Sam Goody stores try new concept to lure more shoppers

Associated Press

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Sam Goody is trying something in its record stores that its teen customers already know about - CD burning.

The music chain is testing a store-within-a-store idea called Graze at seven locations, including its Mall of America store. The idea is to invite customers to sit on sofas and try out music, digital cameras, satellite radio and other gadgets. Customers can have their music burned onto a custom CD.

With Sam Goody losing many of its key young customers to music downloads, it wanted to try to increase store traffic in the hope that sales will follow.

"We aren't right with the consumer now," said Rob Willey, senior vice president of corporate development at Sam Goody parent Musicland Group Inc. He said Sam Goody stores need a stronger "emotional connection" with its core shoppers - 12-to-24 year olds.

"I want to earn back our share of music with the lifestyle hook. We believe this will turn retail on its head," he said.

Musicland is counting on good consumer response as it looks to Graze to rejuvenate the Sam Goody chain, which has more than 450 U.S. stores, including 10 in Minnesota.

Sam Goody has plenty of room to boost customer traffic. For every 1,000 visitors to malls, 26 go into Sam Goody stores - about half the count of other specialty retailers, such as Victoria's Secret, Willey said.

Willey said 75 percent of CD sales are impulse purchases - so picking up even one to four more visitors per 1,000 shoppers could dramatically boost sales, Willey said.

One way to pull them in is the electronic floor mats at each Graze storefront. The flashy floor mats display 30-second commercials, movie trailers and store promotions repeated every six minutes. And they're interactive, so you can kick images of soccer balls with your feet during a commercial for a video soccer game.

Teens Justin Foye and Nick Hilzinger were impressed with Graze's CD burning after trying out the store's sofas and listening to some music. Foye said the store's access to thousands of songs seemed quicker and simpler than downloading them.

Hilzinger said Graze was "really relaxing. It would make people come here."

Next year, Musicland plans to open six stand-alone Graze stores in U.S. shopping malls.

"This has the option to become its own brand," Willey said. "I don't think Graze will replace Sam Goody. But we hope it can activate and energize Sam Goody."

Retail experts said Musicland has correctly targeted the Graze concept at its biggest music consumers. But it will still be tough to lure more shoppers in their teens and early 20s into Sam Goody stores.

"It will be difficult to get them (teens) away from Internet downloading," said Dave Brennan, co-director of the Institute for Retailing Excellence at the University of St. Thomas. "The younger they are, the more techno savvy. It's hard to get them back into a regular shopping experience."