Fast, friendly, clean design features wider aisles and expanded merchandise selections
PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 14, 2012 – Residents of Portland are invited to the expanded Walmart store on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 4200 S.E. 82nd Ave. in the East Port Plaza. The grand opening is scheduled for
7:30 a.m. The expanded store brings approximately 75 additional jobs to the area and opportunities for savings for customers. It will be open 6 a.m. until midnight, seven days a week.
Ribbon-Cutting Celebration at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14
Community and business leaders will join Walmart associates at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14, for a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Grand-Opening Events
Customers are encouraged to come to the store on grand-opening day to take advantage of a wide variety of grand-opening events and promotions. The grand-opening day celebrations include product samplings and giveaways from companies and character appearances. All events are family-friendly, free and open to the public.
“We have a loyal customer base and some have been shopping here since our original opening 1998,” said store manager Jerome Theriault. “We think they’ll love the new, easy-to-shop layout of the store and appreciate the savings we offer on the products they want and need.”
Customer Convenience and Wide Product Selection
By combining general merchandise and a full line of groceries in one convenient location, the store offers Portland shoppers the convenience of one-stop shopping close to home.
The new store features a wide assortment of quality, value priced merchandise, including:
- Family apparel
- Health and beauty aids
- Electronics
- Toys
- Lawn and garden items
- Jewelry
- Automotive products
- Home furnishings
- Hardware
- Sporting goods
- Pet supplies
- Housewares
The grocery area will include a wide selection of fresh produce, including a variety of organic products. Other features include a full bakery, meat and dairy products, dry goods and staples, beverages, a deli, frozen foods, canned and packaged goods, baking items and household supplies. For added convenience, the store will also offer a vision center, digital-photo processing center and Walmart Connect Center.
The pharmacy will offer a full range of products and services to support the health and wellness of customers and their families. The pharmacy team can answer questions and offer health and wellness solutions. They can also assist customers who wish to transfer their prescriptions to Walmart. The pharmacy is conveniently located at the front of the store next to the Walmart.com services department.
This store features many energy-saving elements, part of Walmart’s overall efforts to reduce the total amount of energy used in stores and other operations. These features include LED lights in signage, freezer cases and the parking lot. This technology uses about 50 percent less energy than traditional lighting.
Community Organizations Benefit from Grand-Opening Grants
Nonprofit organizations will also benefit from the retailer’s ongoing charitable contributions and support for community projects.
As part of Walmart’s commitment to the communities in which it operates, $83,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will be presented to local organizations at the grand opening.
Grant recipients include Oregon Veteran’s Home, Cascade Pacific Council, Multnomah Education Service District, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon, Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods Project, Volunteers of America-Oregon, Growing Gardens, Sunshine Division, March of Dimes of Greater Oregon, Latino Network, SnowCap Community Charities, and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
Healthier Food and “Great For You”
Walmart made a major commitment to make food healthier and healthier food more affordable, ensuring families won’t have to choose between a product that is good for them and one they can afford. Steps in the healthier food initiative include:
- Reformulate thousands of packaged food items by 2015 by reducing sodium and added sugars and removing all remaining industrially produced trans fats.
- Make healthier choices more affordable by providing savings on fresh produce and reducing the price premium on “better-for-you” items.
- Provide solutions to address food deserts by bringing stores in underserved communities.
- Increase charitable support for nutrition programs that help educate consumers about healthier food solutions and choices.
The “Great For You” icon appears on select Great Value and Marketside products as well as fresh and packaged fruits and vegetables. The icon was developed to help customers easily identify nutritious food options so they can make healthier eating choices for themselves and their families. For more information, visit corporate.walmart.com/healthier-food.
Walmart.com Services
Walmart.com services will be available at the store’s entrance. In addition to a digital photo processing lab, the store will also offer two services for customers who shop online. 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. Pick Up Today is a free service that allows customers to order store items online and pick them up at their local Walmart store that same day (or the next day if items are ordered after 6 p.m. local time).
Pay With Cash
All Walmart stores and Walmart Neighborhood Markets participate in the “Pay With Cash” program. This allows customers to order online at 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.
Economic Impact Includes Approximately 75 New Jobs
The new Portland Walmart will employ approximately 350 associates, including 75 position created by the expansion according to Theriault. The average wage at Walmart for full-time hourly associates in Oregon is approximately $13.04 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 health care coverage with no lifetime maximum. Walmart also offers eligible associates matching 401(k) contributions of up to 6 percent of pay, discounts on general merchandise, an Associate Stock Purchase Program and company-paid life insurance. Additionally, eligible associates receive a quarterly incentive based on store performance.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 10,300 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of $444 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 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://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmartnewsroom. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
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