ShopKo secures beachhead for Pacific Northwest assault - ShopKo Stores; Spokane, Washington

ShopKo Secures Beachhead For Pacific Northwest Assault

SPOKANE, Wash.--ShopKo Stores' assault on the Spokane market has set the stage for skirmishes between the 69-store Green Bay, Wis.-based discounter and Fred Meyer, the Pacific Northwest's dominant retailer.

The two retailers already butt heads in three cities in Idaho, but the entrance by ShopKo into this eastern Washington city places ShopKo squarely in the heartland of a region traditionally dominated by 94-store Portland, Ore.-based Fred Meyer.

ShopKo entered the market last month with two stores--one in the east valley and one in the northern section of town. Both stores are located within a mile of Fred Meyer's two area entrants.

In this market of 354,300, ShopKo also faces two K mart stores and one Costco membership warehouse. And, discounter competition here is expected to heat up even further when Target Stores opens the first of its two to three planned stores here by 1989 or 1990. (Target is launching an aggressive retail movement into the Pacific Northwest which will start next year, primarily in Seattle. (See DSN, May 11,pg.1).

ShopKo's two Spokane stores are 91,000 square feet and 94,000 square feet, and currently both are freestanding. However, one of the stores represents the first outlet in what is a planned future mall development, according to the real state firm handling ShopKo's site acquisitions in Washington and several Rocky Mountain states.

Bob Kaczorions of Pacific Coast Realty said the other location is also adjacent to property that will eventually contain further retail developments.

ShopKo typically looks to locate in neighborhood centers--preferably near an active supermarket--but the chain has gone into some regional malls.

ShopKo's offering of categories, including housewares, sporting goods, toys, apparel, automotives, shoes, records and health & beauty aids, is typical of most discounters. Its upscaled apparel offering and colorful, clean interiors bear some resemblance to Target stores.

Several vendors dealing with ShopKo also noted the Target similarities, but said the Green Bay chain was not yet in Target's league, because of the overall sophistication of the latter chain.

Vendors said that in apparel, ShopKo is on the upper range of fashion for a discounter. "They are fashion forward, but without forgetting who their customer base is and their price point level," explained a manufacturer.

In addition to the opening of the two Spokane stores, ShopKo also opened a store in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Winona, Minn., in July. These four stores represented the first wave of ShopKo stores to open this year. Six more stores will open in 1987 in Yakima, Wash.; Lewiston, Idaho; Missoula, Mont.;. Sioux Falls, S.D.; Omaha, Neb.; and Sparks, Nev.

The retailer's plans for 1988 include the opening of 11 stores in Utah, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Dakota and South Dakota. The entrance into Utah will further increase ShopKo's competition with Fred Meyer, particularly when the former opens four stores in the Salt Lake City area.

PHOTO : ShopKo opened its first store in the Pacific Northwest last month, bringing the 69-unit discounter into head-to-head battle with the region's dominant discount chain, Fred Meyer.

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