HOULTON, Maine — Evolving to meet changing consumer needs and to embrace its nationwide branding as “America’s Appliance Experts,” the refresh of the Sears Hometown Store in Houlton culminates with a grand reopening celebration April 28-29.
Throughout the celebration weekend, consumers are invited to enjoy an additional discount of 10 percent off almost everything in the store.
Located at the Houlton Plaza Shopping Center at 114 North St., the updated store includes a new product assortment, redesigned merchandising, new fixtures and signage, and comprehensive employee training, among other changes.
“We’re always working to simplify the process of shopping for appliances and help our customers have an enjoyable experience,” said Denise Cross, a district manager of the Sears Hometown Stores in Maine. “Our new strategy focuses on providing our customers with a broader assortment of products available from top brands, while still offering them at the lowest prices our guests expect when they walk into our stores.”
In the new store design, appliances will occupy more than half of the sales floor and include more brands with an improved presentation. The stores will also focus its appliances on products from LG, GE, Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Samsung and Kenmore.
The new floor plan also includes the ability to showcase complete kitchen packages through the addition of three kitchen vignettes.
“This allows stores to display an entire four-piece kitchen from multiple brands in a small amount of floor space, making it easier for customers to choose products,” Cross said. “Another new feature that simplifies the buying process is a designated laundry innovation area, showcasing multiple brands and innovations that lets customers easily explore the differences between the various product lines.”
As part of the refresh, the Sears Hometown Store in Houlton provides industry-leading comprehensive training to store associates, including brand specific selling certification. These brand certified sales associates help ensure customers find the best product for their needs at the best possible price.
Customers in Houlton also benefit from a new touch-screen kiosk where they can work with a salesperson or browse on their own to explore product options or make purchases. With the user-friendly kiosk, associates and customers can review product features and benefits as well as various models from the entire online database of Sears products, all while browsing models around the sales floor. Among major retailers, the Sears Hometown Store in Houlton is leading the way for the integration of touch-screen devices into the sales process.
The Houlton location is part of a system-wide update to all Sears Hometown Store locations. The Company began revamping stores in 2015 and now has more than 560 “America’s Appliance Experts” locations across the United States. To learn more about Sears Hometown Stores, visit www.searshometownstores.com.
