Published 05:47 p.m., July 27, 2010
The grand opening of Fergus Falls’ Walmart Supercenter is only a week away, and store manager Tim Bosworth is excited. A veteran of the company who has worked in the Fergus Falls location for several years, Bosworth said that the changes and expansions in the local store will allow for more variety for customers and a selection based on people’s needs.
“We’re on pace, on time and excited to open next Wednesday morning,” Bosworth said. Though the past several months have seen the store shuffle, move and reorganize its inventory, everything is now in its proper place — except for the “fresh department,” which customers will be able to access for the first time at 8 a.m. on Aug. 4, just after the 7:30 opening celebration. The fresh department will boast fresh produce, seafood and meat, as well as a deli and a bakery.
But fresh food isn’t the only thing new to the store. The inside front of the store will soon be home to an arcade, a hair salon, and Walmart Wireless, a company-owned phone store. The electronics department has doubled in size, and many of the selections in other sections of the store have been adjusted based on studies of the area population’s needs and wants.
The store is also more convenient in more ways than one.Bosworth explains that customers are already responding well to the convenience of shopping for groceries right along with other goods. He also said the layout of the store was designed to put all consumable products — groceries, pharmaceuticals, hygiene products and more — in the same basic area. “(Customers) can make one convenient stop on our market side,” he said.
One of the most noticeable additions to Walmart is its extensive grocery wing, featuring many aisles of canned, boxed, refrigerated and frozen goods in addition to the fresh department. “This week, traffic has been picking up,” said Bosworth, and the nearly complete grocery section is a big part of that. Store traffic is up 7 percent from the same time last year.
“We expect customer traffic to continue to increase, and it should also increase for other area businesses,” said Bosworth.
Fergus Falls resident Jennifer Herzberg said there were three words for why she buys from Walmart. “One-stop shop,” she said. On Tuesday afternoon, she browsed the grocery section for food for her and her kids before heading to another part of the store to buy back-to-school supplies. She likes that she can buy for her whole family in one place.
Cliff Sackett, who lives only two miles from the store, likes the extra money he can save when he shops. “It’s reasonable and cheaper (here),” he said.
It’s clear that Bosworth is pleased with many aspects of the new additions to the store, from the improved layout to specialized food sections (like gluten-free products) to the fresh department’s fail-safe power generator. But one of the most exciting things his Walmart has brought in is jobs.
In December of 2009, Bosworth said, 140 people were employed at the store. “We’ll be at 300 by the end of the week,” he explained.
With the expansion of the grocery section, Walmart will be put in competition with Fergus Falls’ two other grocery stores, Service Food and Sunmart. Gary Spies, owner of Service Foods, isn’t worried.
“If you’re going to have another grocery store … some (customers) will have to come from Service Food,” he acknowledged. However, Spies explained, he believes Service Food’s downtown location and community involvement are and will be factors in the grocery’s ongoing success.
“Service Food was here in 1938, and I think it will be here in 2038,” he said. “I think the community’s been good to us, and I think we’ve been good to the community.”
Spies added that he is holding off on possible changes to Service Food’s business plan or structure until he knows for sure how the store will be affected.
Brian Numainville, the senior director of research and public relations at Nash Finch, Sunmart’s parent company, could not be reached for comment.
Spies, as well as Bosworth and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Workman, also posited that Walmart will draw many of their customers from outside of the community rather than from the existing marketplace. And when there’s an influx of people into the city, said Workman, it’s likely they’ll be making more than one stop. “It will be a positive impact for the community overall,” she said.
Bosworth also believes that putting a supercenter in Fergus Falls will tempt city and area residents who currently shop at Walmart Supercenters in Detroit Lakes, Alexandria, Wadena, Dilworth or Wahpeton. “Now we have the ability … to keep that customer in Fergus Falls,” he said.
While Workman said that some businesses will need to make or already have made adjustments in order to operate smoothly with a Walmart Supercenter in town, she said that the store has been and will continue to be a community asset. “Walmart has been a great chamber member,” she said, adding that “the fact that we’re adding jobs in a down economy is huge.”
“Competition makes us all stronger,” she concluded.
The 7:30 a.m. ceremony will include a ribbon cutting and a recognition of the 16 current store employees who were working at the Walmart when it opened in 1991.
Bosworth offered his thanks to the community for helping to make the expansion possible. “I really have appreciated the support of the city and the patience of the customers as we went through a radical remodel,” he said.
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