Walmart to open supercentres

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2011 (5545 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bring on the grocery wars: Walmart Canada is bringing its supercentre concept to Manitoba, with three Winnipeg stores set to include full grocery sections by later this year.

The company announced Wednesday it plans to open another 40 supercentres in Canada this year. Three existing Winnipeg outlets — the Winnipeg Centre, Winnipeg South and Winnipeg West stores — will be renovated and converted to the supercentre model.

The supercentres will carry general merchandise products as well as a full grocery line, including fresh meat and vegetables. Company spokeswoman Susan Schutta said the conversions will be completed sometime this summer.

The new supercentres will offer the same competitive pricing on grocery items as the company offers on general merchandise, said Schutta. That’s going to lead to lower prices at other grocery stores in the city, she said.

“When we open our supercentres, we tend to see prices drop across the board with our competitors in that market,” she said. “So it’s a good-news story for consumers.” Schutta also predicted the addition of fresh fruit, meat and baked goods to the grocery offering will draw more customers to the converted stores.

The three Winnipeg stores and three in Quebec were the only ones Walmart publicly identified on Wednesday. The other 34 locations have not been finalized, said Schutta, but some could also be in Manitoba.

“Specific store locations will be announced over the coming weeks and months,” the Mississauga-based company said in a statement.

Walmart Canada has six Winnipeg stores and seven in rural Manitoba (Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Dauphin, Flin Flon, Thompson, Selkirk and Winkler). Early last year, the company sought city approval to expand two of its other Winnipeg stores — at Regent Avenue and Lagimodiere Boulevard and at 2370 McPhillips St. — and convert them to supercentres.

Schutta wouldn’t say if the company still plans to convert those two outlets. A City of Winnipeg spokeswoman said Walmart did submit permit applications for the two locations, but hasn’t taken any of the other necessary steps, like paying for the permits. No applications have been received for the company’s sixth Winnipeg store, at Kenaston and McGillivray boulevards, the spokeswoman said.

Walmart Canada opened its first supercentres in Ontario in 2006.The company’s announcement comes just weeks after U.S.-based Target Corp. said it would take over up to 220 of the leases at current Zellers locations across Canada and open its first stores in 2013. Target has not confirmed whether it will bring its grocery format, Super-Target, to Canada, but analyst Keith Howlett of Desjardins Securities does not predict a big rollout. Target has been selective about where it opens the stores in the United States, he said, opening in communities that have relatively weak food store competition or are growing quickly.

Toronto retail analyst John Winter said he doesn’t expect Target will be a strong supercentre competitor, at least initially. Most of the buildings the company is taking over in Canada are too small for the supercentre concept, he said, and Target would have to develop new distribution chains to incorporate fresh meat or produce.

Walmart’s expansion has already led to lower prices at Canada Safeway, which cut prices on thousands of items in early 2010.

And Walmart may also be having an effect on Loblaw, owner of the Real Canadian Superstore chain. Loblaw recently announced it will build 20 stand-alone Joe Fresh clothing stores in Canada, but Winter said the company seems to be steering away from new supercentres.

 

— with files from Postmedia News

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca lindsey.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

 

Attention, Walmart shoppers

— What’s a supercentre?

Also known as a superstore or hypermarket, a supercentre stocks general merchandise and a full grocery line. “It’s an extraordinarily efficient way to distribute goods,” said Toronto retail analyst John Winter. In Winnipeg, the concept is already in place in Real Canadian Superstores.

 

— Which Winnipeg Walmarts will become supercentres?

Three locations are confirmed: the Winnipeg South store at St. Mary’s Road and Bishop Grandin Boulevard, the Winnipeg Central store at Empress Street and Ellice Avenue and the Winnipeg West store at Portage Avenue and Buchanan Boulevard. More could still be announced.

 

— Who started the superstore?

The concept was pioneered in Michigan by Meijer, a company founded during the Great Depression by 50-year-old barber Hendrik Meijer. The first Meijer Thrifty Acres, a 180,000-square-foot space selling department store and grocery items, opened in Grand Rapids in 1962.

 

— How many are in Canada?

By the end of January 2012, 333 Walmart stores will be operating in Canada, 164 of which will be supercentres.