Wal-Mart Opens Neighborhood Market With Enhanced HBC

Jan 18, 2007 12:00 AM

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores opened a newly designed Neighborhood Market-format store in Tulsa, Okla., yesterday. The 39,000-square-foot store marks the first of its design to open in the U.S., based on months of customer research on the company's Neighborhood Market concept, Wal-Mart said. The most noticeable changes to the format are in the HBC and grocery sections, the company said. "Our health and beauty department has probably undergone the most dramatic change within the store," said Pam Kohn, senior vice president of the Wal-Mart Stores Southeast division and leader of Neighborhood Markets. "We want our female customers to feel this is a place in their store created especially for them." Concave fixtures, wider aisles and new "towers" that can display the latest trends in health and beauty along with signage and product placement work together to help customers better identify selections, the company said. The location of the health and beauty section has changed to be closer to the pharmacy and stationery departments. The grocery area features a streamlined deli area. Organics and fresh produce selections have increased and the bakery was designed to have a "warm" feel. There are more freezer doors, holding additional frozen food items, than in any other Neighborhood Market store today. Along with wood trim, photography highlights selections and departments. The company will be testing consumer reaction and the success of its new design, starting in Tulsa, as it focuses on the brand for continued growth in the U.S.