LAVAL, Quebec — Walmart has reopened a former Zellers location under its own banner here, less than a month after reopening another converted Zellers store in Newmarket, Ontario.
Walmart has reopened a former Zellers location under its own banner here, less than a month after reopening another converted Zellers store in Newmarket, Ontario.
The outlets, the first of 39 former Zellers locations due to be converted into Walmart outlets, are part of an aggressive expansion plan that calls for 73 store openings, expansions or relocations by the end of the current fiscal year. Walmart says those efforts will add 4.6 million square of retail space to its Canadian operations by January 31, 2013.
Rival discounter Target Corp. plans to open its first Canadian stores, also converted former Zellers locations, in 2013.
Walmart’s store in Laval, Quebec, is a unique format for the retailer, a two-story outlet with 40,000 square feet of space per floor, and an escalator that allows shoppers and their carts to move between levels.
The store now features a pharmacy, and Walmart Canada says it has updated the unit’s design to include better directional signage and lower shelving that allows for improved sightlines.
Walmart Quebec senior vice president Chantal Glenisson said the store is in a convenient location, adding, "and the team has done an excellent job planning the merchandise assortment and store layout to make it easy for customers to find what they need."
The store Walmart Canada opened last month in Newmarket, Ontario, was also small by the retailer’s standards, measuring just 69,000 square feet in size. It also got a pharmacy and a bright new look meant to make it easy for consumers to find what they need.
"This store has an atypical footprint for a Walmart and is much smaller than most of the stores in our network," said Ken Farrell, vice president of store development at Walmart Canada. "We worked within the existing footprint to design the store to fit the space and look and feel like a typical Walmart."
