WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. June 2, 2005, Updated 12:52 P.M. E.D.T.: The mystery surrounding WalMart’s coming to White Plains was lifted today, when WalMart spokesperson Philip Serghini, announced to The Journal News that WalMart was opening in late fall at the Main Street location adjacent city hall, where Sears used to be. No new information about the store was disclosed, and no date for the opening was set.
WalMart Location in White Plains: Opening “Late Fall.” Photo, WPCNR News Archives.
It will, according to Serghini, sell grocery staples, which was already known previously, in addition to the usual WalMart merchandise lineup. Serghini is quoted as saying, “We have all the necessary approvals. The building will be completely renovated.”
The late fall opening, as opposed to the original target reported as being September, is not a good thing for the city’s sales tax receipts because the city was anticipating at least three quarters of WalMart sales to pump up the sales tax receipts and continue “The Renaissance.”
Earlier in the week, the Mayor’s Office did not have any information for WPCNR on the WalMart status, which was strange if the company already had all its approvals. WalMart public relations, contacted by WPCNR Tuesday did not return WPCNR’s call.
The announcement Thursday by Mr. Serghini that Wal-Mart is coming to Main Street is nothing new, and will be stiff competition to the Stop N Shop down Westchester Avenue, as well as Target across in the City Center.
In November, 2004, WPCNR wrote the following describing Walmart’s concept of “limited groceries.” as Mr. Serghini describes the new White Plains WalMart-to-be:
WPCNR wrote in December, 04, : Walmart will offer a supermarket that, according to a spokesperson “won’t be a full-blown SuperCenter, but it will provide for some milk, eggs deli-meats and some fruits and vegetables so people in town can have a quick place to pick up some of these items,” does not begin to describe what the market will be really like.
If Wal-Mart is building a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, it will be a full-blown supermarket, open 24-hours a day, giving city convenience to the owners of $2 Million condominums in Trump Tower across the street. WPCNR has also learned that it will be the flagship Neighborhood Market in the New York Metropolitan area, since there are no Neighborhood Markets listed within 100 miles of White Plains on the Wal-Mart website Store Finder.
The Neighborhood Market will underprice Stop N Shop, just opened two years ago, by about 10% and definitely will underprice Whole Foods Market at Fortunoff. The Wal-Mart market isn’t a “deli” operation, by any means, and is considerably larger than a gas station convenience store.
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets are open 24 hours a day at 60 locations thoughout the country, and are Wal-Mart’s latest efforts to compete against a new retail sector: the food business.
As predicted by WPCNR in September (2004) as a good fit for the Sears building, each Neighborhood Market is approximately 40,000 square feet, which would fit in nicely on the first 82,000 square foot first floor of the “The Shoppes on Main,” the “stackmall” next to City Hall, and upstairs, on the second 82,000 square foot second floor, there could be the rest of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart’s Neighborhood Markets according to Baseline.com, the Tampa Bay Business Journal and usavanguard.com, are no Sam’s Clubs.
In
In a visit to a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in
The model Neighborhood Market contains “amply-stocked” meat and deli sections, baked goods, and frozen foods. Neighborhood Markets are tied in by satellite to Wal-Mart’s retail link network to monitor what’s moving and what’s not, allowing trucks to deliver fresh stocks the next day. This economy of supply, according to Baseline.com allows Wal-Mart to offer prices 10% less than traditional supermarkets such as Publix, Winn-Dixie and Kash n’ Karry, Krogers, and Albertson’s.
The Baseline report also notes the Neighborhood Markets are operated with 10% less staff than grocery stores.
