81 stores in one month?

March 11, 2008

81 stores in one month?

I found this article at Walmartfacts.com. The article speaks of 81 brand new Wal-Mart Supercenters opening all across the nation. At least, to me, 81 stores seems mind boggling. The supposed reason for the many openings is to increase money saving choice for consumers all around the nation. Will that still be the excuse when we have a Wal-Mart on every corner say 10 years from now? Seems like overkill huh? These openings will also bring about 16,500 jobs around the nation, total. While this will bring jobs, what other side effects are brought on by these openings?

Wal-Mart Opens 81 Stores and Clubs in March Providing Jobs and Savings Nationwide

document.writeln(‘ ‘); Grand Openings across 30 States Provide Over 16,500 Additional Jobs; Retailer Gives over $1.5 million to Local Charities and Organizations BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 5, 2008 – This month, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will open 81 new stores and clubs across the country, providing jobs for 26,000 associates.  More than 16,500 associates have been hired to fill new positions at the new, expanded and relocated stores, demonstrating the economic opportunities the company provides individuals and communities – even in tougher economic times. Seventy-three of the 81 stores are celebrating their grand openings this week. “With these new store locations, we’re strengthening our commitment to helping our customers nationwide save money so they can live better,” said Bill Simon, chief operating officer, Wal-Mart Stores, U.S. The 81 stores and clubs are opening in 30 states including seven openings in North Carolina, six in Illinois, five each in Michigan and Florida, four in Ohio and three each in Wisconsin, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, New York, Nevada, Indiana and Iowa.   Included among these stores are two additional new High-Efficiency (HE.2) prototypes designed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use 25 percent less energy than a standard Wal-Mart Supercenter.  Wal-Mart plans to open a total of four HE.2 prototypes. The first opened in January in Romeoville, Ill., and the remaining three will open by the end of the year.   Wal-Mart will also open its ninth Jobs and Opportunity Zone (JOZ) store in Decatur, Ga. on March 7. Decatur is one of ten locations where Wal-Mart is partnering with local organizations to spur job creation and economic development in the community. In the two months since the hiring site opened, Wal-Mart has received more than 12,000 applications for the 450 jobs available at the Decatur store. 80 Supercenters Opening in First Quarter Wal-Mart is executing the plan it unveiled at its shareholders meeting in June 2007 to moderate its U.S. supercenter growth.  The Company opened 195 supercenters in the United States in the last fiscal year — 30 percent fewer than in the previous year.  These include relocations and expansions. Wal-Mart projected that it will open 170 supercenters in the current fiscal year ending Jan, 31, 2009 and 140 supercenters in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2010. “As we told investors last year, we’re focused on expansions and relocations of existing discount stores to supercenters, because the supercenter concept provides the greatest return,” said Simon.  “This will result in building fewer new stores.”

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