Apr 10, 2006 - 06:26:48 CDT
The simultaneous opening of two Wal-Mart Supercenters in Bismarck, followed by the opening of a Sam's Club about a week later, will cap - for now - one of the greatest periods of retail store openings in the city's history, in physical size and the number of jobs involved.The three stores together account for 586,000 square feet of new retail space. According to the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, about 450,000 square feet were placed into service in 2005.
Bismarck Mayor John Warford said the only thing comparable to the current opening of new stores was the Kirkwood Mall's opening in the 1970s.
"When you look at the number of new store openings in late 2005 and early 2006, and the number of new jobs created, the period is unprecendented," he said.
Dick Hedahl, president of Hedahls Parts Plus, said he doesn't think there ever has been anything as big as the current openings and the simultaneous creation of jobs.
"This is amazing growth," Hedahl said.
Although other businesses in the area have hundreds of employees and occupy large facilities, Hedahl pointed out that they grew over time.
"To have these numbers all at once is unprecedented," he said.
The two 220,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenters - one at Bismarck Expressway and 26th Street on the south side and one at State Street and Skyline Boulevard on the north side - are scheduled to open April 19, according to Bismarck Wal-Mart manager Curtis Patzell.
Casey King, business manager for Sam's Club, said the new 146,000-square-foot Sam's Club next to the south Wal-Mart will open on April 27.
Each Wal-Mart will employ 425 people, and Sam's Club will employ 170, managers say, bringing the total employment for the three stores to 1,020.
The decision to open all three stores at about the same time is based on the fact that Bismarck is a dynamic and growing market, said Ryan Horn, public affairs manager for Wal-Mart. "Bismarck is an attractive and viable place," he said.
"Opening one supercenter and a Sam's Club at the same time is a somewhat common occurrence, but I can't recall any time that we opened three stores at the same time in the same city," he said. "It's a very unique thing."
Horn said that "associates and operations" at the existing Bismarck Wal-Mart store will be relocated to the new south location.
"It will be a seamless transition," he said. "The existing discount store will close at 6 p.m. and the supercenter will be open the next morning." This means Wal-Mart will be closed one night it's usually open.
He said staff will be working through the last night before the supercenters' openings to get last-minute things in place, moving a large amount of product in a short amount of time.
"It's a tremendous piece of logistical work," he said. "Groceries have to go in during the last 24 to 48 hours, due to food safety issues, and 400 to 500 associates have to be trained. It's a big process."
Patzell said the existing Wal-Mart is running low on some items that will not be restocked, and running low on some items that will be restocked before the move to the supercenter.
"There is a process we use that lowers inventory at the existing store as we're receiving merchandise for the new store," he said. "We're restocking on an item-by-item basis at the existing store."
Patzell said there is a "lot of anticipation" in the Bismarck-Mandan community about the openings of the supercenters.
"It's kind of unusual to have two opening together in the same community, especially with the Dickinson store just recently opened," he said. "It will be interesting."
One of the first changes customers will notice between the existing Wal-Mart store and the supercenters is the different styles of materials used in construction, Ryan said, with earth-tone brown flooring, for example, taking the place of traditional white tile.
"Obviously, there will be much more space at the new stores," he said.
"Aisles will be wider and there will be more cash registers."
Other changes at the new stores include the addition of full retail grocery operations - meat, seafood, deli, bakery and other departments - and a liquor store housed in a separate on-site space, Horn said.
Horn said the company is "still waiting on some ancillary businesses" that will rent spaces inside the Wal-Mart stores.
Stuart Higginbotham, president of First Community Credit Union, said the credit union has signed letters of intent with Wal-Mart to open and operate two in-store branches in the supercenters, through a licensing agreement with Financial Supermarkets Inc. of Cornelia, Ga.
Patzell said Tuesday that other businesses leasing space within the south Wal-Mart include Subway, as well as a medical products store (including wheelchairs and lift seats) and a hair salon. He said the store also will have a pharmacy not owned by Wal-Mart.
The north supercenter will include a nail salon, Patzell said, and neither of the supercenters will have a gas station. The Sam's Club next to the south supercenter, however, will have a gas station.
Over at the Sam's Club temporary office, business manager Casey King said everything is "on track" for an April 27 opening next to the south Wal-Mart, with a business-member preview on April 26.
King said Tuesday that the company began moving inventory in after taking possession of the building on March 27. The company began shipping inventory Monday from a distribution point in Minnesota, and by Tuesday afternoon were "setting up pallets" in the new location. At Sam's Club, merchandise is displayed on pallets, rather than shelves.
"We've unloaded 15 trucks," King said.
The Bismarck store - which is 25,000 square feet larger than the company's Fargo location - will feature a full line of Sam's Club ancillaries, he said, including an optical department, a one-hour photo facility, a jewelry department, a tire and battery center and a cafe. The facility is prohibited by state law from having an on-site pharmacy, he said.
He said the gas station is scheduled to begin operations at Sam's Club in July.
A membership card is required to shop at Sam's Club. Membership is $40 for individuals and $35 for businesses.
King said the general public can stop by the temporary Sam's Club office at 1010 S. 12th St. (in the southwest corner of the Enterprise Rental Car building) to join and pick up membership cards until the store's grand opening.
He said the goal is to sign up 10,000 people before the grand opening, but only about 1,700 have signed up so far.
Mark Cunningham, traffic technician for the city engineering department, said a new traffic light at Bismarck Expressway will help facilitate traffic from the new stores.
"We don't foresee any problems with traffic," he said.
(Reach reporter Nathan Denton at 250-8261 or at nathan.denton@;bismarcktribune.com.)
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