Walmart transforming store into Supercentre

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This article was published 08/02/2012 (4963 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon Walmart will soon take a super bite out of the grocery market in Brandon.

The store will begin to undergo expansion plans in the near future to become a Supercentre, said Nathan Gallant, assistant manager at the Brandon store.

“There will be a Supercentre in Brandon,” Gallant said. “We’re very excited about it. It gives us the opportunity to offer a lot more selection to our customers and it’s what they have been asking for the last couple of years.”

The expansion is part of a much broader investment in stores across the country, according to a Walmart Canada press release. Walmart will invest more than $750 million in 73 projects, including building new stores and expanding, remodelling or relocating existing stores.

A concrete start date for the beginning of the expansion hasn’t been locked down yet, Gallant said, but Walmart Canada expects the projects to be completed in the company’s current fiscal year, which runs from Feb. 1, 2012 to Jan. 31, 2013.

The announcement means local shoppers can expect a full range of groceries at the Brandon location.

“The biggest change is that there is a much larger selection of grocery,” Gallant said. “It includes a selection of bakery, meat and deli, and produce.”

The change was embraced by shoppers in the city.

“It’s a good idea to get a Supercentre,” said Karan Sherma, who is working in Brandon this week, but is from Minnedosa. “The nice thing is Walmart is outside of the city so people don’t have to go inside the city to get things.”

The new Supercentre creates a one-stop shopping destination for residents looking to buy groceries and general merchandise under one roof.

“I think that’s great because you won’t have to go to so many stores,” said Staci Rush, who was picking a few miscellaneous items up at Walmart. “You can get everything all in one store.”

Walmart Canada currently has 333 stores, including 164 Supercentres across the country.

Yesterday’s announcement is expected to bring the company’s store count to more than 375 stores by the end of January 2013. The 73 projects are expected to generate more than 1,400 store, trade and construction jobs, some of which will undoubtedly land in Brandon.

The expansion is seen as an affirmation of the strong business opportunities currently available within the city, Brandon Chamber of Commerce president Cam Clark said.

“We see it as a very positive sign that an existing business sees fit to expand and make a stronger footprint in our community,” Clark said. “It signals a stronger and more vibrant Brandon.”

The new Supercentre won’t be embraced by all businesses, however, as Walmart will look to eat up more of the grocery market pie.

“We represent all businesses, and it is always a concern,” Clark said about the fear some smaller grocery stores might have.

“But I think competition is always welcome and it shows there is opportunity for everyone at the table to be more competitive in a place where consumers are asking for more.”

The new Walmart Supercentre should help the company compete with American retailer Target, which announced in May of 2011 that the Brandon Zellers store is one of five Manitoba locations that Target will take over.

» ctweed@brandonsun.com