Walmart Canada unveils 100th Supercentre

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 14 /CNW/ - Walmart Canada opened the doors of its 100^th supercentre located in Victoria, British Columbia providing customers with the company's next generation of store design and customer experience.  Today's grand opening marks a major milestone for Walmart Canada, which opened its first supercentres in 2006.  Walmart Canada's total store count currently stands at 319 stores nationwide.

"Walmart Canada is Canada's fastest growing retailer, and we are excited to celebrate this milestone," said David Cheesewright, president and CEO of Walmart Canada. "With our supercentre program, we are providing new economic opportunities to communities and bringing customers the products they want at unbeatable prices, helping Canadians save money and live better."

Originally opened in 1994 and relocated from 3601 Douglas St., the new Victoria Walmart Supercentre, located at 3460 Saanich Road in the Uptown Centre, gains more than 60,000 square feet providing customers with a full range of groceries and general merchandise under one roof.

Among the many improvements are a new layout, wider aisles, a bright interior paint scheme, enhanced lighting and easy-to-read signage to make the shopping experience more convenient for customers than ever before. "We listened to our customers and have redesigned the store to make shopping at our Walmart stores even easier," added Cheesewright.

Earlier this year, Walmart Canada announced it will open 35 to 40 supercentres in 2010.  The projects include new stores, relocations of existing stores, store expansions and store remodels, representing a combined investment of almost half a billion dollars in Canadian communities.  The supercentres are expected to generate approximately 6,500 store and construction jobs.  By the end of the year, Walmart Canada will have 325 stores, including 124 supercentres and 201 discount stores.

Walmart Canada's first supercentres opened in November 2006 in Ontario.  Today, the company has supercentres in four provinces - Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Victoria Walmart Supercentre Fast Facts

• Originally opened in 1994
• Relocated to 3460 Saanich Rd. in Uptown Centre from 3601 Douglas St.
• 216,000 square feet, an expansion of more than 60,000 sq. ft.
• Offers a full range of groceries and general merchandise under one roof
• The store raised and donated more than $50,000 for Canadian charities

About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates 319 outlets nationwide serving more than one million Canadians each day.  With more than 80,000 associates, the company is the nation's third-largest employer. Walmart Canada's corporate culture was recently ranked among the 10 most admired corporate cultures in Canada by Waterstone Human Capital Inc.

For further information:

Felicia Fefer, Walmart Canada, [phone] x 4466