Walmart goes urban and smaller

[Pete]

Late to the game but now seemingly willing to adapt when forced:

http://urbanland.uli.org/planning-de...paign=magazine

The 80,000-square-foot (7,400 sq m) Walmart in D.C. is half the size of many suburban supercenters. What’s more, the retailer is creating new formats uniquely designed for cities. The new Walmart Neighborhood Market, for example, occupies only 40,000 square feet (3,700 sq m), and the Walmart Express stores measure just 15,000 square feet (1,400 sq m). The company has even opened two college stores, at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Each of these stores occupies less than 5,000 square feet (465 sq m).

[BBatesokc]

I saw a report on a new C-Store concept for WalMart in Bentonville.

Walmart Opens Gas Station and Convenience Store - NBC News

I like the concept - especially if the prices are the same as the larger stores.

[Pete]

^

I really like that concept, although it says they don't have any current plans to expand it.

What I like is that everyone has to stop for gas, so it would be nice to be able to pick up household items and perishables (milk, produce) without having to go through the ordeal of a grocery store.


Families are smaller these days and there are many more single people at all ages, and most the time you only need a couple of things. And current convenience stores are generally too expensive and/or the quality of their products is low.

If Walmart doesn't step into this space, somebody else should and should also provide self check-out. I can't stand getting stuck at the register behind people picking out lottery tickets and counting out cash for gas.

[bchris02]

I wouldn't surprise me that if one day one of these ends up in downtown OKC providing the city doesn't allow Wal-Mart to build a standard suburban style supercenter downtown. I am not sure how I feel it about that (I would rather Crest or Buy for Less end up downtown) but Wal-Mart has very strong loyalists in OKC and this is really their home market.

[David]

I would not mind in the slightest if we eventually end up with a Walmart that looks like that downtown.

[shawnw]

I love that they are finally embracing urban design (are they finally noticing the trends in driving and urban core growth or is it something else?). The main issue I would have with this going downtown in OKC (and the same goes for Target, which I would prefer over Walmart anyway) is if they perform anti-competitively against places like Native Roots.

[rezman]

It's no secret that Walmart is going after the small box store market, aiming pariculaly at Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. I hear that they are going to build a new Walmaert Express on Route 66 in Luther, on the old football field, right around the corner from Dollar General.

[bluedogok]

In the Deep Deuce proposal many years ago the project manager talked to both Walmart (Neighborhood Market concept) and Walgreen's about stores in proposal. We were doing Walgreen's stores in the OKC office and the NWA office did a lot of different type of work for Walmart. They were non-committal but interested at the time. This concept makes more sense than the NM concept that was new at the time.

[WaywardMemphian]

This is the Walmart to Go in Bentonville,


Here's a rendering of the Neighborhood Market Mixed Project use going in downtown Bentonville




I feel the Walmart Express store will provide or evolve into a Walgreens/CVS model with gas.
There's other examples of Walmart in mixed use developments and urban examples, Google image search them. I hate the concept that almost happened in Pass Christian MS after Katrina where the front would have been streetside and fronted with small retail and the parking would be in back, Almost a old school downtown feel.

[bchris02]

That is actually a pretty cool looking WMNM. I can see Wal-Mart in midtown OKC if they build it that way. While I would prefer another grocery operator to do it, if they did it right this could work.