Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart [image-nocss] is gearing up for a move into c-stores in urban markets such as Chicago and Los Angeles, seeking to revitalize its growth domestically. CEO Bill Simon has said the expansion plans, to be outlined next month, will include stores similar to those it runs in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. Commercial real-estate brokers said Wal-Mart has begun scouting for sites for 20,000 to 50,000-square foot stores in a several urban markets, including Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area in northern California, as well as in Reno, Detroit and other cities.
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"We've never been a cookie-cutter retailer, but we are increasingly realizing that one size doesn't fit all," John Griffith, executive vice president of property management at Target, told the news agency.
The new Seattle store will be about 90,000 square feet. The new urban prototype will range anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 square feet. A typical Target store ranges in size from 125,000 to 180,000 square feet.
Company officials made the announcement Friday at a media conference at Target Field, the Minneapolis ballpark, said the report.
Target opened its first urban store in Chicago in 1994 and now operates about 150 stores in cities with more than 100,000 people within two miles. In July, it opened its first store in Manhattan, though the size was in line with the regular stores.
The new format represents Target's new approach to urban markets, the report said. The company is making the store fit the site, not the "site fit the store." The new prototype will be in essence a mini-Target, offering a broad array of merchandise from fashion to home furnishings, but it will focus on daily essentials.
Friday's event featured presentations from a series of executives, including CEO and Chairman Gregg Steinhafel and Chief Financial Officer Doug Scovanner, as well as a slew of merchandising executives who offered details of holiday plans, advertising strategies and other initiatives.
Company officials said that they have noticed that the expanded food areas have brought shoppers into the store, and they are then shopping across the aisles, picking up fashions and home furnishings.
Target generated annual revenue of $65.4 billion in its latest fiscal year, little less than one quarter of Wal-Mart's business, AP said. The Minneapolis-based company operates more than 1,700 stores, including 240 Super Targets.
The redesigned Target stores in the Twin Cities metro area feature an open-market grocery layout, stocked with a selection of fresh produce, fresh meat and baked goods. The new layout also includes reinventions in several other areas throughout the store such as beauty, home, shoes and electronics.
The increased fresh food selection is designed to make fill-in shopping "quick and easy for guests on-the-go." Each store offers a selection of national food brands and Target private-label brands. The redesigns include a curated assortment of product, offering 90% of the categories found in a SuperTarget, interactive displays and wider aisles.
"Target developed these concepts in response to guest feedback. This is one of the many ways we're evolving our store design to deliver one-stop shopping and convenience for our guests," said Annette Miller, senior vice president, merchandising for Target.
In 2010, Target will add approximately 350 new and remodeled locations nationwide, it said.
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