Walmart Ready to Reveal New Store to Palm Springs Shoppers

 New Walmart provides 300 jobs, plus savings on wide selection of merchandise

PALM SPRINGS, Fla., Jan 17, 2012 – A new Walmart opens this month in Palm Springs, bringing 300 new jobs, savings for local shoppers and an increase in tax revenue to support the area’s economy. Nonprofit organizations will also benefit from the retailer’s ongoing charitable contributions and support for community projects. The Walmart, located at 2765 10th Ave. N., will be open to customers at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25.

The new Palm Springs Walmart will employ approximately 300 associates, according to store manager Jim Kelege. Kelege began his Walmart career in 2001 as a manager trainee at a store in Millhall, Penn. Several associates have worked for Walmart for more than 10 years and come from nearby stores.

In recent months, Walmart has taken major steps to refresh its stores, merchandising and customer experience. The improvements have all come together in the company’s newest stores, such as the Palm Springs Walmart, with fast service, a friendly shopping experience and clean stores.

The new Walmart features enhanced service and a layout designed to make the shopping experience more convenient for customers. Walmart aligned the departments that customers shop most frequently. The pharmacy, for example, is adjacent to food making it easier for customers to pick up their prescriptions while shopping for their groceries.

“The layout of the store is easy to navigate, which will save our customers time as they shop for everyday necessities,” said Kelege. “By grouping the products that our customers most often purchase, including health and beauty and pet supplies, we are making one-stop shopping even easier.”

A bright interior color palette creates an inviting shopping experience and helps define the store’s merchandise areas. Lower shelving creates an improved sightline and directional signage on every aisle helps customers find what they are looking for quickly. Walmart also combined the customer service desk, Site-to-Store pick-up location and photo lab in one area near the entrance. Customers now have easy access to these services, as well as associates on hand to help meet their needs.

As part of Walmart’s commitment to the communities in which it operates, grants from the Walmart Foundation will be presented during the grand opening and throughout the year. Organizations receiving grants during the grand opening include A Place Called Hope Outreach, Delta Heritage Foundation, Feeding South Florida, Florida Resource Center for Women and Children, Inc., Healthy Kids and Healthy Babies, Inc., Norton Gallery and School of Art, Inc., Palm beach County Fraternal Order of Leatherhead Society, Palm Beach Harvest, Palm Springs Elementary School, Palm Springs Police, Special Olympics Florida, Palm Beach County, and Suncoast Christian Academy.

The Palm Springs Walmart, like all new Walmart stores, includes energy-efficient technology and environmentally friendly features to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste. The store’s skylights harvest daylight and reduce the amount of energy required to light the store by up to 75 percent daily. LED lighting in the store operates 70 percent more efficiently than traditional fluorescent lighting.

The cement used in the concrete flooring is made with recycled materials, and the floor’s finish reduces the need for chemical cleaners. Low-flow toilets and faucets reduce the water used in the bathrooms. The new store also operates a recycling program that includes organic composting and will promote sustainable product purchases.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Shelley Vana along with other community and business leaders will join Walmart associates at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25 for a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony. Kelege and other associates will cut the ribbon to the new store.

About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 9,600 retail units under 69 different banners in 28 countries. With fiscal year 2011 sales of $419 billion, Walmart employs 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.

• Location: 2765 10th Ave. N., Palm Springs, Fla.
• 116,000 square-foot Walmart
• Store opens at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 25, following a 7:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony
• Store manager: Jim Kelege
• Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week

• Full line of groceries, including a bakery, a deli serving fresh food and meal solutions for moms, meat and dairy products, fresh produce, and beer and wine
• More than 30 merchandise departments such as apparel and accessories, a garden center, health and beauty aids, and an expanded electronics department
• Convenience services include a pharmacy, digital photo processing center and Walmart Connect Center
• Leased areas will include a Subway Restaurant

$12,000 from the Walmart Foundation will be presented throughout the year to area organizations:

• A Place Called Hope Outreach
• Delta Heritage Foundation
• Feeding South Florida
• Florida Resource Center for Women and Children, Inc.
• Healthy Kids and Healthy Babies, Inc.
• Norton Gallery and School of Art, Inc.
• Palm Beach County Fraternal Order of Leatherhead Society
• Palm Beach Harvest
• Palm Springs Elementary School
• Palm Springs Police
• Special Olympics Florida, Palm Beach County
• Suncoast Christian Academy

• Store plans to employ approximately 300 associates
• The average wage at Walmart for full-time hourly associates in Florida is approximately $12.38 per hour*
• Walmart’s benefit program is available to eligible full- and part-time associates and provides a variety of affordable health and well-being benefits including medical insurance with no lifetime maximum. Walmart also offers matching 401(k) contributions of up to 6 percent of pay, discounts on general merchandise for store associates, an Associate Stock Purchase Program and company-paid life insurance. Additionally, eligible associates receive a quarterly incentive based on store performance.

* Average wage taken October 2011. See www.walmartstores.com for details.

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