Walmart Neighborhood Market to Open in Coachella

More Jobs and Grocery Options Coming to Coachella

Walmart Neighborhood Market brings smaller format, local fresh food favorites and employment opportunities to the community

·         New Walmart Neighborhood Market located at 83053 Avenue 48

·         About 65 jobs created by Coachella Walmart Neighborhood Market

·         Store open 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week

COACHELLA, Calif., May 12, 2014 – Walmart will open a new Walmart Neighborhood Market Wednesday, May 14, after a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:30 a.m. The new store, approximately one-quarter the size of a Walmart Supercenter, is located at 83053 Avenue 48 in the Jackson Square shopping center and is open 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. The new store will provide local customers with a new, convenient option for their grocery shopping needs, including fresh produce and pharmacy services.

“This new Walmart Neighborhood Market is a welcome addition to our City,” said Coachella Mayor Pro Tem Steve Hernandez. “The store will not only allow our residents to shop for quality groceries at affordable prices, but it will anchor a neighborhood shopping center that has long been without a tenant and help provide much needed tax revenues for our City.”

Smaller Store, More Convenience

The Walmart Neighborhood Market format offers quick and convenient shopping, with a full-grocery department, including organic and natural selections. The store features prepared food options, fresh baked breads, self-serve deli and a bakery. The Coachella store is also tailored to the community, offering local favorites and Latino-oriented products.

Foods available at the Coachella Neighborhood Market will help further Walmart’s effort to provide families with healthy food options they can afford.  In 2011, Walmart committed to make a difference on one of the biggest issues facing American families: how to put healthier, more affordable food on the dinner table each night.  During the first few years of Walmart’s healthier food initiative, the company has made tremendous progress, including saving customers $2.3 billion on fresh fruits and vegetables; providing more than $26 million to support nutrition education programs; and reducing sugar and sodium in Great Value brand products by 10 percent.

The pharmacy offers a full range of products and services. Pharmacy team members can answer product and prescription questions and customers can ask about health and wellness solutions.

New Store, New Jobs

The first Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in 1998, and today there are approximately 350 Walmart Neighborhood Market stores nationwide. The new store employs up to 65 full- and part-time associates. Walmart provides competitive wages, along with a high quality benefits program for eligible full- and part-time associates. For example, the company provides a variety of affordable health and well-being benefits, including health care coverage with no lifetime maximum. Walmart also offers matching 401(k) contributions of up to 6 percent, discounts on general merchandise, an Associate Stock Purchase Program and company-paid life insurance. Additionally, associates are eligible to receive a quarterly incentive based on store performance.

Store manager Mark Vasquez began his Walmart career in 2012 as an assistant manager. He brings more than 28 years of retail and grocery management experience to the job.

“I’m excited to bring this new store and Walmart’s everyday low prices to Coachella. I have spent much of my career in Coachella, and I love this community,” said Vasquez. “All of our associates have worked hard to prepare for the grand opening, and now we look forward to meeting shoppers.”

Community Giving

Walmart supports local charitable causes that are important to the communities it serves. In the last fiscal year, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation donated more than $3.2 million to organizations and events in the Inland Empire that support hunger relief and nutrition, economic opportunity and workforce development, environmental sustainability, women’s economic empowerment, and military and veterans issues.

The grand-opening celebration will include presentations of more than $30,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation to local community groups, including a $25,000 Walmart Foundation grant to FIND Food Bank for its Kids Summer Feeding Program, furthering Walmart’s commitment to hunger relief. FIND Food Bank is the only regional food bank serving eastern Riverside and southern San Bernardino Counties and it distributes 8 to 9 million pounds of food assistance annually to an average 80,000 individuals each month. Other grant recipients include Coachella Valley High School, Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley and Christ is Salvation Church’s food ministry program.

“I am pleased to see how quickly Walmart has become a community partner,” said Becky Flores Valadez, executive director of the Coachella Chamber of Commerce. “This store marks the beginning of many positive economic and charitable giving benefits for the City.”

In addition to the grants given as part of the grand opening, the new store will continue to further Walmart’s pledge to fight hunger in America. As part of Walmart’s and the Walmart Foundation’s $2 billion commitment to fight hunger through 2015, Walmart stores in California donated approximately 10.2 million pounds of food, in fiscal year 2013, or the equivalent of 8.5 million meals. Additionally, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $26.3 million in fiscal year 2013 in California alone. For more information on Walmart’s fight against hunger, visit http://foundation.walmart.com/our-focus/hunger.

A Big Family Welcome

Walmart is happy to be part of the Coachella community and is ready to celebrate with residents on Saturday, May 17. A Big Family Welcome will give customers a chance to meet Vasquez and enjoy fun family activities such as face painting, cupcake decorating and free food samples while supplies last. Join the celebration from noon to 3 p.m.  

Join the Conversation

Walmart invites Coachella shoppers to share their in-store experience on Facebook and Twitter by using #MyNewWalmart. Visit the My Local Walmart Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/walmart2826. Fans of the local page can receive information about rollbacks, in-store events, meal solutions and more.

About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere -- in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 245 million customers and members visit our 11,302 stores under 71 banners in 27 countries and ecommerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2014 sales of over $473 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.

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FACT SHEET

Coachella Walmart Neighborhood Market

Store facts

• Location: 83053 Avenue 48, Coachella, Calif.
• Size: Approximately 50,000 square feet
• Store manager: Mark Vasquez
• Hours: 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week
• Grand opening: Wednesday, May 14, following a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:30 a.m.

Store features

• Full line of groceries, including:

• Fresh produce
• Bakery
• Self-serve deli
• Prepared meal options
• Organic/natural selections
• Latino products

• Health and beauty aids
• Pet and cleaning products
• Hardware and stationery

• Pharmacy
• Digital-photo processing center
• Walmart Site-to-Store

Charitable giving

• More than $30,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will be presented to these area organizations.

• FIND Food Bank
• Coachella Valley High School
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley
• Christ is Salvation Church Food Ministry

Employment

• Number of jobs created: About 65
• Full- and part-time positions

Retailtainment

·         Saturday, May 17 from noon to 3 p.m.

For more information

• Media contact: Melissa Cameron, Southwest Strategies, 858-541-7800
• Walmart Media Relations, 800-331-0085
• Walmart information online: www.corporate.walmart.com; merchandise sales: www.walmart.com

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