Wal-Mart looks to Hispanic market
By Jonathan Birchall

Published: March 12 2009 18:03 | Last updated: March 12 2009 18:03

Wal-Mart plans to open its first Hispanic-focused supermarkets this summer in Arizona and Texas as the largest US retailer continues its drive to expand its dominance of the US grocery business.

The pilot stores, named Supermercado de Walmart, will open in Phoenix and Houston in remodelled 39,000 sq ft locations occupied previously by two of Wal-Mart’s Neighborhood Market stores.

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Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club warehouse store also plans to open a 143,000 sq ft Hispanic-focused store called Más Club in Houston this year.

Several leading regional US supermarket chains already operate Hispanic store brands, including Publix in Florida, which operates three Publix Sabor markets, and HEB in Texas, which opened a Mi Tienda store in Houston in 2006.

The markets include elements such as cafés serving Latino pastries and coffee, and full service meat and fish counters.

Leading retailers are also pursuing Hispanic consumers online, with Best Buy and Home Depot having launched Spanish-language versions of their e-commerce sites in recent months.

Eduardo Castro-Wright, the head of Wal-Mart’s US stores since 2005, has also been an advocate of testing new smaller, more focused formats, and raised the idea of turning the Neighbourhood Market into a Hispanic-style bodega concept several years ago.

He has also developed Wal-Mart’s efforts to customise its larger Supercenter stores, which have been grouped according to differing community profiles, such as urban, suburban, Hispanic and African-American, with customised merchandise.

A 195,000 sq ft Supercenter that opened in Texas last year included a tortilleria bakery, Hispanic foods and a larger selection of Spanish-language music and DVDs.

Mr Castro-Wright was previously head of Wal-Mart’s Mexican subsidiary, whose store network ranges from large US-style Supercenters to small local bodegas, an upmarket supermarket chain and two restaurant chains.

Last year, Wal-Mart also began testing four new 10,000 sq ft Marketside convenience grocery stores in the Phoenix area – its first new format in a decade. Tesco, the UK retailer, also has more than 25 of its small Fresh & Easy markets in the Phoenix area.

WELL MY THOUGHTS , in away, i hate to catter to them , but i dont see a store here in any near future, if it was it would be in a more populated area that has more construction where more are, but there are some here, anyway the up side is they may go there so i dont have to look at them, in my store,gee u think sam houston is turning over in his grave lol,, talk care,
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bd371350-0f2c-11de-ba10-0000779fd2ac.html

Wal-Marts here already carry long isles of Hispanic music, and food sections. With the huge influx of hispanics everywhere, of course Wal-Mart with capitalize and cater. We should be so lucky these government handout leaches would go back across the border.

i have not notice the music, but i havent bought cds in a long while,,, in the grocery section they do have a small place labled latino ,,but its small,

I do dislike wal-mart who fooled us about american made, i do not support this company i avoid it as much as i can,they make me ashamed this is happening here~ bring back our personal owned drug stores/groceries~

well walmart has shut down a fairly new winn dixie store, the one i traded at, and the drug store in it, then it shut down a food world, store, that is or was a main grocery chain, now its shutting down another foodworld that was farther down the highway,, for a long time we did not have a super center, only a regular walmart, but now, the city closest to me gave them property, to put the super center, but lots of smaller like dollar stores seem to open around them and seem to be doing well, my believe is as i trade at them is because they are easy in and out, with out the long lines at walmart, walmart has a problem keeping cashiers, , i talked to some management about it, they loose 5 cashiers a week, and if they hire 10 they only keep 2 as a rule, the others dont work out, now walmart if u have insurance like mine, i get meds generic for 10 bucks, walmart does them for 4 bucks for the list, not all mine are on the list, but i like my drug store, i can call, and its a new building they moved in and has a drive thru, and it easier, they will fill a script a couple days early as long as the insurance goes through which it does, but our work, has posted the walmart 4 buck thing at work, with what med u can get on it, to hold our insurance prices down, lol, but my drug store matched the 90 day one for 10 bucks for 90 day supply when i mentioned walmart would do it for that amount, but they are cheep pills, i dont think or i know on them they dont even use the insurance.
i use the local hardware stores if i need someone that knows there shit, lol,

haha I know rosco. most wal-martees don't know their shit

I know it is to late ,probably for small business

but we need to stop this wal mart,would that be socialism??I think so.. Control!!

walmart will not be stopped,just no way,, they earned it they market well even closed some kmarts, and they are of the same kind of store, mine is always full , they market to well, and will keep expanding, i dont like macdonalds , i dont like the food, i like other places better, but they are doing well in the economy and i heard plan on building 600 more places,

I think anything can be stopped.. boycott~ like the Boston tea partyLOL u have to want to

Americans have got to get off their lazy tushes~ and speak out

ur wasting ur breath about walmart, not everyone does not like them, a country wide boycott of walmart, that should be in the joke section, lots of ppl i work with go to sams club ,, u know sam walton, but we dont have 0ne close,

Amen Rosco, Wal-Mart has ridden out many an internal storm and is growing stronger every day..boycott..hahaha...never happen