Walmart plans to renovate the former Kmart space at the Kelsey Creek Center on 148th Ave. and Main St. into a 64,936-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market.
“This store will deliver a broad assortment of products at an everyday low price,” said Matti Haavener, Walmart Senior Director and Regional General Manager. “Plus, the store size and format fits seamlessly into the existing retail corridor. At the end of the day, we want our stores to reflect the communities where they are located and serve real customer needs.”
The new Walmart Neighborhood Market will provide up to 95 new jobs and a range of other benefits to the Bellevue community. The store, which is a smaller format than Walmart’s full-service stores, will focus on providing groceries and general merchandise. It will feature a wide variety of products, including: fresh produce, meats and dairy products, frozen foods, dry goods and staples, drive-through pharmacy, deli foods, bakery items, canned and packaged goods, condiments and spices, pet supplies, household supplier and one-hour photo center.
The Walmart Neighborhood Market will also incorporate energy-efficient technology and environmentally-sound features designed to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste, including skylights and LED lighting.
Havener noted that Walmart has long-standing partnerships with Bellevue-based suppliers, foundation partners, associates and customers. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have supported a number of area organizations in recent years, including Overlake Hospital and the Eastside Emergency Feeding Network, to name just a few.
“We look forward to sustaining those critical community partnerships in the years to come and forging new relationships along the way,” Havener added.
Publisher’s Note: Matti – please contact me at Joe(at) BellevueBusinessJournal.com regarding sponsorships for BellevueBusinessJournal.com and Eastside Entrepreneurs. We can sure use your support and the local business community will take notice. I can also hook you up with some great non-profits like Bellevue LifeSpring and Renewal Food Bank here in Bellevue.
Currently there are 54 Walmarts, three Sam’s Clubs and one distribution center in Washington state employing approximately 19,381 associates. In its FY2011 Walmart purchased $2,598,045,143 worth of goods and services from 743 Washington businesses.
More information on Walmart Neighborhood Markets is available at http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/7606.aspx.