Thread: Wal-Mart to Open 2 Hispanic-Focused Supermarkets

Wal-Mart to Open 2 Hispanic-Focused Supermarkets

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Wal-Mart will open two supermarkets targeting Hispanic consumers in Arizona and Texas, the Financial Times reported.

Supermercado de Wal-Mart will open in remodeled retail spaces previously occupied by Wal-Mart's Neighborhood Market stores in Phoenix and Houston.

Wal-Mart said the stories will feature a "new layout, signing and product assortment designed to make them even more relevant to local Hispanic customers," according to the Financial Times.

Sam's Club, also owned by Wal-Mart, will open a Hispanic-targeted discount super warehouse called Mas Club in Houston later this year, the Financial Times reported.

The new stores coincide with a larger Wal-Mart theme of targeting a certain demographic, such as African-American, urban, suburban and Hispanic.

Last year a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Texas included a larger selection of Spanish-language DVDs and music, Hispanic foods and a tortilleria bakery, the Financial Times reported.

Click here to read more on this story from the Financial Times.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509208,00.html

The new stores coincide with a larger Wal-Mart theme of targeting a certain demographic, such as African-American, urban, suburban and Hispanic

If you opened a store for Whites it would be considered racist.

AND THESE STORES ARE RACIST TOO.

Ooops

ANDY COMER: Hispanic Wal-Mart is muy racist

Now this just about takes the cake.

Wal-Mart has helped me learn a bit of Spanish.

Thanks to the signs on the aisles, I know that galletas are cookies, pan is bread, and leche is milk. It makes perfect sense to have bilingual store displays in an area like the Rio Grande Valley. Wal-Mart would be stupid to overlook that.

One aisle always seems to puzzle me. Whenever I pass the "Latino foods" section, I feel like the sign is saying that Hispanic people are genetically engineered to only eat what is in that department, and wash it all down with a Corona or some tequila. There's no sign anywhere in the store that says "white food" or "African-American food." Why does our food have to be segregated? Then again, we do have white bread and white chocolate.

In what I consider a tacky move, Wal-Mart recently announced it was reconfiguring a building the company is constructing in Peñitas with a "unique store format" according to a Monitor article. The store is in fact a "Hispanic concept" Wal-Mart. Maybe I'm being over-sensitive, but the very idea of such an establishment seems quite racist to me.

The Monitor article continues with a description of the concept Wal-Mart that includes wider aisles, shorter shelves and merchandise arranged to "cater to the needs and vibrant tastes of customers from South Texas and the Hispanic community." The "vibrant tastes" part made me laugh out loud.

I understand that a huge corporation like Wal-Mart wants to cater to individual markets like the Valley, hence the bilingual signs in its stores. But rearranging an entire building and labeling it as a "Hispanic concept" store seems to belittle those who live in this area, as many Monitor readers commented on our Web site. I'm wondering: Since I'm white, will the store be more difficult for me to shop in? Will I even be allowed to enter a "Hispanic concept" Wal-Mart?

What if Wal-Mart set up shop in predominantly black cities like Detroit or Atlanta and created stores that were more "black-friendly?" I gauruntee Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson would be picketing said concept store and demanding its closure. So why is it no problem to build a "Hispanic concept" store?

I'm almost certain that I'm overreacting. Maybe this "Hispanic concept" Wal-Mart will actually be a hit with Valley shoppers who appreciate the lower shelves and product placement that matches their "vibrant tastes." The thing that bothers me is that no Hispanic leaders, to my knowledge, are even bothering to stand up to Wal-Mart and point out that these concept stores seem at least somewhat condescending toward the people they're intended to serve.

Until the "Hispanic concept" Wal-Mart is finished, Valley residents will sadly be forced to shop at the "regular" stores that apparently have aisles that are too narrow, shelves that are too tall and products that are too bland. I hope the merchandise in the Latino food section isn't too hard to reach.

http://grandpa-oldsoldier.blogspot.com

I thought they already made these changes. Most of the Wal-Marts I go to are full of Hispanics.

MI BLOG ES TU BLOG

Wal-Mart Finds Way to Sell Hispanics More Junk

Attention, Hispanic “(suckers)â€

All the signs and such will be in Spanish. You can surf the web and find all the places sued or being sued for "ENGLISH ONLY" . So now we cater again to corporate America and the Hispanics. Are they that V***V stupid to not see why Americans are getting really peaved about all this garbage?

If they want all this Spanish then let them ALL go back to their own damn countries!

They got my e-mail sent bright and early this morning. I wanted to know when my Spanish signs would be taken down and when they'd be catering to me. Or , if they have a heads up....where the Irish, English, German, French, Scottish, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Sioux, Cherokee version would open....where that section of the country was, to cater to me and my ethnic groups. I also asked if they have an Asian version in the future and if signs would be in English, just incase I decided to venture forth out of my "community". Then I demanded an elderly friendly version of Wal-Mart since it's tough for me to "shop" in this big store environment and find what I might need. Then suggested they might want a young family store to cater to new parents, a Muslim Wal-Mart, a Christian one and to be fair, an Athiest one as well.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-865016.html#865016
Also posted here