Wal-Mart Opens a Refreshed Neighborhood Market

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opened a 36,000 SF Neighborhood Market store near the upscale Pinnacle Hills area of Rogers June 24. About 250 Wal-Mart associates and business people showed up for the ribbon-cutting.

The store is in the area known as the District at Pinnacle Hills. The retailer purchased six acres from Pinnacle Investments in 2008. Crossland Construction Co. acted as the contractor on the project and purchased a building permit for the store valued at $5.5 million in October 2008.

In addition to being the only nearby grocery store to serve the posh Champions and Shadow Valley subdivisions, the store will be a testing ground for some product offerings and concepts new to the Neighborhood Market brand. The layout is similar to the newest layout of some of the retailer’s Supercenters, with lower shelves, wider aisles and brighter lighting.  

Gift items such as birthday cards and party supplies are near a front entrance, as are self-serve photo kiosks by both Kodak and Fuji.

Also closer to the front door is an expanded deli case with new ready-to-go offerings that, on opening day, included chicken parmesan and a fresh-looking “poppy seed” slaw. The deli case’s standard offerings are there plus a larger variety of meats and cheeses, along with made-to-order sandwiches and fresh-baked pizza by-the-slice.

A little farther from the front door, but still attached to the deli area is a new NM Cafe, where signage states “we proudly brew Starbucks.” The offerings aren’t as broad as a traditional Starbucks store, but there is a selection of muffins, sweet breads and coffee notions.

Part of the cafe is a short cold case that displays a colorful selection of Ciao Bella gelatos, a first for Wal-Mart, said Ambar Perulta, a store manager in training.

There’s a small seating area with wireless Internet access adjacent to the cafe.

A revamped bakery area is designed to show off artisan breads with everything from an asiago cheese bread to an “everything” French loaf.

All of the new offerings succeed in looking nicer than previous store fixtures without appearing too upscale.

Henry Jordan, regional general manager and vice president for Wal-Mart, said the store has taken advantage of some ideas the retailer has learned through testing its Marketside concept — some of the signage in the deli contains a Marketside logo.

On the exterior of the store, the Neighborhood Market signage is now accompanied with the tag “by Walmart” along with the retailer’s new “spark” logo.

On June 10, the East Valley Tribune of Phoenix noted the company had added “by Walmart” to company’s Marketside signage, so it appears the company is making efforts to cash in on its own brand equity.

Wal-Mart does not break out sales figures for Neighborhood Markets, which it lumps into its Wal-Mart U.S. division, or by groceries. But in its annual report it did state that “strength in groceries, health and wellness, and entertainment categories” contributed to sales increases in fiscal 2009. Total net sales at all U.S. stores were up 6.8 percent for the company’s 2009.

At the end of its fiscal 2009, which ended Jan. 31, the company operated 153 Neighborhood Markets, up from 85 in 2005. Still, Wal-Mart closed two Neighborhood Markets last year.

According to its annual report, the company projects it will open 25 Neighborhood Markets in fiscal 2010.

As for environmental initiatives at the new Rogers store, Perulta said there is a retaining wall at the rear of the store that was built using recycled plastic bottles, as were the chairs in the cafe’s seating area.

Other environmentally-friendly aspects include: high-efficiency, low-water urinals; water warmed with heat coming off the store’s air conditioning units; and moisture monitoring in the green spaces out in the parking lot, so that automatic sprinklers don’t water during a rain.

The mulch used in the green spaces outside is made of chopped-up wooden pallets, Perulta said.

Much of the 85-acre District surrounding the new store is in foreclosure.

There is a Harps grocery store planned directly across the street from the Neighborhood Market.