MALL SITE SHOWS SHIFT IN WAL-MART STRATEGY : EXPERTS SEE LIMITED FORAY IN URBAN AREAS.Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer Wal-Mart's decision to open its first multilevel mul·ti·lev·el adj. Having several levels: a multilevel parking garage. Adj. 1. multilevel - of a building having more than one level store within the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. in the Panorama Mall marks a shift in strategy for the retailing giant. But analysts said Tuesday night's announcement doesn't necessarily mean Wal-Mart has entered a new phase of urban-based growth. ``I don't think they are ready to dive in,'' said John Lawrence John Lawrence can refer to:
Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, built its business by opening large stores in small, mostly rural communities. One of the keys to Wal-Mart's low prices is cheap real estate, available in abundance outside major metropolitan areas. But in recent years, Wal-Mart has moved closer to metropolitan areas by building at the fringes of suburban growth. That's what the company did when it entered California during the past decade, opening locations in the suburban communities of Lancaster, Oxnard and Valencia, among others. The Panorama Mall opening - in the urban heart of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. - represents a departure from Wal-Mart's strategy. ``It shows Wal-Mart's willingness to move into more densely populated areas,'' said Walter Loeb, retail analyst at Loeb Associates in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Wal-Mart is also departing from its norm by opening a multilevel store. Wal-Marts are typically one-story outlets ranging from 100,000-square-foot stores to 140,000-square-foot superstores, Lawrence said. Loeb and Lawrence predicted the Panorama City opening won't lead to a fleet of new stores within America's largest cities but said it could be the first of a few urban Wal-Marts. ``Wal-Mart will selectively look for similar locations,'' Loeb said. In the San Fernando Valley, there's not much vacant department store space left, aside from the abandoned Broadway building at the Northridge Fashion Center Northridge Fashion Center is a large shopping mall located in Northridge, California. It opened in 1971. It was severely damaged during the Northridge Earthquake in 1994, but renovated extensively in 1995 and 1998. , said Barbara McAllister, first vice president with CB Commercial in Sherman Oaks, a real estate firm. Wal-Mart purchased the vacant Broadway building at the Panorama Mall from Federated Connected and treated as one. See federated database and federated directories. Department Stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. at an undisclosed amount, although a real estate source put the price at $2.25 million. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer will start renovating the three-story, 200,000-square-foot building this summer with an opening date late this year or early in 1998. Two levels of the three-story building will be used for retail. The third will remain vacant. The store will have unique features, such as special lifts for shopping carts right beside the escalator escalator Moving staircase used as transportation between floors or levels in stores, airports, subways, and other mass pedestrian areas. The name was first applied to a moving stairway shown at the Paris Exposition of 1900. . The store will employ 250 to 300 people at above-minimum wages, a Wal-Mart spokesman said. Part-time workers will receive health insurance benefits. ``We're excited about the location. It's a good opportunity to move closer to the inner city,'' said Dale Ingram, spokesman for Wal-Mart. The retailer's interest in Panorama City is not surprising given the area's heavy Latino population, said Dana Anderson Dana Anderson (born January 13, 1973 in Oshawa, Ontario) is a former field hockey player from Canada, who earned 57 caps for the Women's Senior National Team during her career. , vice chairman of The Macerich Co. in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. , owner of the mall. Wal-Mart has done well in areas with large Latino populations such as Texas, California and Mexico, Ingram said. The retailer's drawing power has led to a deluge of calls from retailers who want to move into the mall, Anderson said. The merchants' reaction is surprising since Wal-Mart has been accused of driving smaller stores out of business with their cut-rate prices. ``Normally, Wal-Mart can be hard for some of the retailers (to accept) because their prices are quite low,'' said Flip Smith, president of the Mid-Valley Chamber of Commerce. ``But there's no reason to lose any customers if they service them well.'' CAPTION(S): Photo, Map Photo: (Color) Wal-Mart has purchased the site of the old Broadway store in the Panorama Mall, to open by 1998. David Sprague/Daily News Map: Multi-story Wal-Mart Daily News |
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