Target - Front Royal, VA: In the Express Lane

Once again, welcome back to the Shoppes of Battery Mill! On today's edition, we are off to a quaint Shenandoah Valley town better known as Front Royal. While it has maintained its rural character, it has also gained a considerable amount of suburban retail essentials, including this sleek Target store.

Photos taken on July 26, 2020 by The Battery Mill

Store info

• Store number: T-2297
• Address: 10 Crooked Run Plz, Front Royal, Virginia 22630
  
• Opening date: July 25, 2007
• Remodels: PFresh (ca. 2011)
• Features: PFresh, Pharmacy, Photo, Café/Pizza Hut Express, Starbucks Coffee, Beer & Wine

This Target location opened in 2007, as part of the Crooked Run Plaza shopping center. Its opening happened to predate Walmart's launch across the street by a year. I'll have to say, this is quite the oddity for such a town! (Nevertheless, Kmart was there long before both.)

 That being said, let's zoom on in and see what surprises this store has along its course.

Our first pitstop along the Target racetrack will be within the clothing department. This happens to be a rather standard Target softlines department with plain dolleys of clothing articles. The kicker here, however, is that it is getting to be a more elusive sight at stores that have yet to fully renovate. 

Since 2013, Target has conducted what are known as "Innovation" remodels, where select store departments are "targeted" for a remodel. This involves new carpeting, light fixtures, displays, and wall paint. None of the known Innovation remodels (electronics, apparel, grocery, pets etc.) have been applied to this store.

Our next station happens to be further down the line in softlines. The centerpiece of this photo is a plain P04-era price scanner, with all the bells and whistles Target guests have come to expect.

At the back-left corner of the store, we are presented with a standard Target fitting room. Inside, it is somewhat barebones compared to later designs (which generally feature red walls, disk-shaped light fixtures and wood finishes). Given the ongoing situation, however, it has been roped off and decommissioned for the time being. Only time will tell as to if such may return.

Departing softlines, the last thing we will look at will be the shoe aisles. While it may seem rather standard and nondescript, fitting amongst many other chains, I am pleased by the open-air feeling Target has put together for this section.

Entering the hardline world, we find ourselves by the movies and music department ...what is apparently a new outpost for toys. Given the decline of physical media sales (one that especially targets CD albums) and a lack of a revised Innovation layout, Target has reallocated their offering to around one or two aisles. These changes therefore free up space for new product, and Target ultimately decided on this diversified toy display mirroring that found in deluxe versions of the P17 set.

With that being said, I do have a question for my readers. Are they doing this reset for all stores that have yet to receive the E&E Innovation package?

Gliding on down the road, we find ourselves at the very heart of the electronics department.   of which electronics team members are stationed out of. This place is a prime example of pre-Innovation electronics displays, with one special element stuck in the middle. An older Target electronics boat, that is.

Evident by the countertop design and graphic inset, this boat's design was tailored primarily for digital cameras (which were popular buys when this store opened). Since 2007, Target has implemented newer boat designs that prioritize guest services while opting to present such handheld devices elsewhere nearby.

We continue to ride the racetrack, zooming by the Seasonal department. As is now a July tradition, it is  arranged for back-to-school shopping. In spite of most area schools staying virtual, the sales continue for anyone who needs such items.

In the store's original state, the seasonal department would have been perched on the right side of the perimeter (aligned with grocery). With PFresh necesitating a large grocery selection, these seasonal shelves shifted into what was once Automotive/Home Improvement's slot. Here's a similar layout example from their Kernersville, North Carolina location (T-2134) which abstained from such a change.

Making a turn, we now have the store's grocery aisles within our sights. This is your standard PFresh department, again without the gray Innovation remodel. PFresh came to the store in a remodel which significantly boosted the store's grocery selection, and also resulted in other select changes throughout the store.

One curious fact about this department is that it has created some rather awkward support column (off-camera) situations with its renovation. With the racetrack moved several feet to accommodate these long aisles, said poles would now occupy the middle of the track. I still hope everyone's been able to cruise safely though!

Next, we'll take a different approach, meandering through center-store lanes. Here's a view down towards grocery on the store's right-hand side, with furniture and the relocated home improvement department in middleground.

 

From the same standpoint, we gander all the way down this track back to clothing.

Just an aisle away from the main racetrack, we find ourselves off the beaten path, among gondolas full of pet foods. As we savor this scene, I'll take in the bright glow of both the pharmacy's husk and the cosmetics department's fixtures.

Approaching the finish line, we come by the jewelry/accessory department. The desk is unmanned, with the display cases blanked out. With the apparel Innovation setup, Target seems to be removing such kiosks - and perhaps retiring the business at stores which happen to still have it, such as here.

...and finally, we have arrived at our victory lap! While we've come to rake in the rewards, I've stumbled on another Target curiosity around here.

These express checkouts are yet another rarity. In recent years, they have been eliminated for self-checkouts, of which were first tested at Target Canada. Following the chain's exit from the aforementioned country in 2015, these machines began to trickle in to their U.S. store base alongside all-new shipments. 

Upon my visit, all four express stands were offline. I am unsure if this had been ongoing, but I'd presume it had recently been in use given the presence of Plexiglas shields.

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Thank you all for enjoying this presentation of the Shoppes of Battery Mill! Be sure to stick around for more retail content heading your way.