Retail Watchers

A store in Dallas and another in Greenville have already closed earlier this year.

This store, at 6513 Meadowbrook Drive in Ft. Worth will close May 29.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/busin ... 40642.html

arizonaguy wrote:A store in Dallas and another in Greenville have already closed earlier this year.

This store, at 6513 Meadowbrook Drive in Ft. Worth will close May 29.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/busin ... 40642.html

Nice find! Honestly, I'm not surprised that this location is closing, as it is located in a declining area with little prospect for rebound any time soon. In Fort Worth, pretty much the entire area stretching from Lake Arlington at the east to TCU in the west, and between I-20 and I-30 is in some of decline due to an aging housing stock and bad schools. There is also an Albertsons and a former Kroger at Bridge St. just a couple of exits north on 820, along with a Walmart nearby at I-30/Eastchase.

According to this article, this Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market is actually closing due to an expiring lease:

Link

I wonder how long the WNM will last in Palm Desert Ca.?

Of all places to put a store that does not match your core demographic, Palm Desert (this location was formerly a Toys R Us)?

BTW this store is 1/4 mile or less from the only Whole Foods in the desert.

It's still there...weird location to be sure.

Romr123 wrote: ↑April 14th, 2022, 9:28 pm It's still there...weird location to be sure.

Looks like a very low volume operation. Maybe stuck in a lease?

Wal Mart's somewhat different center store mix in certain categories may appeal to some seasonal folks from other regions who are in the area.

I suspect the gross majority of these small format stores will close when their leases are up. Low volume is a funny thing - you can slash labor to the bone to reduce loss - but the lease termination fees are still in the millions of dollars. So it is usually not worth the trouble of closing prior unless the store is hemorrhaging cash due to high shrink.

Dependent on lease restrictions it seems like a lot of these Walmart Neighborhood Markets would be great for last mile distribution.

lake52 wrote: ↑April 15th, 2022, 5:32 pm Dependent on lease restrictions it seems like a lot of these Walmart Neighborhood Markets would be great for last mile distribution.

Most of them are already warehouse interiors with no fresh food prep areas to speak of but they do have ample walk in refrigeration, freezers, etc. It would be extremely easy to do this type of conversion. Basically close down, take out the checkstands and current shelving, and you are there. Could even keep pharmacy going to process refills etc.

storewanderer wrote: ↑April 16th, 2022, 12:52 am

lake52 wrote: ↑April 15th, 2022, 5:32 pm Dependent on lease restrictions it seems like a lot of these Walmart Neighborhood Markets would be great for last mile distribution.

Most of them are already warehouse interiors with no fresh food prep areas to speak of but they do have ample walk in refrigeration, freezers, etc. It would be extremely easy to do this type of conversion. Basically close down, take out the checkstands and current shelving, and you are there. Could even keep pharmacy going to process refills etc.

They did this (sort of) with a former Walmart Neighborhood Market in Dallas' Lower Greenville. It has been converted to a mini (cashierless) Sam's Club.

https://corporate.samsclub.com/blog/201 ... -of-retail