Up Against the Wal-Mart

In order to accommodate the 208,000-sq.ft. SuperCenter it is building at its Rock Hill (S.C.) Galleria location, Wal-Mart has announced it will be closing the mall entrance to its store at the east end of the galleria. The announcement irked several of the galleria's tenants, and at least one has announced it will close its store there and move to another local mall.

Wal-Mart officials said there was no other way to accommodate the big new addition now under construction. The expanded Wal-Mart will have a grocery store and expanded garden and auto centers.

Wal-Mart's in-store mall entrance will be closed at the end of May so grocery store coolers can be installed. The new store will offer a covered walkway from its current entrance (which will become the grocery entrance) to adjacent mall doors. “You'll still be able to get in and out of the mall, but it will be different,” the store manager said. “We're trying to give the community something nice and new, and to offer them everything in a one-stop environment.”

The superintendent of the construction company involved in the project said the garden and auto centers need outside access, and there was no room to expand behind the building.

Wal-Mart is phasing in new departments as construction is completed. The garden center, sports, toys, auto and hardware departments should be set this weekend, with the new front doors opened in mid-May.

The owner of Julie's, the women's apparel store that has announced its relocation, said, “Blocking access to and from Wal-Mart will hurt business on that end.” The mall wouldn't comment, but other galleria merchants have said they agree. The manager of the Hibbett Sports store said they're possibly looking at new spots. The manager of Fashion Outfitters, said, “I'm quite concerned about it.” The manager of Dollar Tree said about 85 percent of her customers come from Wal-Mart. “It will make our sales go down,” she said. And one merchant, who asked not to be identified, said Wal-Mart could have saved the mall entrance if it wanted to. “Customers want to shop in both places,” he said. “This will be inconvenient.”