Dreaming of that perfect dinner party but lack the space to host it, or a gourmet kitchen in which to prepare it?
One day soon, finding a real estate agent to help you house-shop may be as close as a Stop & Shop supermarket. While you’re there to grab some bread and a head of lettuce, you’ll be able to shop for a spacious colonial or renovated ranch, courtesy of the ‘micro offices’ real estate brokerage RE/MAX is installing in as many as 17 New England Stop & Shops, including one in Connecticut.
But don’t be in a hurry. RE/MAX admits it doesn’t expect lines at its supermarket offices right away. Indeed, some retail-marketing experts question the value to consumers in the Internet age.
“It’s not that people are thinking of going in for a quart of milk and coming out with a house,” said Jay Hummer, executive vice president of RE/MAX of New England.
Instead, Hummer said, it’s a chance for his agents to purchase a high-visibility, convenient office space with plenty of parking. As landlord, Stop & Shop collects rent from the space.
“It’s a relaxed way for people to meet agents,’’ he said. “When the time comes for them to buy a house, hopefully they’ll have a relationship with that broker they met at Stop & Shop.”
In January, RE/MAX announced a five-year deal with Stop & Shop to open storefront offices in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. RE/MAX claims this is the first time a major real estate brand and a large consumer retailer have teamed up to share sales space.
Adding convenience for consumers by placing additional services under one retail roof isn’t new. Department stores were the first to try it decades ago, with independently operated jewelry and cosmetics counters. More recently, grocery stores and discount warehouses have partnered with banks, coffee and doughnut shops, office suppliers, and cell phone vendors.
Consumer Convenience
Such retail partnerships provide consumers the opportunity to conveniently purchase items and services they use regularly, said Scott Testa, marketing expert and business professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.
But the partnership between RE/MAX and Stop & Shop is is a bit odd, Testa said.
“Common sense says there’s not as much use for a real estate agency,” he said. “It’s not like a bank where consumers have transactions a couple of times a week. Consumers use a real estate agent maybe once every two or three years.”
Despite that, Testa said he can see consumers browsing listings if they are displayed in a way that doesn’t necessarily require interaction with a real estate agent.
“It’s all in how it’s presented,” he said.
The first Connecticut office will be inside Stop & Shop’s store at the 79 Washington Ave. store in North Haven, said Hummer.
That store, like the others, was chosen in part because it had available space up front, as well as a desirable location, he said. The opening date isn’t set, but Hummer expects it will be within the next four to 12 months.
RE/MAX’s micro offices will be run as franchises, and RE/MAX has just begun its application process, said Hummer. The new offices, which will be staffed a minimum of 50 hours, are “turnkey operations,’’ meaning RE/MAX has planned all the details, down to the fixtures and furniture.
Both Stop & Shop and RE/MAX declined to discuss the financial terms. But Hummer says that the franchise fee for the micro offices is about 30 percent less than the normal RE/MAX franchise fee. The lease terms for the space that will be rented is preset, he said.
“It’s not a cheaper deal in terms of the square foot price, but it’s a great value for the location and for what they get,” he said.
Larry Chiagouris, a retail and marketing professor at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business in New York City, agrees the micro shops’ locations are convenient for consumers.
Still, he questions how much of a benefit that really is. So many households have Internet access they can use to shop for real estate at home, he said.
“Every square inch matters in a grocery store — space is precious,” Chiagouris said. “That square footage came at a price, probably a dear price. If both sides don’t see a good investment, it’s not going to last long.”
He points to Dunkin Donuts kiosks as one such example, noting that in some cases, they have been pulled out of Stop & Shop — replaced with Starbucks.
“It costs a lot to set aside that square footage,’’ Chiagouris said. “The RE/MAX price isn’t necessarily going to be worth the expenditure based on the traffic they get.”
Instead, Chiagouris has an idea: a dry cleaning drop-off and pick-up kiosk.
“I’ve never understood why supermarkets don’t have one,” he said.
Liz Michalski is a freelance writer in Massachusetts. Her book, “Evenfall,’’ is due out in 2011.
