For its remodeling project, Lubeley’s Bakery focused on improving its showcases and product displays, which helped with traffic flow.

Be it a coat of paint, a new showcase, a total gutting or simply a gilding, a makeover can give a big lift to the way your bakery looks — and the way your customers look at your bakery. Although it's impossible to attribute sales hikes directly to a remodel, operators who have recently done them report sustained increases of anywhere from 10 percent to 15 percent.

Two bakeries recently received help to jumpstart their retail remodels. General Mills along with the Retail Bakers of America (RBA) recently awarded two $5,000 grand prizes as a result of the 2008 Merchandising Makeover: Pillsbury Bakery Edition contest.

Lubeley's Bakery & Deli in St. Louis, one of the contest winners, used some the money to improve its showcases. The color of the case frames and running boards made them look dated, explains Sue Lubeley Suardi, one of three siblings who operate the 72-year-old family business. Changing the color of the case trim and trays, plus adding interior lighting, gave these fixtures a more contemporary, eye-catching appearance.

The display area in the center of the store also was revamped. An oversized grab-and-go rack made the space between the display and the service counter too close for customer comfort. The bakery replaced the wire rack with two appropriately sized, three-tiered wood displays, which opened up the bakery considerably, Suardi says.

The bakery's grand re-opening was held over Super Bowl weekend, and generated a 10 percent hike in sales that continued through Mardi Gras. Generally, business since the renovation has increased as people who had been attracted by the re-opening activities become regular customers. All told, the siblings invested $90,000 in the renovation.

Historical refurbishing

As another 2008 Merchandising Makeover: Pillsbury Bakery Edition winner, brother-and-sister owners Scott Johnson and Sharon Torrison also decided to go above and beyond their $5,000 grand prize to refurbish the 1916 building housing their Johnson's Bakery in Duluth, Minn. By the time the process was completed last fall, they had quadrupled the original budget.

Originally, the goal was to replace the floor, lighting and shelving for more effective merchandising. They also moved the wholesale staging and customer pick-up area from the front of the store to expand the bakery café. By repositioning the showcases, the owners gained some much-needed extra workspace behind the counter.

Much of the remodeling money was spent on behind-the-scenes improvements, such as a new furnace, but cosmetic changes included new exterior and interior paint to highlight the pressed tin ceilings and new merchandising displays. Swapping out 8-ft. banks of fluorescent bulbs and installing adjustable track fixtures with dimmers gave the bakery an energy-saving lease on light.

Johnson and Torrison kept their existing showcases, but rearranged how products were displayed in them. Now, each case features a specific type of product; for example, donuts occupy the largest case, cookies and bars the smallest.

Prior to the remodel, the owners had prepackaged their cookies for display on a large self-service rack in the center of the store. Now, they sell their cookies from a service case.

“It's better for us because we have more control over the product and we save on packaging costs,” Johnson says. “And it's better for the customers because they have so many more options to mix and match varieties and buy just the amount they want. Best of all, we've ended up selling more cookies and when customers come to the service case, they get a chance to see our other products.”