A-Sak Convenience Stores, which operates 20 locations in Texas, has worked with design firm Paragon Solutions for more than 20 years to keep its stores ahead of the pack.
In 2008, the chain debuted its prototype design in Amarillo, Texas. The 4,925-square-foot store features a drive-through experience that has been so successful, the chain has retrofitted it to almost half its store fleet—nine of the 20 stores now have a drive-through.
“Basically, we took our old c-store design, but with the help of Paragon Solutions, added onto it in order to add a drive-through window,” said Brian McKee, vice president of merchandising for Pak-A-Sak. “I had seen how much business the fast feeders were doing through their drive-throughs, and they were coming after our business, including the fountain drink business and our bottled water business, so I thought we needed to add a drive-through, and we haven’t looked back since.”
DRIVING SUCCESS
Through the drive-through window, customers can order anything in the store. “We probably have 80% of our products back there in the drive-through area, but every once in a while we do have to go out on the sales floor to get an item. But the majority of the products we have right there readily available,” McKee said.
McKee said some 30% of the stores’ business is done through the drive-through. Retrofits were done with the stores still open and operating because of how the drive-through was designed.
“Because we used our old design and just added onto the side of our building, we were only making adjustments to one side of our property. We built an addition onto the side that was approximately 15 feet by 40 feet in order to stock all the product we would sell near the drive-through window, and then added the drive-through window to the side of the property,” McKee said.
Proper design and placement is key in succeeding with a drive-through window. “ We’ve had several people come out to look at our drive-throughs, but some have gone back and maybe they didn’t want to completely redesign the store, so they added a drive-through to the back of their store, but I don’t think it does as well when you do it on the back of the store,” said McKee.
McKee recommended placing the drive-through on the side of the store, the same way QSRs do. Not only are customers used to this positioning, but it helps traffic flow, and allows customers to easily see the drive-through when they are passing by.
“I haven’t noticed as much success from stores that have the drive-throughs on the back. In addition to proper design, you also have to be committed to having enough labor in the store to take care of the drive-through window,” McKee said.
Pak-A-Sak has one employee 100% dedicated to the drive-through. At times when the drive-through is particularly busy, the store also dedicates a runner who can help fill orders so that the line moves faster.
Pak-A-Sak has also seen success using former Starbucks locations that came with drive-throughs.
“About five years ago when Starbucks was pulling back a little bit and selling some locations, we acquired two Starbucks sites that had never been finished—they were just shells of buildings with drive-through windows, and we thought, ‘Well, let’s try that,’” McKee said.
They used the Starbucks locations to launch to Pak-A-Sak Express stores. “We’ve done really well with those locations. It was cheaper for us to get into it, not as much capital outlay, and we still get a lot of return on investment from it,” he said.
DOING RESTROOMS RIGHT
Pak-A-Sak currently is building a brand new travel stop on a busy highway that when completed will measure a whopping 6,200 square feet. The site is expected to open next June. While the travel stop mainly caters to travelers, a drive-through window is also being added to meet the needs of local customers, who are more apt to use the drive-through.
The store’s layout has been expanded from a usual footprint of around 5,000 square feet to allow for larger restrooms, given the heavy traffic the store is expected to receive. “We’ve designed our entire store around the bathrooms,” McKee said.
The restroom doors are set to resemble those at airports, where there is no actual door to open, but rather an open corner that leads into the restroom, allowing for touch-free entrances and exits.
“We knew having a travel store like this it would need to have a very big bathroom, and since we had the opportunity to design a new layout, we took a look at the latest trends, which included airport-style bathroom entrances where you just walk through, so that’s what we did,” McKee said.
Inside, the restrooms offer touch-free amenities, including a touch-free paper towel dispenser, and sensor-operated sinks and toilets.
Most of Pak-A-Sak’s stores feature the touch-free paper towel dispensers, and newer and upgraded stores are receiving the sensor-operated sinks and toilets as well, which lend a feeling of extra sanitation for customers, who often don’t like to touch surfaces in public restrooms for fear of germs.
To portray a more upscale experience, the bathrooms at Pak-A-Sak are tiled from floor to ceiling.
“You have to make c-store restrooms very upscale these days. You can’t just go in there and paint the walls; it has to be classy looking. So we add tile all the way up the walls and spend extra time and effort to make sure the bathrooms stay clean,” McKee said. “With this new one we’re building, especially, we plan to allocate a lot of time to restroom cleanliness. That’s the most important part of our stores, because that’s why people stop at a travel store, for the clean restrooms.”
Pak-A-Sak is also in the process of remodeling an older store in order to add two new restrooms to the location.
“It was a smaller-type store with only one bathroom, and when we opened we didn’t know how much traffic the store—and the restroom—would bring in, so we are in the process of adding another 1,000 square feet to the formerly 2,500-square-foot store to accommodate additional facilities,” McKee said.
RENOVATION STATION
Pak-A-Sak is not the only chain that sees the value of superior restrooms as a traffic driver. Pilot Flying J is in the process of a major overhaul that will see its restrooms upgraded across its entire fleet of stores.
“The upgrades that we are making in the restrooms across the Pilot Flying J network is an ongoing, $50 million renovation project that will continue throughout 2014 and 2015,” said Anne LeZotte, communications manager for Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J, which has more than 650 retail locations nationwide.
“We wanted to update our restrooms across the board. We want to make our customers feel at home when they visit our stores,” LeZotte said. “The project entails everything from upgrading the tile finishes to adding touchless hand dryers.”
In addition to the new tile finishes and touchless hand dryers, the upgraded restrooms will also feature low water consumption fixtures—including toilets and faucets—and LED light fixtures.
“Our primary goal at Pilot Flying J is to always serve our customers with excellence. By upgrading and remodeling our restrooms, we are taking one more step towards our mission to make life better for drivers while they’re on the road,” LeZotte said.
