CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- According to building permits filed recently, Wal-Mart is working on a Neighborhood Market store in a shopping center on Independence Boulevard.
The permits, seen here, show that Wal-Mart plans to spend about $5 million to renovate the 50,550 square foot space. The store was formerly a Best Buy.
The store will be Charlotte's first Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market when it opens. There are about 200 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets, which are basically like traditional supermarkets. They offer full lines of produce, dry goods, bakery, deli, health and beauty goods, household supplies and a pharmacy. The size - averaging about 42,000 square feet - is also pretty much the same as a traditional supermarket, like Harris Teeter.
Such a store would represent a further challenge to traditional supermarkets, which face market share pressure from behemoths such as Wal-Mart and Target, as well as nimble competitors with food offerings such as Family Dollar and Dollar General.
Wal-Mart overtook Harris Teeter last year to become the region's No. 1 grocery seller, edging the hometown with 21.5 percent market share vs. 21.1 percent. And Wal-Mart has been going after Harris Teeter aggressively this year, with an advertising campaign highlighting differences in price.
