Last edited 1:31 p.m., Jan. 13, 2015A week after opening its 500th Neighborhood Market in Springfield, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is scheduled to open a store in Clever.
Slated to open Jan. 14, the 12,000-square-foot Neighborhood Market would employ roughly 30 full- and part-time employees in the city approximately 20 miles southwest of Springfield, according to a news release.
The Clever store represents one of 300 small-scale retail outlets Wal-Mart plans to build systemwide, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives. The store previously had been slated to open under the Express name, but officials decided to rebrand stores under that concept as Neighborhood Markets, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said via email.
"During the testing of our Wal-Mart Express format, we learned that customers rely on these stores for grocery fill-in trips, meals and prescriptions, much like they rely on our Neighborhood Market stores," Hatfield said.
The store would offer fuel, a full line of produce and groceries, and a pharmacy.
As part of the opening ceremony, the Wal-Mart Foundation will present grants in an undisclosed amount to community groups.
“We always welcome new businesses, especially those that give back to the community like Wal-Mart already has,” city Mayor Jaredd King said in the release, pointing to work with the local school district to fund athletic programs. “We look forward to the continued growth of Clever, and we are certainly glad that Wal-Mart has chosen to build in our town and be a part of that growth."
In Springfield, one Neighborhood Market store has met a host of
legal opposition. However, after a court decision last year, the store along South Campbell Avenue and Grand Street appears to be free to develop.[[In-content Ad]]
