HAWAIIAN GARDENS, Calif., Aug. 26, 2013 – Walmart will open a Neighborhood Market in the City of Hawaiian Gardens on Wednesday, Aug. 28, after a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:30 a.m. The new store, approximately one-quarter the size of a Walmart Supercenter, is located at 12120 Carson St. in the Hawaiian Gardens Town Center and is open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight. The store will provide local customers with a new, convenient option for their grocery shopping needs, including affordable fresh produce, meats and dairy as well as a full-service pharmacy.
"We are excited to welcome the Walmart Neighborhood Market to our community," said Victor Farfan, Mayor of the City of Hawaiian Gardens. "Adding another new business along our Carson Blvd corridor is an excellent sign of an improving economy. The market creates new job opportunities and shopping choices for our residents, and our community will have affordable access to a full fare of healthy foods in line with our City's healthy living initiatives. This new market is a win-win for our City, our residents and Walmart, and we look forward to seeing them succeed and be a partner here in Hawaiian Gardens for years to come."
The first Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in 1998, and today there are approximately 250 Walmart Neighborhood Market stores nationwide. The Hawaiian Gardens store is one of seven Neighborhood Markets open in Los Angeles County; others include Panorama City, Downey, Bell Gardens, Altadena, Torrance and Hawthorne.
"We are always happy to see new retail open in our region," said Scott Smith, Executive Director of the Cerritos Regional Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit organization promoting business in the region - including the City of Hawaiian Gardens. "It's great to see this Walmart Neighborhood Market open here in Hawaiian Gardens. This store will provide groceries at great Walmart prices and jobs for local employees."
New Store, New Jobs
Walmart offers competitive pay, good benefits and the opportunity to build a career. The new store employs about 65 full- and part-time associates. Since the temporary hiring center opened June 2013, Walmart received more than 2,300 applications for the store. The benefits program is offered to eligible full- and part-time associates. For example, Walmart medical plans are available for as little as $17 bi-weekly.
"We are excited to be a part of Hawaiian Gardens and offer good jobs to local residents with real opportunities for a career," said store manager Marvin Armstrong, who began his Walmart career in 2008 as a market electronics manager. "I'd like to invite everyone out to our grand opening event on Wednesday, Aug. 28 to see their great new store and take part in the celebration. We look forward to giving the community a great shopping experience along with a new choice for affordable, fresh groceries."
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. Walmart employs more than 13,000 Associates in Los Angeles County.
Smaller Store, More Convenience
The Walmart Neighborhood Market format offers quick and convenient shopping, with a full grocery department, including organic and natural selections. The store features prepared food options, fresh-baked breads, self-serve deli and a bakery. The Hawaiian Gardens store is tailored to the community including an expanded assortment of products and fresh produce for traditional Hispanic and Asian meals, as well as convenient grab-and-go items such as prepared rotisserie chicken and seasonal offerings.
The store also includes a full-service pharmacy, offering customer's convenience when filling or transferring prescriptions, receiving one-on-one consultation with a pharmacist about their medications, or purchasing over-the-counter medications and health and beauty products.
"Our pharmacy offers affordable and convenient wellness products families, seniors and individuals," said Michelle Dang, Hawaiian Gardens Walmart Neighborhood Market pharmacist. "My associates and I are an extension of our customer's healthcare by offering one-on-one consultations to answer questions about prescriptions, flag any potential interactions and look into the availability of affordable generic alternatives."
Community Giving
The grand-opening celebration includes presentations of $8,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation to local community groups: Hawaiian Eagles Soccer Club, Hawaiian Gardens Little League, Hawaiian Gardens Pop Warner Football, Artesia High School Band and Hawaiian Gardens VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). To learn more about Walmart's local giving visit http://foundation.walmart.com.
A Big Family Welcome
Walmart is happy to be part of the Hawaiian Gardens community and is ready to celebrate with residents on Saturday, Aug. 31. A Big Family Welcome will give customers a chance to meet Armstrong and enjoy fun family activities such as face painting, cupcake decorating and free food samples while supplies last. Join the celebration from noon to 3 p.m.
Join the Conversation
Walmart invites Hawaiian Gardens' shoppers to share their in-store experience on Facebook. Visit the My Local Walmart Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/walmart4173. Fans of the local page can receive information about rollbacks, in-store events, meal solutions and more.
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 245 million customers and members visit our more than 10,800 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2013 sales of approximately $466 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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