Walmart plans to add several new stores in region

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to add several new stores in southeastern Wisconsin, according to retail and real estate sources.
The company recently opened new stores in Waukesha and Muskego. The company is also working on plans for new stores in South Milwaukee and Greendale, plus two new stores in Kenosha and a store at the former J.C. Penney store in Timmerman Plaza at 10332 W. Silver Spring Dr. in the city of Milwaukee, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Lisa Nelson. Wal-Mart also plans to build a new store to replace its existing store in at 4500 S. 108th St. in Greenfield.
And Wal-Mart may be planning even more new stores for the area. One commercial real estate source said the company is working on plans for another 4-5 stores in the Milwaukee area.
“There’s no magic number,” Nelson said. “We’re looking to expand access to the Walmart brand and be as close to our customers as possible. We look at where our customers are. We’re looking (for new store locations) all over (the Milwaukee area), including the city.”
The company is also in discussions with West Allis city officials about opening a store at 84th Street and Greenfield Avenue, said grocery industry analyst David Livingston.
Some of the new Wal-Mart stores are expected to be significantly smaller than its standard 140,000-square-foot store size, which include grocery departments. The company is introducing new store concepts with a grocery store of about 20,000 square feet and a neighborhood market grocery, pharmacy and general goods concept of about 30,000 to 60,000 square feet, Nelson said.
The company plans to convert the store that it recently replaced in Waukesha into a neighborhood market store, Livingston said.
The smaller store provides Wal-Mart with more flexibility to fit into different communities, particularly more urbanized areas, Nelson said.
“You see our store size coming down a bit,” she said.
The new Walmart stores will take away market share from Roundy’s Inc.’s Pick ‘n Save stores, Livingston said. When Wal-Mart builds stores in the area it locates them near high volume Pick ‘n Save stores that Wal-Mart believes it can take market share from, he said.
In addition to the Walmart expansion, Roundy’s is also facing increased competitive in the area from Janesville-based Woodman’s Food Markets, which recently opened a store in Menomonee Falls and plans to build another store in Waukesha County; Costco, which plans to build a store in Pewaukee and Trader Joe’s, which has a store at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale and is considering plans to open a store along Bluemound Road in Brookfield, according to sources.