Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has identified gaps in its business model and is taking aggressive steps to fill them. Tomorrow the giant retailer opens its first "Wal-Mart Express" store in Gentry, Ark., a commnunity within a stone's throw of company headquarters in Bentonville.
The Wal-Mart Express concept features an approximately 15,000 s.f. store which sells between 11-13,000 items. It seems the concept will be deployed primarily in markets which are too sparse to support a traditional Supercenter. Other Express stores are planned for markets such as Chicago in which building a Supercenter might be impractical. A key objective for Wal-Mart appears to be regaining market share lost to retailers such as Dollar General and Family Dollar. Besides the store in Gentry, other near-term openings are scheduled for various locations in Arkansas and North Carolina.
No word yet on whether these real estate assets will be company-owned or leased to investors.
(Read USA Today Article)
Thanks to fellow Sperry Van Ness advisor Bo Barron for tweeting this article last week.
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