Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Getting Real in the Golden State: First Group of 13 Walmart Neighborhood Market Stores Opening in California This Fall

Walmart Neighborhood Market in California

We first reported in this July 2010 story [July 6, 2010: Walmart Looking for Store Sites in Northern California For 20,000 Sq-Ft Neighborhood Market by Walmart Prototype Store] that Walmart Stores, Inc. was looking for locations in California for its Walmart Neighborhood Market supermarkets, which range in size from about 30,000-45,000 square feet.

To date Walmart has operated its mega-supercenters and discount format stores only in California, many of which it's been converting over the last few years to hybrid supercenters offering food and groceries, but not its Neighborhood Market grocery stores.

We followed our July 2010 report and analysis piece up with other stories, like this one in January 2011 about the Bentonville, Arkansas-based global retailer's plans to launch its Walmart Neighborhood Market format in the Golden State. In the January piece and in others, we reported on specific locations in California where Walmart would be opening its Neighborhood Market stores.

It's been a long reportage road from our first reports in 2010 about the mega-retailer's plans to open Walmart Neighborhood Market supermarkets in California to the present.

But it's been a fruitful journey.

Why? Because Walmart Store's, Inc. has now announced - and in our case confirmed because many of the store locations it's announced are those we already reported on - the first Walmart Neighborhood Market locations it plans to open, beginning this fall, in California.

Inside a Walmart Neighborhood Market supermarket. Photo courtesy Walmart Stores, Inc.

Below are the locations of those 13 (Walmart obviously isn't superstitious) supermarkets, along with all the key data grocery industry wonks and consumers alike like to see.

Walmart has other Neighborhood Market locations already booked in California, a couple of which are mentioned in our previous stories. In addition, the retailer is looking for more sites for its Walmart Neighborhood Market supermarkets throughout California.

We will be writing about Walmart's launch of its Walmart Neighborhood Market supermarkets in California from now until the end of the year, including reporting on some of those additional locations.

We'll be using this header: 'Walmart Neighborhood Market in California,' in those stories.

As of today we expect the first Walmart Neighborhood Market stores in California to open in the October-November time period. One of the first, if not the first unit, will be in Lincoln, California near Sacramento, where Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opened a store in March 2012.

Walmart Stores, Inc. currently has 168 Neighborhood Market stores in the U.S., with plans to double the store- count over the next couple years. As we've said a number of times in Fresh & Easy Buzz, California will play a major role at Walmart in the growing of that store-count. Stay tuned.

[Read our extensive four-plus years of reporting, analysis and commentary about Walmart Stores, Inc., including its Walmart Neighborhood Market and other smaller format grocery stores at the following links: , , , .]

The Walmart Neighborhood Market supermarket (an urban version) in Chicago's West Loop Neighborhood, which opened earlier this year. The store is about 31,000 square feet. Photo courtesy blog.chicagoarchitecture.info.

Walmart Neighborhood Market in California
Walmart Neighborhood Market - 13 Confirmed California Store Locations
Confirmation sources: Delia Garcia, Walmart West. Steven Ristivo, Walmart Stores, Inc., senior director of community affairs.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

1. City: Los Angeles
County: Los Angeles
Address: Corner Grand Avenue and Ceasar Chavez Avenue. Downtown, on outskirts of Chinatown.
Square-footage: 33K. Ground floor of senior citizens' residential complex.
Current target opening: Early-to-mid-2013. Construction to begin summer 2012

2. City: Huntington Beach
County: Orange
Address: Corner Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue. Former Rite-Aid drug store building
Square-footage: 31K
Current target opening: August 2012

3. City: Rancho Santa Margarita
County: Orange
Address: 30491 Avenida de Las Flores. Avenida de los Flores and Antonio Parkway
Square-footage: 33K
Current target opening: August 2012

4. City: Camarillo
County: Ventura
Address: Camarillo Town Shopping Center. 275 West Ventura Boulevard. Vacant Linens and Things building
Square-footage: 34-36K
Current target opening: Late 2012

5. City: San Diego
County: San Diego
Address: Logan Heights. Imperial Avenue between 21rst and 22nd Streets, near downtown. In historic former Farmers Market building. Neighborhood is underserved by grocery stores offering fresh food and groceries at affordable prices.
Square-footage: 48,800K
Current target opening: Late 2012/Early 2013

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

San Francisco Bay Area

6. City: Pleasanton/East Bay
County: Alameda
Address: Meadow Plaza shopping center. 3112 Santa Rita Road. Santa Rita Road and Stoneridge Drive
Former Nob Hill Foods' (Raley's owned) supermarket building. Near Safeway Stores, Inc.'s corporate headquarters. Less than a mile from a Safeway store and a Fresh & Easy market.
Square-footage: 31K
Current targeted opening: Late 2012/Early 2013

7. City: San Ramon/East Bay
County: Contra Costa
Address: Country Club Village Shopping Center. 9100 Alcosta Boulevard. Former Ralphs' supermarket and La Asia supermarket building. Closest competitor: Save Mart-owned Lucky supermarket, less than one mile away.
Square-footage: 33-36K
Current target opening: Fall 2012

8. City: Hayward/East Bay
County: Alameda
Address: 2480 Whipple Road. Former Circuit City building
Square-footage: 33-35K
Current target opening: Late 2012/Early 2013

9. City: San Jose
County: Santa Clara
Address: Westgate Mall. 1600 Saratoga Avenue
Square-footage: 38K. Recently closed Safeway store
Current target opening: Fall 2012

Sacramento Region

10. City: Sacramento
County: Sacramento
Address: Taylor Center. 2700 Marconi Avenue. Marconi Avenue and Fulton Avenue. Former Goore's children's store building. Prior to 1999, when Goore's moved in, was a the American Stores' Inc. Lucky supermarket. Goore's closed in fall 2011.
Square-footage: 32-36K*
Current target opening: Late 2012/Early 2013

11. City: Granite Bay (Roseville border)
County: Placer
Address: Sierra Oaks shopping center. Douglas and Sierra College boulevards. Former Grocery Outlet store, plus additional square-footage attached to the building but previously not used by Grocery Outlet.
Square-footage: 43K
Current target opening: Late 2012-to-early-2013

12. City: Lincoln
County: Placer
Address: Highway 65 and Second Street. Former Rainbow Market building
Square-footage: 31-32K
Current target opening: Fall 2012

13. City: Modesto
County: Stanislaus
Address: Coffee and Orangeburg shopping center. Corner Coffee Road and Orangeburg Avenue. Former Dollar Superstore building (26K sq. ft.. Plus, former Leslie Pool Supply building next door (10K sq. ft.)
Square-footage: 36K.
Current target opening: Late 2012-to-early 2013

7 comments:

James Sinclair said...

Id wager that people in the CV like walmart more than those anywhere else in the state. Oh well.

SoCalFoodBroker said...

James, actually the few supercenters Wal-Mart has in Southern California are very popular for grocery shopping. I even know a number of union employees who work for Ralphs, Vons and other union chains that shop at them for some of their groceries. LOL. What I find is many people won't admit they shop at Walmart because of some kind of a status thing. But they do.

caB said...

It is my sincere hope that Walmart's "Neighborhood Markets" hire away as many fat-headed, and fat-assed former Walmart and Safeway mgr's from FnE as they can. I'd like to enjoy my time with FnE before Tesco gives it up.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of giving up, why no post from the buzz about the investors calling for us to be abandoned? And yes, I'm a SM for fne.

Fresh & Easy Buzz said...

Anonymous April 14, 2012 9:20 AM

We've discussed the investor issues with Tesco/F&E off and on for the last couple years - so for us and our readers it's not a "new" issue, although the one firm noted in the various mainstream press stories did now specifically suggest Tesco pull the plug on F&E.

We have a piece coming up (maybe as early as tomorrow) that does mention the issue as part of the whole.

Also, Tesco reports its financials on Wednesday, including the loss for F&E. So we will be writing much about the entire issue starting before Wednesday and on and after Wednesday. Stay tuned.

What do you think of the investors wanting Tesco to pull the plug on F&E?

Do you think Tesco will break even financially with F&E by February 2013, as it says it will?

-Editor

Anonymous said...

I've been with the company for over four years and there's still a lot we can't get right. A good amount of store managers are waiting to see the fiscal results to make a decision on whether or not to get out now. I can't blame the investors for not wanting to keep throwing money at the problem. I wouldn't invest in us either.

There's no chance we break even.....

There are still too many stores taking under 100k a week. Although a few of our stores are profitable, its not enough to make up the difference. A lot of stores need to be closed to help other stores in the same area reach profitability. Also, if they cut payroll any more, our stores will barely be functioning. As it is, most stores are struggling to make it through every day.

I've been an avid reader of the buzz since 2007 and it's dis-heartening to hear breaking news from you instead of our executives. Keep up the good work.

Bootlee said...

As someone who frequents the F&E here in Lincoln, I just hope the picketers don't migrate over to WNM once it opens......I love shopping at F&E for product and meat but HATE being approached by the protesters (or even having to walk past them holding their damn signs)....though even without the Tesco issues, Wal Mart opening up means the inevitable close of F&E and I'm not sure of enough traffic to make one or the other profitable exists, let alone both.