Wal-Mart targets Marshfield market

Wal-Mart officials are considering adding a Supercenter in Marshfield, where a 29,110-square-foot store opened in a former Ben Franklin location in September 1973. That store was left behind in 1985 when the current 53,590-square-foot store was built at 1331 Spur Drive. That store was remodeled in 1992.

Expanding the current store or building brand new is part of the retailer’s internal discussions to bring a Supercenter to the Webster County town of 6,270.

According to John Bisio, regional director of community affairs for Wal-Mart Corp., the company’s work in Marshfield is fueled by customer activity.

“We see people traveling from Marshfield to communities where we have larger Wal-Mart stores, Supercenters in particular,” Bisio said.

The Marshfield discussions are in the preliminary stages and would require more study, including visits from Wal-Mart real estate managers and district managers, Bisio said. Feedback from local planners also would be considered, but Bisio said Wal-Mart officials have not yet approached those in Marshfield.

Marshfield City Administrator Dan McMillan doesn’t see how Wal-Mart would expand its current space.

“Where they’re at now, they can’t grow anymore, so they’d have to go somewhere else,” he said. “It’s in a center with buildings all around it – a road, buildings, bank. It’s just not expandable.”

McMillan suggests relocating the store near Interstate 44 for better visibility.

Bisio said relocation is likely, but still undetermined. “A likely scenario would be probably relocating within the community to a site that would accommodate room for a new Supercenter,” he said. “(The site’s) not been determined or decided, but I do believe that the information we have in place today seems to tell us that the time would be right to expand our presence in Marshfield.”

Marshfield store manager Tim Slavens declined to comment, but Bisio said that store, which was remodeled in 1992, is considerably smaller than other Wal-Mart stores – often between 100,000 square feet and 150,000 square feet. “Most of the Supercenters that we build today are around 150,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet, so this store is probably long overdue for an update, an upgrade,” he said.

Bisio said a Supercenter would approximately triple Wal-Mart’s employment in Marshfield, where there are about 100 workers. About 75 are full-time.

Springfield market

Bisio said that Wal-Mart doesn’t have specific plans for additions or changes to other stores in the Springfield area. “I know we’ve been looking at our store at Kearney and (Glenstone), trying to determine whether we could expand that store (to a Supercenter) or relocate it,” he said, adding that no timeline has been set for Marshfield or Kearney.

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