Mall Avenue Wal-Mart redesign to be model for entire company
Posted on Thursday, October 30, 2008
BROOKE McNEELY Northwest Arkansas Times Paula Ginnett, Wal-Mart marketing manager, tours the newly remodeled Wal-Mart on Mall Avenue in Fayetteville Wednesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Wal-Mart store was one of two supercenters in the Northwest Arkansas region to get a new layout that will be rolled out company-wide and is aimed to help customers navigate the store more easily.
Wal-Mart’s got a brand new look, and the Fayetteville location off Mall Avenue was one of the first to introduce it to the public Wednesday.
A serenade from the Wal-Mart Choir kicked off the celebration of what Wal-Mart marketing manager Paula Ginnett called Project Impact. Ginnett said the Mall Avenue location was chosen to showcase the new floor setup and organization the company plans to implement in all its stores mainly because that location was due for a remodel. The process was an intense 20-week job, as opposed to the 8-week job most remodels usually take, Ginnett said. The Mall Avenue location was ideal because it was so close to the company’s headquarters.
“ It’s also one of the flagship locations in the area, ” Ginnett said.
The three other stores unveiling the change include the very first store in Rogers, a store in Dallas and one in Houston.
The biggest changes in the store’s layout include moving of the store’s pharmacy toward the back center of the building and moving of the store’s photo development department to the front.
Ginnett said the store is also much more open than it used to be because associates removed the aisle displays and “ gave the customers their space back. ”
Signs hang from the ceiling directing customers around a now-unfamiliar store. Ginnett said that ultimately the design is catered to the way people shop, putting consumable products near the food side and setting up household items by room instead of by product. The store has also reworked its seasonal and electronics departments.
So far, Ginnett said customer feedback has been positive.
“ They all love the space and clean, ” she said. “ It’s all been positive. ”
Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody and Bill Ramsey, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, both said they were thrilled with the change.
Ginnett said that eventually all Wal-Mart stores will take on the new look, but the Sixth Street location recently had a remodel so it would probably remain the same for a few more years before Project Impact comes back around.
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