Tuesday October 2, 7:51 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Wal-Mart Announces Expansion Plans
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT - news) announced the continuation of its aggressive unit growth for the fiscal year beginning February 1, 2002.
Domestically, the Wal-Mart division plans to open approximately 50 new discount stores and 180 to 185 new Supercenters. This represents an acceleration of Supercenter unit expansion and reflects the strong consumer acceptance and financial results from the format. Relocations or expansions of existing discount stores will account for approximately 110 to 115 of the Supercenters, while the remainder will be built in new locations. The company plans to further accelerate the timing of Supercenter openings by delivering more units into the system during the first half of the next fiscal year versus the year ending January 31, 2002.
The Company will further expand its Neighborhood Market concept by adding approximately 15 to 20 new units in the upcoming fiscal year.
The SAM'S CLUB division will open 50 to 55 domestic clubs, approximately half of which will be relocations or expansions of existing clubs. The division will also continue its aggressive remodeling program with approximately 100 projects in the next fiscal year.
Wal-Mart International plans to open 120 to 130 units in existing markets. Projects are scheduled to open in each country in which we operate, and will include new stores and clubs as well as relocations of a few existing units. These announced units also include several restaurants, department stores and supermarkets in Mexico. In addition, Germany will continue with the remodeling of the acquired hypermarkets.
``The planned square footage growth for the coming year represents approximately 46 million square feet of new retail space, which will be the largest square footage increase in the Company's history and a 9% increase over the fiscal 2002 total,'' said Lee Scott, President and CEO.
The Company will construct 2 new regional general merchandise distribution centers, 3 new food distribution centers and 2 fresh food distribution centers during the next fiscal year. Combined, these 7 DC's will add almost 7 million square feet of distribution space.
The Company will hold a live web cast of presentations by the company's President & CEO, CFO, and divisional executives. You may access this web cast via the investor relations section of the company's website at www.walmartstores.com beginning at 1:00 PM CDT and ending at approximately 3:30 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 2, 2001. |
