Walmart announces major new store opening and remodel initiative

[storewanderer]

There is another smaller format at 78K that was recently added for Waikiki, but if there was ever a smaller format location that will do well it's that one. I believe it's a former Saks Fifth Avenue. If they just stock it with beverages, towels, swimwear, sunscreen and snacks they'd have a top volume store where they're opening. It will also serve the local high ride condos and won't need as much housewares, furniture etc. I would consider that to be a good example of intentionally choosing a smaller than normal box because of the quality of the location. A decade ago that one would open with a CityTarget sign for sure.

Otherwise most of these smaller formats seem like an attempt to fill an area on a map regardless of location quality. That's why they fail.

I thought the 65k square foot type format would work for Target but the two former Kmarts they took in Grass Valley and Placerville are... poor. Department sizes are weird, space allocations are weird, the stores are poorly stocked, they just are not good stores. I question if having these stores is even good for their brand.

Grass Valley has no competition and should be a strong store; they have way too much space for food (there are already plenty of grocery stores in Grass Valley- that Kmart wasn't even a Big Kmart- it was still a plain Kmart); they needed general merchandise especially home and seasonal type items (since there is already a JC Penney, Marshalls as I recall, there). The spacing is just off on everything. This store should do well but it would do a lot better with better merchandising. This was historically a very strong Kmart due to lack of competition, it did great until 2020 when Kmart quit stocking most of the store and the strong categories were throughout the store but food/consumables they hardly sold any of.

Placerville seems to have less space for food, also almost no seasonal (all of that is on a side wall- that side wall sort of makes sense), then they have pharmacy at the back wall with short drug/cosmetics aisles (this makes no sense and flows poorly); the overall layout and spacing in there makes no sense. There is more competition there including Wal Mart. You can tell this store isn't doing well at all. There is a dead oversized Save Mart next to this store (one of the few major remodels NorCal Albertsons did in 2000- it was a typical mid sized Lucky heavily expanded/remodeled beyond recognition made into a Grocery Palace), and the Safeway across the street is so busy/packed with customers it is difficult to park. Maybe someday Target can expand and get a full size store there and do better. The Wal Mart is jam packed. This store was not doing well as Kmart for quite some time and I was surprised it stayed open as long as it did.

[arizonaguy]

Looks like one of the new Walmart stores is going to be a 171,000 square foot supercenter in Mesa, AZ.

https://www.abc15.com/news/business/wal ... ll-in-mesa

[storewanderer]

Looks like one of the new Walmart stores is going to be a 171,000 square foot supercenter in Mesa, AZ.

https://www.abc15.com/news/business/wal ... ll-in-mesa

Excellent news. Wal Mart runs a strong operation in those western suburbs of Phoenix. Great to see a 171k square foot store.

I see a door for vision between the main non food entry and garden. This is different than typical placement between the two entrances.

[Alpha8472]

Most California Walmart stores have bricked over the Vision Center glass doors. That is how the looters broke into many Walmart stores. These stores need solid metal garage doors over all entrances.

[storewanderer]

Most California Walmart stores have bricked over the Vision Center glass doors. That is how the looters broke into many Walmart stores. These stores need solid metal garage doors over all entrances.

I guess that exit isn't a mandatory part of the fire exit plan. I haven't seen this yet. I don't think it has happened in the rural areas or even Sacramento area, but some of the later stores did not have a separate entry for vision in their design either. That is part of why I was surprised to see it on this new building.

Shoplifting out of automotive or back corner emergency exits is a big problem around Reno. A couple stores have private security standing back there every night after auto closes. The store that is supposedly removing self checkout I have witnessed multiple thefts out of various emergency exit doors there over the years, and the thefts happen and nobody does anything and the doors just stay there swung open for hours. One time in the back corner of indoor garden when I was digging through Christmas Clearance the back corner emergency exit was just open, swinging open/closed, no alarm; I was out there for close to an hour and no security ever came, nobody came to secure the door, no sign of asset protection. I think a lot of internal theft is occurring. Pay people more and this should stop.

[Alpha8472]

The retail theft rings paid people to get jobs in Asset Protection for Walmart. Many people were fired for that.

Many Walmart stores now have the new systems where each fire exit has a camera and the shopping cart wheels lock when carts get close to the fire exit doors.

Some Walmart stores in the San Francisco Bay Area closed their Auto centers and sealed the doors. There are some that have roll down metal doors over all entrances including Auto.

[storewanderer]

The retail theft rings paid people to get jobs in Asset Protection for Walmart. Many people were fired for that.

Many Walmart stores now have the new systems where each fire exit has a camera and the shopping cart wheels lock when carts get close to the fire exit doors.

Some Walmart stores in the San Francisco Bay Area closed their Auto centers and sealed the doors. There are some that have roll down metal doors over all entrances including Auto.

This is a good idea if they can seal those and still comply with fire code somehow. I feel like the cameras at fire exits don't deter much, of course they're necessary and they give valuable footage when you go press charges (except more recently the mask issue). I've just seen too much.

The locking cart wheels stop small time thieves.

I noticed Burlington in Reno (not closing) has a security guard stationed by one of the fire exits standing there. It is a low traffic part of the store with little merchandise even stocked. That looks like the most boring job, I am surprised the guard could stay awake.

[ClownLoach]

The retail theft rings paid people to get jobs in Asset Protection for Walmart. Many people were fired for that.

Many Walmart stores now have the new systems where each fire exit has a camera and the shopping cart wheels lock when carts get close to the fire exit doors.

Some Walmart stores in the San Francisco Bay Area closed their Auto centers and sealed the doors. There are some that have roll down metal doors over all entrances including Auto.

This is a good idea if they can seal those and still comply with fire code somehow. I feel like the cameras at fire exits don't deter much, of course they're necessary and they give valuable footage when you go press charges (except more recently the mask issue). I've just seen too much.

The locking cart wheels stop small time thieves.

I noticed Burlington in Reno (not closing) has a security guard stationed by one of the fire exits standing there. It is a low traffic part of the store with little merchandise even stocked. That looks like the most boring job, I am surprised the guard could stay awake.

Another problem is thieves setting fires. Social media indicates there is a rash of thieves lighting the Walmart toilet paper and paper towel aisles on fire so they can try to sneak out of the store with large amounts of merchandise unnoticed in the chaos. This apparently happened at a fully remodeled Walmart in Rialto recently. Walmart needs to install localized fire sprinklers or extinguisher systems in these paper racks to put out these fires immediately without flooding or excessive smoke damage on new build and remodel stores. There have been so many fires in the news the last few years in retail stores large and small... I can think of 6 different fires set to cover shoplifting between 2019 and 2023 in my last company all of which were total losses of the merchandise storewide due to smoke and water damage, two stores were just permanent closures. These scumbags destroy millions of dollars to steal a few hundred, and as long as the stores aren't making appropriate changes to stop the problem they are running the eventual risk of death(s) occurring in a shoplifter set fire event.

[Alpha8472]

There were many Walmart fires in the San Francisco Bay Area over the years. The worst was in 2020 when the San Leandro Walmart was burned so badly it took 4 months to rebuild.

[ClownLoach]

There were many Walmart fires in the San Francisco Bay Area over the years. The worst was in 2020 when the San Leandro Walmart was burned so badly it had to took 4 months to rebuild.

Target has experienced at least two of these fires in the last year that caused extended closures just in SoCal, and I think there were more of them shared on social media. One burned the Menifee SuperTarget which is one of the top ten stores in the company and the absolute #1 "Super" location in the chain. It was closed for about three months and all the merchandise inside was a total loss. Thankfully the criminal responsible was arrested and last I heard he was going away for over a decade because of the countless felony charges for people injured in the evacuation, Arson, attempted murder, destroying tens of millions of dollars of merchandise, etc. - they pretty much threw the book at him as deserved. Another was in Buena Park blocks from Knott's Berry Farm. These fires are out of control and if something is not done about it they're going to lead to more closures. The Home Depot in San Jose that burned a couple of years ago still has not been replaced and I'm going to guess won't ever reopen. The second one of these stores is burned in an area where the local DA has a soft on crime approach, and there isn't any real punishment, that market is going to see an exodus of every major retailer. They'll have to leave because otherwise it's just a ticking time bomb.