Hy-Vee Expands In-store Clothing Boutique to Iowa

Hy-Vee has introduced a 3,000-square-foot F&F clothing boutique near the front of its store on 4605 Fleur Drive in Des Moines, Iowa, according to a published report. F&F, a brand of U.K. retailer Tesco, offers men’s, women’s and children’s clothes.

Earlier this year, West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee debuted the concept at its new Lakeville, Minn., store. A boutique has since opened in another Twin Cities-area store, in Brooklyn Park.

Clothing sold in supermarkets “has been happening in Europe and Canada for a while,” Shelby Endicott, Hy-Vee’s director of project development, told The Des Moines Register.

As well as clothes, the dedicated space includes a fitting room and cash register, although shoppers can alternatively pay for their purchases at the grocery checkouts. The merchandise will be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, although the boutique will be staffed only from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Another F&F boutique is set to open Oct. 20 in Ankeny, Iowa, according to the newspaper. “We are looking at space in the stores and fitting them into where it makes sense,” said Endicott, adding that Hy-Vee was considering adding the concept to its stores in the Omaha, Neb., market.

In other Hy-Vee apparel news, the newspaper reported that a West Des Moines Hy-Vee store has begun selling T-shirts and other, non-clothing items from Des Moines-based Raygun. The offerings include four T-shirt designs created especially for the grocer: “This is my shopping at Hy-Vee shirt” (the biggest seller); “Hy-Vee: It’s not just a store, it’s a way of life”; “The Helpful Smile: Invented by Hy-Vee in 1930”; and “Hy-Vee: Where Des Moines’ hottest singles go for milk.”