Wal-Mart's New Urban Store

In July, Wal-Mart opened a new discount store in White Plains, NY, a city of 57,000 residents roughly 30 miles north of Manhattan.While by no means a prototype, the store "represents an excellent example of how well the Wal-Mart concept can fit into an urban setting," according to Steve Mitchael, director of design for Wal-Mart's North-Central Division. "The store's contemporary design captures White Plains' downtown revitalization efforts and offers a product mix and layout to meet this local community's needs, while providing for a truly unique Wal-Mart shopping experience." The 179,731-square-foot store is a mix of standard Wal-Mart features and new initiatives that have been rolling out chain-wide, along with several aspects unique to the location.Among the store's unique aspects are a two-story layout situated within a nine-story structure. The building's six-level parking garage accommodates 600 vehicles and rises above the store; shoppers have three hours worth of parking fees "validated" at checkout if they make a purchase of $5 or more.Six oversized elevators bring shoppers to and from the garage. A separate automated elevator transports carts from the parking lot back to the store. Local residents also can enter the store from the street. (Wheels on shopping carts automatically lock-up if they breach sensors at store exits, to keep the carts from "ending up all over downtown," according to spokesperson.)The store comprises 36 standard general merchandise departments including apparel, health and beauty aids, household needs, toys, fabrics and crafts, jewelry and shoes. (For a complete list, view "Wal-Mart Store Directory" in Images at right.) Their sizes have been tweaked to reflect the needs of an urban community -- thus, smaller automotive and lawn & garden departments (the latter of which is heavy on the potted plants, light on the 50-pound bags of fertilizer).The store carries "for the most part, the same items you'll find in any Wal-Mart," media relations director Steven Restivo told the Institute. "But it will feature them differently" and to different degrees. For example, the store's proximity to a local university means that it displays more dorm-style furniture than usual; its location near numerous apartment complexes requires that indoor puppy training pads get more facings than they would elsewhere.The grocery department (located on the lower level) is about one-third larger than that of any other Wal-Mart discount store but "still nowhere near what a supercenter has," according to Restivo. It consists of 20 gondolas about 20 feet long and 50 cooler doors, and a small produce section catering to the "on the way home" downtown crowd with bagged salads and vegetables in containers.Among the numerous chain-wide initiatives evident within the store, the most glaring is the dramatic reduction in the number of pallet displays and four-ways along Action Alley. This is a corporate-level decision to make stores more navigable. The White Plains location has no displays in front of checkout or along most aisles; only the health & beauty and grocery departments have adjacent four-ways and pallets -- a concession to inventory volume, according to Restivo.Some Action Alley space has been usurped to provide benches throughout the store -- again to provide a more pleasant shopping experience. To that end, the store also has wider aisles, lower shelf fixtures, more space between fixtures and racks, and more products displayed out of their packaging. Some endcaps are merchandised in a style first introduced at the landmark Plano, TX, store (see Related Articles), with multiple products arranged in vignettes that reflect the range of items available in that aisle.Among other chain-wide initiatives found in the store:wood flooring in the apparel and accessories department.&nbspexpanded selections of items from the George and Metro 7 private label lines. (The store received an advance shipment of a George ME line extension that won't hit most stores until fall.) &nbspappliances in the exclusive new SELECT series from GE, which gets its own small gondola.&nbspan expanded consumer electronics department featuring recently upgraded fixtures for videogame systems, a showcase for Apple iPods and a Wal-Mart Connect area for wireless phones. &nbspbilingual signage to identify products at aisles ends and within aisles. Local demographics did not warrant Spanish on the large overheard department signs, Restivo said. &nbspsignage for organic products, both in apparel and grocery. Organic packaged foods get a green label at the shelf. (See Related Images.)&nbspan expanded baby department.&nbspthree self-serve checkout lanes in addition to 23 manned aisles. The greeting card aisle, however, features an older fixture instead of the wood units that recently have been rolling out. For the time being, there also is no Wal-Mart TV, because the building's cement ceilings won't support existing TV mounts, according to Restivo.Ancillary services include a vision center, one-hour photo lab, pharmacy, a Regal Nail Salon located in the building's lobby, and what is believed to be the largest Dunkin' Donuts within a Wal-Mart. The restaurant actually is stand-alone, connecting to the store through one threshold, and has its own entrance in the lobby.

Wal-Mart's New Urban Store

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