Food Retailing / Supermarkets

Walmart Plans Up to 300 New Stores

Will target USDA food deserts; openings expected by 2016

Published

13 years ago

July 21, 2011

VMSD Staff

Walmart Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.) plans to open 275-300 stores by 2016 that will serve the Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated food desert areas. The new urban and rural area stores will provide access to groceries for more than 800,000 people living in food deserts.

The world’s largest retailer says it used the USDA Food Desert Locator to determine the number of stores that currently serve or will serve food desert areas. Since 2007, the company reports it has opened 218 stores serving such locations.

“These stores are just one part of our robust Walmart U.S. growth strategy. We continue to see opportunities to offer customers the products they need at prices they can afford in urban and rural markets across the country,” says Leslie Dach, executive vp, corporate affairs at Walmart.

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