Walmart plans growth through small format stores

Walmart has affirmed its commitment to growth through smaller formats in the USA. President and CEO Mike Duke told analysts that the company will introduce "new, innovative formats" that will open opportunities for the company in urban US markets that it has yet to penetrate.

Eduardo Castro-Wright, EVP, President & CEO Wal-Mart USA, said: "The writing is on the wall, we are going to smaller stores." Walmart already operates Neighborhood Market, a chain of traditional supermarkets; Marketside, four small-scale food markets it is testing in Arizona; and two Supermercado stores, which cater to Hispanic shoppers. Castro-Wright added that the company is "very pleased" with the Supermercado format and will build more in areas with sufficient Hispanic population. At the same conference, Stephen Quinn, Chief Marketing Officer, said the company was committed to digital media and will announce an initiative next week with the social media website Facebook. "We're going to be very big in digital," he said.

www.planetretail.net