Sunday, August 20, 2023

A Throwback in Greece's Wacky Walmart

 

    In most cases, chains are usually up to the task of keeping their stores modern and up to date. However, sometimes circumstances arise that keep remodels from occuring. In today's post, we take a look at a Walmart store that still maintains its original layout from when it first opened in the 1990s. The only changes that this store received, as of this writing, was the apparel merchandise area being updated to wood floors; having the entire store's signage being updated to an earlier version of Project Impact and converting the former restaurant space into a Pickup area. 

    This location doesn't even offer an expanded grocery department. In today's retail scene, Walmart stores of this size added an expanded grocery selection as part of remodels- even if the store had an existing grocery store in the same center.  This location maintains the same amount of grocery selection it did when it opened. For comparison, it is on par with what you could find at Kmart. 

    With Tops having operated a supermarket in the same center up to 2012, it would be reasonable to expect that expanding the square footage of the store was likely a no-no due to lease stipulations. As a result, it appears that at one time there were plans to relocate to brand new supercenter down the road near an existing Kohl's. However, those plans hit a snag when the area was declared to be wetlands. This prevented Walmart from relocating, and best guess is that the company doesn't really want to put a whole lot of money into this location as a result. It also wouldn't surprise me to hear if this location also has issues with theft, as the center it is located in has seen better days and some products have been put behind glass cases.

    As for what the future holds for this location, it remains to be seen. Perhaps it may look to relocate one day, but based off my visit last month, it seemed that some minor changes have occurred in the form of a new paint job. At the very least, they should improve the grocery offerings.