The Capital Region represents a growing market for Walmart, which opened four Neighborhood Markets in the greater Baton Rouge area earlier this year as part of a larger, statewide expansion. Though no additional new stores are planned for the remainder of 2016, the retail giant has other plans for the market on the horizon.
“Baton Rouge has been a good market for us, as has Louisiana in general,” says Anne Hatfield, Walmart’s director of communications. “It’s still a growing market for us.”
In January, Walmart opened new stores in Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Central and Gonzales, as well as four other stores around the state. That’s in addition to the 15 new locations the company opened statewide in 2015.
Hatfield says the Neighborhood Markets, which average around 41,000 square feet and only sell groceries, are proving to be a successful model around the country so the company is devoting more resources to growing them.
At the same time, Walmart announced earlier this year it is scrapping its Walmart Express stores, 12,000-square foot convenience stores that were located in mostly rural areas. Eight express locations mostly in north Louisiana closed following the announcement. None operated in the Baton Rouge market, though a Walmart Express location on Airline Highway was in the planning stages.
The company is currently exploring options for the property and is willing to sell or lease it, Hatfield says.
Of the company’s decision to get out of the convenience store market, Hatfield will only say the strategy was to “focus on what is working.”
The company will also focus on upgrading some its existing stores. The Walmart Supercenter on College Drive is currently being remodeled, and is expected to be complete this summer. Additional stores will also be overhauled later this year.
Walmart recently announced it is expanding its online grocery service in 20 markets around the country. The new e-service enables customers to shop and place orders online, then pick them up at a specified time. Though the service has not yet come to Louisiana, Hatfield says more markets will be announced this summer.
“We’re hoping to bring it to Louisiana and will have more announcements soon,” she says. “Stay tuned is about all I can say for now.”
—Stephanie Riegel
