Steve Sadove, the chief operating officer at Saks Inc., whose holdings include Saks Fifth Avenue and Profitt's, said department stores were increasingly recapturing some of the idea of the historic department stores: a bigger range of products.
House of Fraser and rival John Lewis are also trying out much smaller stores supported by internet kiosks which give the opportunity to buy and get delivered a bigger range of products beyond those on display.
It operates on a freemium model, where paying store owners get additional features such as user control and the ability to add/sell a bigger range of products.
Fitbit, founded in San Francisco six years ago, claims to be the leader of the pack, with a bigger range of products and better distribution than the likes of the Jawbone Up or Nike's Fuelband.
It's a big range of lifestyle products, similar to the range of participating retailers, which includes Target, Best Buy, Macy's, Wet Seal and American Eagle.
Competition within the industry is getting more intense as stores deal with more Internet-based competition and sell bigger ranges of products to keep shoppers from going elsewhere.
Lenders that are looking to position themselves as a "one-stop shop" for all banking needs should be leery of offering too big of a range of products and services comparable to traditional banks.
Argos's new stores have tested the "hub and spoke" distribution model, whereby the larger "hub" stores stock a much bigger range of items and deliver products to smaller "spoke" stores.
He says the big change is the range of products that have come on to the market.
Future products will also include a bigger range of undergarments, including matching underwear and other lingerie.
That may or may not be true but, for now, Wiese is backing Walker's plan to expand his new Food Warehouse chain – which has bigger stores and a broader range of products.
