Wal-Mart Plans 50 Stores in Blighted Urban Areas
by April 10, 2006 12:00 am 50 views
On April 4, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced that it would build more than 50 stores in struggling urban neighborhoods over the next two years to create jobs.
CEO Lee Scott said the new stores would generate between 15,000 and 25,000 jobs and would be located in neighborhoods with high crime or unemployment rates, on sites that are environmentally contaminated, or in vacant buildings or malls in need of revitalization.
Ten of those stores will anchor “Wal-Mart Jobs and Opportunity Zones,” which will help local businesses, especially minority and women-run businesses. It’s part of what Wal-Mart calls an effort to be a “better community partner.”