Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market is coming

According to building permits filed recently, Wal-Mart is working on a Neighborhood Market store in a shopping center on Independence Boulevard.

The permits, seen here, show that Wal-Mart plans to spend about $5 million to renovate the 50,550 square foot space. The store was formerly a Best Buy.

The store will be Charlotte's first Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market when it opens. There are about 200 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets, which are basically like traditional supermarkets. They offer full lines of produce, dry goods, bakery, deli, health and beauty goods, household supplies and a pharmacy. The size - averaging about 42,000 square feet - is also pretty much the same as a traditional supermarket, like Harris Teeter.

Such a store would represent a further challenge to traditional supermarkets, which face market share pressure from behemoths such as Wal-Mart and Target, as well as nimble competitors with food offerings such as Family Dollar and Dollar General.

Wal-Mart overtook Harris Teeter last year to become the region's No. 1 grocery seller, edging the hometown with 21.5 percent market share vs. 21.1 percent. And Wal-Mart has been going after Harris Teeter aggressively this year, with an advertising campaign highlighting differences in price.



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7421 E. Independence Boulevard
(Props to an alert reader for sending me a message after seeing this in the Biz Journal while I was out of town.)

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

And there will be 300 TV's displaying commercials at every isle telling you what you need to purchase.

Anonymous said...

FANTASTIC!

My condo is a 7-minute walk from this location. My wife and I both have disabilities which prevent us from being able to drive, so getting groceries has been problematic at times. We have been using Lettuce Carry since they opened. Lettuce Carry is fabulous - competitive prices, superior customer service and the convenience of home delivery - but the selection is more limited. Having this Wal-Mart market within walking distance will allow me to easily pick up whatever we need that we can't get from Lettuce Carry. So for me, this is great news.

Anonymous said...

I shopped at one of these mini-WalMarts down in Gulf Shores, Alabama. They are going to put a lot of pressure on the drug stores like CVS and Walgreens.

Anonymous said...

Well, they've killed all the department stores (Belk, Sears, Penneys, etc.) now they're going after the few supermarkets that their "Supercenters" haven't already killed. Word of warning. They're already after the Dollar Generals and Family Dollar stores with their "Wal Mart Express" stores.

Anonymous said...

@Anon at 8:35AM - Penneys and Sears did it to themselves, Penneys in particular. I was just at a Belk at the Southpark Mall over the weekend. Didn't look killed off to me. Why not also place blame on the Forever 21's, Charlotte Russe, HHGregg, Costco etc, that make shopping easier and more affordable than the "killed off" stores you mentioned? Sounds like you have a bias...

Anonymous said...

7:58 AM

Gulf Shores Al has a huge nice Super Walmart just built in 2004 on main drag heading toward the ocean and been in it a 100 times.

Where is this mini-Walmart located? Never saw it. When did they build it?
Never saw one at Orange Beach either.


Also the proposed mini on Independence if its not just speculation seems way to close to the Super Walmart just a mile down the road.

Sounds like somebody got bogus info

Anonymous said...

Belk in most places except SouthPark is very small and carries mostly their own label items. Very few name brand and NOTHING like SouthParks! I Love SouthPark Belk.

Walmart is awful, they sell garbage and they really aren't that cheap if you know how to shop. I rarely shop there for food or clothes and other items and choose Harris Teeter, Belk, Dick's Sporting Goods, produce stands and local fare instead and come out ahead.

Anonymous said...

Walmart wants to be the only store period. Yes they do kill off competitioin. I saw this first hand in Oklahoma. In the Oklahoma City metro area at one time we had 60 Walmart Supercenters, Division one stores, and Neighborhood markets. They move into an area and within a year every independent grocer is gone. Dollar General and Family Dollar type stores are the only ones currently cutting into their business and they don't like it.

Anonymous said...

WalMart is destroying America.

Anonymous said...

If I remember correctly the one in the Gulf Shores area is in Orange Beach near Hazel's...

Jeff said...

Ely, do you know anything about why the old Texas Roadhouse on South Blvd was torn down? Any idea what's in store for that site (CATS parking)?

Anonymous said...

Interesting that to some successful enterprise is ruinous and to be looks at with disdain! When did the free market enterprise system take on such a negative response! Go Walmart! If you do not like the store or its products, do not shop there! Make that decision for yourself. But for heaven's sake, stop criticising businesses just for their success. They employ people and make a profit for the stockholders!

Anonymous said...

If you think you're too good to shop Wal Mart I have no problem with that. It's your money, spend it where you desire. I'll shop Wal Mart and purchase the same items at a lower price than you pay at your over priced "upper end" store.
It's hillarious that people keep saying Wal Mart kills mom & pop stores. Wal Mart started as a mom & pop operation. Sam & Helen were smarter mom & pops, the American way unless you're a flaming liberal.

Anonymous said...

It's not about 'flaming liberals'. It's about predatory capitalism. If you don't know the difference you know nothing about history or economics.

Walmart doesn't get my money. They are basically China-mart. I'll keep my money closer to home, thankyouverymuch. That's just MY choice.

Anonymous said...

It's not about 'flaming liberals'. It's about predatory capitalism. If you don't know the difference you know nothing about history or economics.

Walmart doesn't get my money. They are basically China-mart. I'll keep my money closer to home, thankyouverymuch. That's just MY choice.

Anonymous said...

Interesting to see them put a grocery store there when there is an 'international food' store in the same center (unless it closed - it was the smelliest place in town).

But I would suspect being across the street from Family Dollar (great, clean store, easy to shop), and the CVS on the corner, would put this in perfect sights for the Walmart folks.

Anonymous said...

LOL

Walmart KING - Lowest prices on earth - The international Giant Box and 1st trillion dollar corp with 4 million employees worldwide

10-1 odds those talking trash about it are the first in the door and last to leave - No sweat - We dont care if you go there 5 times a week -Go for it

Nobody wants in their area but love in when its in others areas


ps You can still shop at the little small guys like Harris Teeter, Dicks, Southpark, Belk etc

Dont be such a snob

Anonymous said...

China mart huh? If that's the truth why do I find "made in China" products in Belks, Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Sears, Dillards and I could keep on naming retailers until I ran out of space? Recently I bought new bath mats. I went to Belk to find made in USA bath mats. None there. I ended up at Wal Mart and bought made in USA bath mats. So don't give me the garbage that Wal Mart is "China Mart" If they are so is almost every retailer in America and the world. Like many people I would prefer to buy American made products but when American made products, what few are left, price themselves out of the market a person is forced to but foreign made products or do without. Wal Mart is successful, not because they sell more foreign made products than other retailers, they are successful because they are a well run company. If Wal Mart can sell for less and make an acceptable profit what are your higher end retailers doing with their higher percentage profits on the same products? Maybe that's your "predatory capitalism"? You are welcome to spend your money where you desire and so am I.

Anonymous said...

Location is EXACTLY why Wal_Mart chose to locate there. I have to disagree with some commenters here: Harris Teeter was WAY TOO overpriced on lots of things when I arrived here in Sept. 2002. If you know how to shop for your grocery items, Wal-Mart is cheaper on a lot of items than many grocery stores, unless an item is on sale. You may, however, lose a lot of selection within item categories. Whenever the Wal-Mart was bumped up to a Super Center here in University, I thought it would be interesting to see how HT responded. They have gotten cheaper on a lot of things but Wal- Mart still beats them on things like cereal prices and even some of the higher end deli items. Their salads are also larger, better and cheaper than HT's, too. I don't love Wal-Mart, but until this economy gets better and salary keeps up with inflation they are a necessary evil.

As far as Wal-Mart hurting the department stores, I hardly think that to be the case. I don't think I have seen any clothing item that I would want at Wal-mart in more than 20 years. And the observation about Belk made by one previous commenter is so right- you get outside of South Park and Belk has been awful for YEARS! The department stores are killing themselves because of their clueless buyers. When I can go to the Internet and find a lot more variety for what I am looking for than I can find inside of a brick and mortar store, why bother? And I used to LOVE going to the mall.

Anonymous said...

Its gay