Wal-Mart Plans New Hispanic Supermarket Format

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores here told SN yesterday it plans to open a pair of Hispanic-focused supermarkets in the next few months in converted Neighborhood Market locations in Phoenix and Houston. Amy Wyatt-Moore, a spokeswoman, said the conversions are part of the company’s store-refresh program “to better serve the diverse needs of the local community.”

The stores will operate under the name Supermercado de WalMart and are scheduled to open during the first half of the year. They will feature new layouts, signs and product assortments “designed to make them even more relevant to local Hispanic customers,” Wyatt-Moore said.

Trade reports said the pilot stores will each be 39,000 square feet and will feature bilingual staff. Wal-Mart previously announced plans for a Hispanic-oriented Sam’s Club, called Mas Club, slated to open later this year in Houston.

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