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Shoppers storm new Wal-Mart
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT © St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- The date Wal-Mart would open its supercenter at Little Road and State Road 54 had been marked on Gloria Fama's calendar for three months. "I had to tell my family I wouldn't be back until late tonight," said Fama, 71, who had filled up her shopping cart with bananas, grapes and a skein of yellow yarn just 15 minutes after the store opened, and still had some "serious browsing" ahead of her. "I came here with no coffee, no makeup, no nothing. I just wanted to see everything." Fama was one of roughly 1,500 people who poured through the doors of Pasco County's largest retail store when it opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. At 205,000 square feet, the supercenter is more than twice the size of the traditional Wal-Mart store it replaced on State Road 54. The new store is expected to log more than double the sales and profits of the smaller store after the first year. With 41/2 football fields' worth of floor space, the store is filled with nearly every imaginable buyable item -- from blue jeans to diapers to radial tires, bagel chips and Scooby Doo fishing poles. The supercenters are geared to draw the discount shopper, who typically shops 1.5 times a week, and the grocery shopper, who typically shops four times a week. The supercenter formula has been so successful that it now is Wal-Mart's primary vehicle for growth. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer plans to open 180 new supercenters and 40 new discount stores nationwide this year. One of those supercenters is scheduled to open at Ridge Road and U.S. 19 on March 15 and will replace another smaller Wal-Mart in Embassy Plaza. Another supercenter is slated to open in Zephyrhills later this year. The New Port Richey store has a staff of 500, and with the opening of the other two stores, Wal-Mart will become the county's largest retail employer. Worldwide, Wal-Mart has become one of the leading retailers. The company made $6.3-billion on $191-billion in sales in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, and has experienced double-digit increases in sales, even while other retailers have faced rocky times. As big as Wal-Mart is, the stores' most important decisions are made at a local level. Store managers are empowered to react to local competition rather than to rely on the corporate office to do so. And the stores are designed to cater to local tastes and needs. The Little Road store features a hearing aid station, nail and hair salons, a travel agency and a place to get an oil lube and new tires for RVs. The grocery has a full array of sugar-free and high-fiber foods, while the general merchandise part of the store carries a bigger selection of bingo daubers than in other markets. The store also is expected to help catalyze development in the surrounding area. Local real estate brokers say that with the growth of the Trinity and Long Leaf communities, and the lack of significant retail in northern Pinellas county, the corridor where the new Wal-Mart opened is poised to prosper. Kash n' Karry plans to open on April 11 a 49,500-square-foot store on State Road 54. Alabama developer AIG Baker is in the process of getting approval for Mitchell Ranch Station, a proposed development of regional impact that would include a shopping center and a 20-screen movie theater. No tenants will be signed until the development is approved. But Wednesday, the focus was on what was happening inside the new Wal-Mart store. Though it is open 24 hours a day, many shoppers showed up hours before the 8 a.m. ribbon cutting to grab a shopping cart and a place in line. "I'm just ready to shop," said Sandy Schardine, a 62-year-old retired nurse who had arrived at 6:30 a.m. "I want to catch all the bargains, and I can't wait to get in. I like having everything in one spot and being able to shop at the bakery, pharmacy and grocery." - Jennifer Goldblatt covers business in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6229. Her e-mail address is goldblatt@sptimes.com.
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