Lexington Sears store set for major appliance updates, store redesign

Two days after Sears announces it will close its Columbia Place Mall store later this year in a string of nationwide closings, the company is announcing a “refresh” of the Sears Hometown Store at 523 Columbia Ave. in Lexington.

The store refresh includes a new product assortment, redesigned merchandising, new fixtures and signage and comprehensive employee changes.

“Our recently refreshed and modernized stores in South Carolina provide customers with a much broader assortment of appliances at the same low prices they’ve come to expect,” said Brandon Starke, a district manager of Sears Hometown Stores in South Carolina. “In addition, our sales associates have undergone extensive training to become ‘America’s Appliance Experts.’ The community of Lexington can rely on them to deliver the most up-to-date information about product lines in our stores.”

When the store holds its grand reopening June 16 and 17, customers can expect to find a new store design featuring appliances occupying more than half of the sales floor and more brands with an improved presentation. The new floor plan also includes the ability to showcase complete kitchen packages through the addition of three kitchen vignettes, allowing 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.

Another new feature is a designated laundry innovation area, showcasing multiple brands and product innovations that lets customers explore the differences between the various product lines.

Customers can also utilize 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 kiosk, associates and customers can review product features and benefits as well as various models from the online database of Sears products while browsing models around the sales floor.

The Lexington Sears location is part of a system-wide refresh of all Sears Hometown Store locations. The company began updating units in 2015 and now has more than 635 “America’s Appliance Experts” locations across the United States. As of October 2016, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. and its dealers and franchisees operated 1,115 stores across all 50 states as well as in Puerto Rico and Bermuda.

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Lexington Sears store set for major appliance updates, store redesign."