Skip to content
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]
  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, Massachusetts
Search
Close
Sprawl-busters
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
    • Links
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Home Towns, Not Home Depot
    • The Case Against Sprawl
  • Victories
  • Blog
    • Share Your Battle
  • Contact
  • Uncategorized

Wal-Mart Cuts A Superstore In Half To Get Intimate

  • Al Norman
  • January 11, 2009
  • No Comments

Wal-Mart is getting more “intimate” with its customers. Part of Wal-Mart’s corporate makeover has involved increasing attention to scaling down the huge scale of its superstores. Company officials have stated that the retailer plans to build smaller supercenters in the future, perhaps responding to a preference of many shoppers for a smaller, less hectic and confusing shopping experience. Smaller stores are also more appealing environmentally, because they have a smaller footprint, waste less land, and use less energy. In Forest Park, Ohio, Wal-Mart has actually implemented the vision of a “smaller, kinder” Wal-Mart. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the existing Wal-Mart supercenter in Forest Park, Ohio has been cut from 220,000 s.f. to 127,000 s.f — 57% of its original size. The store, located on Smiley Road, has been remodeled and shrunk by 93,000 s.f. According to the Enquirer, the ‘new look’ at Wal-Mart includes: the corporation’s new one word logo, a concrete floor with fly ash to reduce the amount of that byproduct going into landfills; a roof loaded with skylights to reduce the cost of lighting; refrigerated cases that light up as shoppers approach; wider aisles and lower shelving; wood-grained kiosks to give displays a warmer feel; faux awnings along one whole wall above the bakery to give shoppers a better sense of place. Diagonal aisles lead grocery shoppers to nearby cosmetics and jewelry counters. Shelving is capped at 6 feet so shoppers can see product signs across the width and length of the store. Similar products are collected into zones. “We have a very focused and calibrated store,” a Wal-Mart spokesman told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We listened to our customers, listened to their feedback. We wanted to understand what their needs were and wanted an environment that was more intimate and created a convenient shopping experience.” Wal-Mart says the smaller superstore produces a larger average purchase per visit, and more satisfied customers. “What Wal-Mart has discovered is that 200,000 square feet plus isn’t what they needed. They can still sell just as much but on a smaller footprint. You can shave building and operation costs down significantly,” one spokesman at developer Phillips-Edison told the newspaper.

According to the Enquirer newspaper, this Forest Park store “may represent the future for hundreds of aging and even newer Wal-Mart stores built in suburban communities.” The smaller layout allows customers to shop more quickly, and is easier to walk around for older shoppers who will make up an increasing share of the population. The Wal-Mart spokesman would not confirm that the retailer was using this Ohio model as a prototype for future stores. “Will this be rolled out elsewhere in the region? I can’t answer that question,” the spokesman said. “What we do know is this: We’re seeing a lift in our scores for cleanliness, satisfaction and merchandising.” Readers are urged to email Wal-Mart customer service at http://walmartstores.com/ContactUs/Feedback.aspx with the following message: “Dear Wal-Mart, Congratulations on cutting down the size of your superstore in Forest Park, Ohio. The smaller footprint store is good for customers, good for the environment, and good for neighbors. It’s a wonder you didn’t think of this earlier. How about applying this same concept to the rest of your over-sized superstores in America? Think how refreshing it would be to have Wal-Mart — as part of its sustainability effort — announce that all of its superstores were being downsized to answer its customers need for an easier, more intimate place to shop, and in response to neighbors across America who don’t want a huge superstore tying up traffic and increasing crime in their community. Small is Beautiful, Wal-Mart. Keep getting smaller, as you did in Forest Park. It could even save you millions of dollars in legal battles against small town groups who try to keep you out. So ‘get smaller if you want my dollar.'”

Like this article?

Share on facebook
Share on Facebook
Share on twitter
Share on Twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on Linkdin
Share on pinterest
Share on Pinterest
Al Norman

Al Norman

Al Norman first achieved national attention in October of 1993 when he successfully stopped Wal-Mart from locating in his hometown of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Almost 3 decades later they is still not Wal-Mart in Greenfield. Norman has appeared on 60 Minutes, was featured in three films, wrote 3 books about Wal-Mart, and gained widespread media attention from the Wall Street Journal to Fortune magazine. Al has traveled throughout the U.S., Barbados, Puerto Rico, Ireland, and Japan, helping dozens of local coalitions fight off unwanted sprawl development. 60 Minutes called Al “the guru of the anti-Wal-Mart movement.”

Leave a comment

Find Us

  • 21 Grinnell St, Greenfield, MA
  • (413) 834-4284
  • [email protected]

Helpful Links

  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
Menu
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

CHRISTIAN SMALLS, FIRED AMZN WAREHOUSE WORKER, FILES RACE DISCRIMATION LAWSUIT. …

November 16, 2020

DUE TO THE SURGE IN CORONA CASES, WMT IS LIMITING SHOPPERS TO 5 PER 1,000 SF. A…

November 16, 2020

AMAZON RECENTLY ANNOUNCED FREE 1 HOUR GROCERY PICK UP FOR PRIME MEMBER ORDERS &g…

November 15, 2020

AFTER BEING REJECTED BY THE DEERFIELD, MA PLANNING BOARD, DOLLAR GENERAL APPEALS…

November 15, 2020

WILL TRUMP ALLOW ORACLE & WALMART TO INVEST IN TIK TOK? The deadline to ban …

November 14, 2020

AMAZON ACCUSED OF BREAKING ANTITRUST RULES IN EUROPE. “Data of 3rd-party sellers…

November 14, 2020

WALMART PET CARE NOW SELLING PET INSURANCE. My 3 year old mixed breed cat would …

November 13, 2020

WALMART’S GOING TO THE DOGS. 90 M OF ITS CUSTOMERS HAVE DOGS. You’d be Goofy not…

November 13, 2020

WALMART CASHIERS STILL LOOKING FOR A SEAT. They won a $65 M lawsuit in 2019, but…

November 12, 2020

4 DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,THE CO-FOUNDER OF HOME DEPOT SAID: “Pres…

November 12, 2020

Recent Tweets

Al Norman 13 hours ago

TRUMPUBLICANS: “I am not starting a new party...No. Wouldn't that be brilliant? Let's start a new party & let's divide our vote so that you can never win. No, we're not interested in that.” https://t.co/nqeNiYsi4z

Read More
Al Norman 13 hours ago

TRUMP tells CPAC: “We will fight the onslaught of radicalism, socialism, & indeed it all leads to communism once and for all. That's what it leads to.” https://t.co/B0mvwy4Bui

Read More
Al Norman 14 hours ago

PLATFORM WARS: AMZN buys Selz, which helps small biz to create online stores. WMT partners with BigCommerce to attract more small biz to WMT’s platform. Shopify calls itself the #1 e-commerce platform to help biz start their own online store. https://t.co/UfHkj9eB42

Read More

Ⓒ 2020 - All Rights Are Reserved

Design and Development by Just Peachy Web Design

Download Our Free Guide

Download our Free Guide

Learn How To Stop Big Box Stores And Fulfillment Warehouses In Your Community

The strategies written here were produced by Sprawl-Busters in 2006 at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), mainly for citizen groups that were fighting Walmart. But the tips for fighting unwanted development apply to any project—whether its fighting Dollar General, an Amazon warehouse, or a Home Depot.

Big projects, or small, these BATTLEMART TIPS will help you better understand what you are up against, and how to win your battle.