Huntington Beach Welcomes California's First Walmart Neighborhood Market

Store brings approximately 65 new jobs and new store format to the state

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., July 27, 2012 – California’s first Walmart Neighborhood Market will open Friday, July 27, in Huntington Beach, providing residents a convenient location to pick up all their grocery needs, including fresh produce. Located at 21132 Beach Blvd., the store occupies a former Rite-Aid location on Beach Promenade that has been vacant for 2 years. The new store is the first Walmart Neighborhood Market to open in California and the fourth to open on the West Coast.

“The Huntington Beach Neighborhood Market will help re-energize a shopping center deflated by years-long vacancies and bring increased visibility to surrounding businesses. This neighborhood-oriented store will bring added convenience for area residents and beach-going tourists,” said Huntington Beach Mayor Don Hansen. “With the approximately 65 jobs it is expected to create, the tax revenue it will generate, and the convenient access to fresh groceries it will provide, the Neighborhood Market is a welcome addition to our city.”

Walmart Neighborhood Market, first opened in 1998, operates close to 200 stores across the country. There are plans to add about 80 more nationally this fiscal year. The store format is designed to provide quick and convenient shopping for groceries, pharmacy items and general merchandise. The 31,000-square-foot Huntington Beach store is one of the last stops for groceries and surfing merchandise before the beach, located just one mile away.

The store will be stocked with merchandise that is relevant to the Huntington Beach community, including a selection of beach toys, boogie boards and general surfing merchandise.

It features a self-serve deli, a wide variety of locally-grown fruits and vegetables, as well as meats, cheeses and prepared foods. In addition to the fresh produce and bakery items, the store will carry a full line of groceries, including frozen foods, meat and dairy products, and organic items.

Shoppers will also appreciate the convenience of the store’s pharmacy, along with a full selection of health-related products and a health and beauty area. Additional areas include baby supplies, household items, stationery, paper goods, pet products, hardware items and a Celebration Station, where customers can buy gift wrap and gift bags, greeting cards and party supplies. Customers can also print their own digital photos at the store, which will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The store will offer Site-to-Store services, a regular feature at Walmart stores. Site-to-Store is a free service that allows customers to ship online orders from www.walmart.com free to any Walmart store for pickup.

All Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets participate in the Pay with Cash program. This allows customers to order online at www.walmart.com and pay for the items with cash at all stores in the U.S. Walmart is the first major retailer to offer online purchases without the need for banking services or a credit, debit or prepaid card.

As part of the grand-opening celebration, a total of $35,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will be presented to local community groups. A $25,000 environmental grant will be given to Bolsa Chica Conservancy, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Bolsa Chica wetlands. An additional $10,000 will be distributed among other local organizations. Additional funds will be available throughout the year for local organizations that serve the community and impact causes Walmart customers care about like economic empowerment, healthier foods and sustainability. Interested groups can visit walmartstores.com/communitygiving for more information.

Store associates will host a grand-opening celebration at 7:30 a.m., Friday, July 27. Store associates and local dignitaries will participate in a brief ceremony, followed by a ribbon-cutting where doors to the new store will be opened to the public at 8 a.m. Special events on grand-opening day, and continuing through the weekend, includes character appearances, product giveaways and samplings. Professional surfer, Ben Bourgeois, will appear and sign autographs on Saturday, July 28, from noon - 2:00 p.m.

Approximately 65 part- and full-time jobs were created by the store’s opening. As of April 2012, the average wage for regular, full-time hourly associates in California is $12.79 per hour.

Store manager Branden Yonkosky began his Walmart career in 2001 as an hourly associate at a store in Reno, Nev. Last year, Walmart promoted more than 161,000 people and nearly three fourths of store management teams started out in hourly positions. Pharmacy manager Johnny Truong has been with Walmart since 2006 and is a native of Garden Grove.

Walmart has more than one million people on its health plans and it continues to pay the majority of the costs for associates and their families’ health plans. Coverage is available for just $15 per pay period.

Additional highlights about benefits for eligible associates:

• First dollar coverage medical plans with no lifetime maximum and low premiums
• A 401(k) Plan with a dollar for dollar match up to 6 percent of annual pay
• A 10 percent discount on most products throughout our stores
• Maternity wellness, including a coach from the Walmart's Life with Baby maternity benefit

About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 10,300 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 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 Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.

• Location: 21132 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, Calif.
• 31,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market
• Store opens Friday, July 27, immediately following an 7:30 a.m., ribbon-cutting ceremony
• Store manager: Branden Yonkosky
• 24 hours a day, seven days a week

• Full line of groceries, including a bakery, self-serve deli, meat and dairy products, fresh produce, frozen foods and organic items, and beer and wine sales
• Additional merchandise includes health and beauty aids, baby items, household products, pet and cleaning products, hardware and stationery.
• Convenience services include a pharmacy, digital photo processing center, Walmart Site-to-Store and Pay With Cash.

• $35,000 in grants from the Walmart Foundation to local organizations

• Store will employ approximately 65 associates
• Store manager Branden Yonkosky began his Walmart career as a 17-year-old hourly stocker at a store in Reno, Nev.
• Nearly 70 percent of Walmart store management teams began their careers as hourly associates.
• The average wage at Walmart for full-time hourly associates in California is approximately $12.79 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 April 2012. See www.walmartstores.com for details.

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