VISALIA, Calif., March 7, 2013 – The first Walmart Neighborhood Market in the area will open March 15. The new store, located at 1320 N. Demaree St., will provide residents of Visalia with a convenient location to pick up all their grocery needs, including fresh produce.
Walmart Neighborhood Market Format
The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998, and today there are approximately 230 Neighborhood Market stores nationwide. The stores offer quick and convenient shopping for groceries, pharmacy items and general merchandise.
New Visalia Store
The new store is tailored for the Visalia community, featuring a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, fresh bread and a selection of meats, cheeses and prepared foods. The deli will feature a Grab-and-Go section with rotisserie chicken, pizza and standard deli sides. In addition to the fresh produce, bakery and deli 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 stationery, paper goods, pet products and hardware items. Customers can also print their own digital photos at the store. The store will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The store will offer Site-to-Store, 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 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.
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.
“The Visalia Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome the first Walmart Neighborhood Market in Visalia,” said Glenn Morris, President/CEO, Visalia Chamber of Commerce. “Walmart has been an active, contributing member of Visalia and the Chamber for nearly 20 years. The opening of this new store not only provides much needed jobs but brings healthy and affordable groceries to the area thereby, strengthening our local economy and community.”
Opening Creates Approximately 65 Jobs
Approximately 65 full- and part-time jobs will be created with the new store opening. Store manager Deborah Walters began her Walmart career in 1992 as an hourly associate in a store in Hanford. Three associates have worked for Walmart for more than 10 years.
“We are excited about the opportunity to help save people money so they can live better,” said store manager Deborah Walters. “We are committed to providing a cleaner, faster and friendlier store.”
Ribbon-Cutting Celebration at 7:30 a.m., March 15
The store will host a grand-opening celebration at 7:30 a.m. Friday, March 15. Store associates and local dignitaries will participate in a brief ceremony, followed by a ribbon-cutting where the doors to the new store will be opened to the public.
Throughout grand-opening day, members of the Visalia community are invited to come by the store to enjoy product samplings, giveaways and various entertainment events.
Community Groups Benefit from Grand-Opening Grants
The grand-opening celebration includes $8,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation to local community groups. Those groups include Pro-Youth/HEART, CASA and Tulare County Family Services.
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.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 200 million customers and members visit our more than 10,600 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 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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