Wal-Mart’s Knocking on Target’s Door

By George Anderson


Wal-Mart opening a Supercenter in a new market is pretty much the stuff of everyday business headlines. Unless, of course, the world’s largest retailer plans to build its first Supercenter in the same market that is home to the headquarters of Target, Supervalu and Nash-Finch.


According to a report in the Business Journal (Minneapolis/St. Paul), Wal-Mart received the necessary approvals from the Woodbury, Minn. authorities to build a 206,919 square foot Supercenter on a location previously zoned for retail. Nearly 56,000 square feet will be set aside for grocery and the store will also include an auto service center, gas station, drive-thru pharmacy, and outdoor garden center.


Wal-Mart brings its first Supercenter to a market that is already home to about a dozen SuperTargets, as well as the local grocery market leader, Cub Foods.


Moderator’s Comment: What impact will Wal-Mart’s Supercenter format have on the Twin Cities grocery market?


The unions are already gearing up so it will be interesting to see how Wal-Mart approaches the employee compensation issue.


According to the Business Journal report, Target was able to effectively mute opposition from organized labor in the Twin Cities by agreeing to pay
store employees at its SuperTarget locations wages comparable to other grocery workers in the market.

George Anderson – Moderator

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