Retail chain Walmart, which operates around 5,000 stores in the U.S., is opening new stores and remodeling existing ones, as well as revamping its private-label offerings.
The company announced recently it is opening 20 new stores by early 2027 and has more than 650 scheduled remodels at both Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets locations.
With the remodels, the chain aims to tout “eye-catching displays and expanded assortments,” as well as implement wider aisles, refreshed interiors and exteriors with modern signage, and expanded pickup and delivery services.
Many Neighborhood Markets will also add bolstered deli and hot bar selections, improved lighting and fixtures, and upgraded areas for fulfilling online grocery orders.
The announcement of a deli revamp comes shortly after Walmart’s Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A.-based store, which opened in February, featured a wide array of fresh sushi, marking a first for Walmart.
“Our goal is simple: We want shopping to feel easy, intuitive, and connected while continuing to deliver the everyday low prices our customers expect,” Walmart said.
At the same time, Walmart also announced the largest revamp of its Great Value private-label, brand, which is the largest food and consumables consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand in the U.S., in its history.
Great Value will soon span almost 10,000 food and consumables items, including numerous seafood products such as frozen shrimp, tilapia, and ambient canned and pouched products.
Walmart’s private label will also include refreshed packaging that includes, among other changes, “consistent placement of nutrition information and benefit claims,” notably for GLP-1 users and other shoppers seeking higher-protein options.
“At Walmart, we’re focused on delivering quality and value our customers can count on every day,” Walmart U.S. Senior Vice President of Private Brands Scott Morris said. “Great Value has earned customers’ trust over decades, and while the brand is getting a fresh, modern look, what’s inside isn’t changing. Customers will continue to find the same trusted products at the same Every Day Low Prices they rely on.”
The rollout will be phased over the next two years, beginning with salty snacks and expanding category by category.
Amid all of the changes, Walmart said it does not plan to raise prices due to the Iran War and higher fuel costs – at least in the near term.
“I think we’re probably a long way from this bleeding into prices for us,” Walmart Executive Vice President and CFO John David Rainey said at the recent JP Morgan Retail Round-Up Forum, per Supermarket News. “We’re going to continue to play offense and gain market share as we’ve done over the last year and be aggressive on price where we can.”
