The snack bar portion of the discount store, which used to be best typified as a popcorn machine and a soda fountain, is now the most explosive subdivision of the $3.5 billion miscellaneous category tracked in this year's report.

If "time-deprived" is the catchword to best describe the Baby Boomers of America, "meal solutions" is now the buzz around the retail industry. According to several consumer pulse studies, only slightly more than half of America's meals are prepared at home. The rest come to the doorstep from pizza delivery, or are purchased as ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat meals.

The sales of items in snack bars, which make up about three-quarters of the category's sales, are in their infancy stage. Discounters are beginning to take cues from supermarkets and convenience stores that sell high-quality prepared food. There is significant interest among full-line department store discounters in the prepared food business, but no mastery from a mass merchant has yet to emerge.

Wal-Mart has been steadily fine-tuning its assortment of ready-to-heat and ready-to-eat meals. The giant pulled the plug earlier in the year on its prepared food concept Harry's In a Hurry, an offshoot a Atlanta-based Harry's Market, due mostly to Harry's inability to finance the venture. The leading discounter has also suspended the Chef Meals On the Go prepared meals program that was designed specifically for the discount store (not supercenter) division. Wal-Mart killed this program last November.

In test mode right now for Wal-Mart is a convenience-store concept in partnership with Radio Grill that offers a small selection of fresh groceries, meals-to-go items and a fast-food section that features fried snack foods like fried chicken, hot pepper poppers and french toast.

Kmart has just signed an agreement with DAKA, the restaurant conglomerate that owns Fuddruckers, to open 1,850 mini-restaurants in Kmart and Super Kmart stores. The operation will be outsourced, allowing Kmart to focus on other core issues of running a discount general merchandise operation. Kmart called its $350 million foodservice business underperforming.

         Miscellaneous
          Productivity

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