Walmart to open 4 DC stores (non-supercenter w/full grocery)

[WES]

Without knowing exactly looks like it happened around the same time.  The supercenter looks rather new and also there is a Sam's club right next to it and that shopping center could have been remodeled like so many have had and might have been there for a while.

And also part of a company's decision on where to put a store where they plan to do so, is doing the research of what's in the area and its impact on the area they plan to serve.  They have to know who their competition will be, what dwellings are in the area, what major thorofares are close to where they are planning to open a store. Along that research they have to factor if the area is so void of what they are planning to serve, would factor into what type or how big of a store they should put there.  If Wal-Mart did their research but missed that Safeway and the Giant, then whoever did their research did a bad job.  To a point, it's business 101.

[Perry]

The Mayor of Las Vegas has an announcement to be revealed on Dec. 2 that he says will bring 750 non construction jobs to the city.  It's going to be done on the property of the existing City Hall which is being replaced.  There are plenty of casinos right in downtown, so I jokingly said it will be a Walmart.  Seeing how they seem to be expanding into urban areas, I'm wondering if that's what it really is.  Although, I don't know if there is enough land for what they usually need unless it's going to be a multi-story unit. 

I had actually spoken with someone from the city's property unit because they wanted ridership projections from our new transit terminal because a developer was looking to build a Target or a Walmart or something like that but it sounded like it was going to be closer to where we are located.  Now, I'm really curious!

I welcome any type of development that brings in tax revenues.

[WES]

In the press releases, Wal-Mart did say that to get into urban areas, their stores will be smaller, so  there might be a chance that a Wal-Mart maybe coming there.  I remember the one in downtown White Plains, in New York isn't that big. and it was at least two stories (I think it was a Wal-Mart, or Target or Kmart, but I think it was a Wal-Mart).  Also downtown space shouldn't be a reason to downsize a store, we all know the Kmart in City Center Philly is decent sized, just depends on the space. 

[Scrabbleship]

In the press releases, Wal-Mart did say that to get into urban areas, their stores will be smaller, so  there might be a chance that a Wal-Mart maybe coming there.  I remember the one in downtown White Plains, in New York isn't that big. and it was at least two stories (I think it was a Wal-Mart, or Target or Kmart, but I think it was a Wal-Mart).  Also downtown space shouldn't be a reason to downsize a store, we all know the Kmart in City Center Philly is decent sized, just depends on the space. 

That would be a Target in White Plains. It's proximity to the Transcenter makes it a good break spot during Bee Line (and CT Transit Stamford) fantrips. Similar situation with the Atlantic Avenue Target in Brooklyn on top of the major transportation hub there.

The Midtown Manhattan KMart in NYC near Penn Station is bigger than the one inside The Gallery in Philly. Urban stores are a niche that Walmart is way late to the party in doing in the states, they've already put good models in place for urban stores...in China.


To backtrack to the supermarkets and Walmart topic, there are some cases of a Walmart and a grocery store anchoring the same plaza; the Fair Lakes development in Fairfax has a Walmart and a Bloom nearly next to each other (those who have been to Fair Lakes know it's huge enough to also have a Target). In Troy, NY, a Walmart was built next to a Price Chopper supermarket while in New Milford, CT a Walmart moved into a former Bradlees space in a plaza with one of the earliest Super Stop & Shop locations.

[WES]

Funny thing you mentioned Bradlees, because where Wal-Mart sits at Capital Plaza, there used to be a Bradlees there.  I remember Bradlees fondly, it was here, but not for long.  What made things funnier was that when Bradlees left the DC area, Hechinger took that spot over and then they went out of business.  Montgomgery Ward was on the other side and well they're gone also.  And practically two of the three went out of business, because of Wal-Mart...........and Target.

[Perry]

Target replaced the Montgomery Ward's at Wheaton Plaza too as well as I think the GC Murphys at PG Plaza. 

Almost all of our Walmart's out here are Supercenters.  I can't think of any that are really near a grocery store, but there is one directly across the street from a Costco and a Best Buy and a new Target opened up about a mile south of there.  That Wal Mart actually has the only non-drive in Sonic that I know of.  It's one area I would not go near between now and Christmas!

I find that you can do better at a regular grocery store using their specials and coupons than Wal Mart because you can't really gauge what their sales are.  However, for other things, they work out just fine.  It seems like there is enough business for everyone.  If a mom and pop shop gets axed because of them, then that would have been a matter of time anyway because obviously they mark up their prices and carry a smaller inventory due to their own cost constraints.

[WayneNYC]

I realize that most of the WalMarts in the DC area are not Supercenters, but my wife and I noticed that the condition of the stores tend to be a bit on the shabby side.  Then, we've noticed that the WalMart we've gone into outisde of the DC area tend to be very nice.  Most recently we were in a Supercenter in Beckley, WV and again, the condition of the store seemed to be immaculate.

[Perry]

Yeah, the first supercenter I was in was near Williamsburg I think several years ago.  It was very clean and spacious compared to the regular ones.  The worst one I had been to was the old one in Manassas on Sudley just off of I-66.  That one is closed because there is a new SuperCenter at Manassas Mall.  The ones out here get pretty rundown because they are just so crowded, so they end up looking like the regular ones back east.  The one I like the best is the one that's across from the Costco on the edge of Centennial Hills...which happens to be the north end of Route 103.

[WayneNYC]

It's almost as if the DC area Walmarts are second-class , compared to their stores outside of the DC area.  I hear there's a supercenter in La Plata and I'm curious about it's appearance, but not curious enough to drive down there:-) .  The funny thing is that the Walmsrt in Germantown recently got a facelift.  Sure, it looks better, but I still think it doesn't look as good as the Walmarts outside of the DC area.  Go figure.

[rideonrulez]

The Wal-Mart in Germantown is the dumpiest one I have ever been too. The best one will go to Port Orange, Florida's Supercenter!!

[Scrabbleship]

The Wal-Mart in Germantown is the dumpiest one I have ever been too. The best one will go to Port Orange, Florida's Supercenter!!

I've been to Germantown and Landover. Landover felt much, much dumpier.

[SchuminWeb]

My review of the store in Germantown:

http://www.schuminweb.com/schumin-web/journal/permalink.php?id=839

Basically, the store looked horrible, and was just overall poorly run and in poor condition.  I was in there once post-remodel, and it certainly does look better than it used to, but I still avoid that store because of parking and service issues.

Landover looks nice as a newer store, but it's obviously too small for what it serves.  I've never gotten a close parking space there, and the checkout lines are always long.  And the fact that they constantly have private security on the property creeps me out a bit.

Also, having formerly worked for Walmart, I might be able to provide some insight on why many of the DC-area stores look dumpy.  Generally, Walmart likes to remodel its Supercenters about every five or so years.  My old Walmart store in Waynesboro, VA opened in 2004 and was remodeled this year.  However, non-Supercenter stores go about 8-10 years between remodels.  The aforementioned Manassas store off of Sudley Road opened before Sam Walton died (because it had no star in the logo).  I estimate that store opened around 1991 or 1992 (Google Earth shows empty land in an April 1991 photo, and then shows it developed in 1994).  It would appear to have been remodeled once around 2001 or so based on the presence of the bag wheels and the raised-letter wall signs.  When that store closed last year, it looked really dumpy because it hadn't seen a remodel in eight years.

[Flxible]

Ugh.  I'm not liking the arrival of Evil-Mart to DC at all.  I really hope Safeway and the local businesses can hold their own.  Those two entities alone (especially the latter) give the DC area a special charm that seems to have been lost forever among great patches of the United States. 

I was recently in Sullivan, Indiana (population 3,000) visiting family.  My wife and I were not fond of the fact that Wal-Mart was about the only place to buy our food and wares, and there was no Target store in sight- not even in Terre Haute, just 30 miles away.  All we could say was "Any port in a storm".

[Perry]

Safeway and Giant are so expensive, may as well have someone come in and create a price war on groceries.