Wal-Mart Announces Plans to Roll Out Smaller Stores

The day of the supercenter may be coming to an end. Wal-Mart is mixing it up and plans to roll out small format stores to accommodate urban areas around the country. Bill Simon, the president and CEO of Wal-Mart spoke about his company’s plans at a Goldman Sachs retail conference.

Simon acknowledged that there aren’t a lot of big empty spaces that can house 200,000-square-foot supercenters. Adding small format stores would give Wal-Mart a healthy mix that also includes a grocery format and neighborhood markets, he said.

Although supercenters still deliver a good return on investment for the company, added Simon, new Wal-Mart supercenters will be smaller than they had been in the past. He plans to unveil more of Wal-Mart’s strategy and plans at a company conference in Bentonville in October.