Renovated store offers a glimpse into the next generation of shopping
CARBONDALE, Ill., July 26, 2010 – The Carbondale Walmart, located at 1450 E. Main St., 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 Carbondale Walmart at 8 a.m., Friday, July 30. Among the many improvements are a new layout, low-profile shelving, bright interior paint scheme, enhanced lighting and easy-to-read signage to make the shopping experience more convenient for customers.
New Layout Improves Customer Experience
The remodeled Carbondale store features a more open shopping environment. Walmart also aligned the departments that customers shop most frequently, making it quicker to purchase everyday items, including moving the pet department next to the grocery department.
“We listened to our customers and have redesigned the store to make shopping at Walmart even easier,” said store co-manager Daniel Powell.
A bright interior paint scheme and enhanced lighting create a more inviting shopping experience and help define the store’s merchandise areas. Low-profile shelving creates an improved sightline and directional signage helps customers find the products they need.
Among the changes, Walmart upgraded both the pharmacy and vision center with an open design, creating a much friendlier, accessible experience. Customers will also appreciate the enhanced hardware department with a new electronic paint matching system as well as the new produce displays in the grocery department. The Site-to-Store and photo lab have moved to the back of the store with dedicated staff to help provide fast customer assistance.
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 before purchase.
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.
Grand Re-opening Activities Include Support for Local Organizations
The grand re-opening celebration is scheduled for Friday, July 30, and will begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8 a.m. Local dignitaries and members of the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce will help Powell and co-manager Shawn Gierich cut the ribbon to the remodeled store. Store associate Galeb Tortee will sing the national anthem.
During the ceremony, store associates will present $4,000 in grants from the Walmart Foundation to local organizations, including a $2,000 donation to the Good Samaritan Ministries. According to Good Samaritan Ministries Executive Director Mike Heath, the donation is a true example of Walmart’s community partnership.
“For 25 years Good Samaritan Ministries has been meeting the needs of the hungry, the homeless, and the near homeless people in our community and our services require funding and support from vital partners such as Walmart to serve them.” said Heath. “Last year Good Samaritan Ministries served 22,211 meals in our soup kitchen, the food pantry provided 3,840 families with food serving 11,755 individuals. The emergency shelter provided 4,950 shelter nights for 413 people last year, including children. None of this would have been possible without community partners like Walmart, their community giving program and their retail donation pickup program. Walmart and Good Samaritan are working together to make our community better,” added Heath.
Additional grant recipients include:
- A Gift of Love Charity, Inc.
- Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University
- National Association For the Advancement of Colored People
- Southern Illinois Regional Social Services, Inc.
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have committed $2 billion to U.S. hunger relief efforts through 2015. The Fighting Hunger Together campaign will also engage Walmart customers and associates in the fight against hunger. More information can be found at walmart.com/fightinghunger.
Commitment to the Environment
The store is also committed to being a good environmental steward. Part of the cement used in the store’s concrete flooring is made with recycled materials, and the baseboards are manufactured from 100 percent recycled plastic. The photo department also uses green technology, operating completely without liquid chemicals for photo processing. The store also has improved its recycling efforts with a new recycling program which features a sandwich bale process that takes all loose plastic, hangers, aluminum cans and office paper, sandwiches them between cardboard, bundles them into bales and sends them to recycling centers. In addition, the store will be composting all organic products.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), or “Walmart,” serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,400 retail units under 55 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Walmart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2009 Most Admired Companies survey. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com and on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com and www.samsclub.com.
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