Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Boaz Walmart Unveils New Design

Renovated store offers a glimpse into the next generation of shopping

BOAZ, Ala., April 12, 2010 – The Boaz Walmart, located at 1972 Highway 431, will celebrate a grand re-opening this week, giving local shoppers a glimpse of the company’s next generation of store design and customer experience. The results of a three-month remodeling project will be unveiled at the Boaz Walmart at 8 a.m. Friday, April 16. Among the many improvements are a new layout, wider aisles, low-profile shelving, bright interior paint scheme, enhanced lighting and easy-to-read signage to make the shopping experience more convenient for customers than ever before.

“We listened to our customers and have redesigned the store to make shopping at Walmart even easier,” said store manager Bobby Green.

New Layout Improves Customer Experience
The remodeled Boaz store features a more open shopping environment with wider aisles that contain no product displays. Walmart also aligned the departments that customers shop most frequently, making it quicker to purchase everyday items.

“The new layout is easier to navigate, which will save our customers time as they shop for necessities,” said Green.

Among the changes, Walmart has combined the Site-to-Store pick-up location and photo lab into a single area at the rear of the store. Customers now have ready access to these services as well as associates who can provide assistance as needed.

A bright interior paint scheme and enhanced lighting creates a more inviting shopping experience and helps define the store’s merchandise areas. Low-profile shelving creates an improved sightline and directional signage helps customers find the products they need.

Expanded Departments Add Value and Savings
The remodel also brings Walmart customers an expanded electronics department featuring a wide selection of the latest consumer electronics and home entertainment. The new design includes a more hands-on experience for customers with interactive displays for hi-definition Blu-ray, video gaming and portable electronics. The interactive experience enables shoppers to test new technology.

A new department called Celebration Station has been added and will feature party supplies, greeting cards, balloons and helium tanks, cake supplies and gift wrap.

Wal-Mart vows to go green

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. - Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer with thousands of big box stores around the world, is looking to make those stores more environmentally friendly.

Speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference, Lee Scott, chairman of Wal-Mart's executive committee said Monday that the retailer was eyeing stores made of materials that easily revert back to the earth. Scott didn't elaborate on the plan.
A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company is also looking to use more recycled materials in the construction process. The spokesman said the company currently uses rubber in store baseboards that is made partly from old diapers, steel containing recycled components and concrete composed of 20% fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal.

The company has been criticized for its buildings in the past, especially for its tendency to build stores and then move out of them once they get too small. The empty buildings can become a headache for communities.

Scott said Wal-Mart realizes the impact this can have on towns, and is working hard to fill the spaces with other businesses once Wal-Mart moves out. He said the company has just over 100 empty stores out of over 3,000 buildings in total. That's down from over 300 empty stores a few years back.

He also said Wal-Mart has a plan to build more stores in urban areas, but that the company is facing opposition from certain segments of society that didn't want it to succeed.
0:00 /4:37Walmart's green balancing-act

'"That would be the unions," chimed in Time Inc. editor-in-chief John Huey, who was interviewing Scott at the green business conference. Unions have criticized the company for paying its employees too little.
The greening of Wal-Mart

Scott's comments were part of a wide-ranging talk with Huey on the company's plan to green up its operations.

Wal-Mart, once vilified by environmentalists for its large ecological footprint, has recently been praised in the green community for its efforts, which include commitments to use 100% renewable energy, generating zero waste at its stores and requiring its suppliers to measure their greenhouse gas output.

"The federal government isn't asking a Chinese company if they've done their carbon footprint, but Wal-Mart is," Kert Davies, research director at Greenpeace, said in an interview before the conference. "They are way ahead when it comes to this."

Davies also said the company had made big strides in reducing its energy consumption, although he said they could still do more when it comes to selling sustainable seafood and lobbying the federal government for stronger greenhouse laws.

Scott said the transition to a greener Wal-Mart did not go exactly as executives expected. He thought they would have to convince the company's rank-and-file employees on the merits of sustainability, but many of the younger workers were wondering why they hadn't done it sooner.

"We thought we were leading, but we weren't," he said. '"There were a lot of young people who were wondering when we were going to do things differently."

It's not just about saving the planet - some eco changes have paid off handsomely for the company.

Scott said repacking on certain toys has resulted in 215 fewer containers the company needs to ship each year. And an emphasis on loading trucks more efficiently has shaved 38% off the company's fuel bill.

"We were leaving 38% on the table," said Scott. "For a company that prides itself on efficiency, that was shocking."