Walmart has found a way to both downsize and expand at the same time.
The first of its new smaller Express locations, designed to compete with dollar stores, opened last week near corporate headquarters in Arkansas.
When it comes to its Canadian operations, however, the company has actually reinforced its desire to go big or stay home.
Recently, a decade-long battle to keep a new Walmart out of the east end of Stratford, Ont. went down in flames.
While small business owners were supported by Mayor Dan Mathieson, the city lifted an interim control bylaw that prevented a store from being built because it wasn't likely to hold up at the Ontario Municipal Board.
Now, taxpayers in Stratford are on the hook for the $1.3 million spent on a previous hearing that ruled against the retail giant. The resulting store will be built just a couple hundred metres away from the original proposed site.
Mathieson told the London Free Press he hopes to work with Walmart to help them support local initiatives as a way of compensating for the loss.
Walmart also wants to expand an existing store in the Winnipeg suburb of Transcona in order to incorporate a grocery section and garden centre.
Locations across the country have been slated for expansion into the Supercentre format, which has become standard in the majority of U.S. markets, but is just now becoming commonplace in Canada.
Adding some 30,000 square feet this particular property isn't as simple as knocking down a few walls, though. Winnipeg city council has delayed a decision in order to push the chain to spend the money on building a new road to improve traffic flow.
While officials from the store argued such a road would increase danger to customers, as it butts up against the main entrance, a city councillor countered that Walmart would rather not be forced to spend money, or sacrifice parking spaces.
These planning arguments aren't likely to surround a Walmart Express, of course. And the smaller-format locations are expected to eventually come to Canada given the success of Dollarama in urban centres that have been resistant to the arrival of more big boxes.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Walmart can thrive in existing neighbourhoods, rather than becoming a focal point.
(CP Photo)
66 comments