Hi wicked one, in Central and West Coast Florida I am seeing a three part Walmart strategy tied, I think, more to the size/dimension of the local marketplace than to any specific competitor like Walgreens. Every major population center has a Walmart and the General Merchandise stores have almost all been upgraded to Super Centers that are open 24 hours and feature a full grocery in house. There are a lot of old, shuttered Walmart stores that were obsoleted when the Super Centers were built.
Mid-density suburban markets a ways out from the Super Centers are getting Walmart Neihborhood Markets at around 40,000 sq. ft. with a full pharmacy but more limited general merchandise and food items. The HABA assortment is not much less than at a Super Center. I am seeing a lot of these outlets springing up near a Walgreens, though I attribute this more to Walgreens expertise in site selection and tradition of picking the best corners than a vulture-like targeting of Walgreens as a soft target.
I am also seeing a few Walmart Express stores popping up in small towns. I have not seen these in urban markets like Tampa or Orlando as satellite convenience locations, although I have read that this is part of Wally's overall strategy. They seem to be tied to small town locations and are more like a Dollar General than a Walgreens in both size and assortment. Interesting to note that they price at retail parity with the Super Centers, by market, so they in essence crush local store prices on most popular stuff.
If you open a store in Wisconsis, does that mean you will become a Cheesehead?
GLTA,
Yanj
