Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is opening its first Market grocery store in the Northeast in Somerville, becoming the latest – and biggest – new competitor to try to shake up the once-staid supermarket scene in New England.
The Arkansas retail giant expects to soon sign a lease for the former Circuit City store on Mystic Avenue at the edge of the Assembly Square shopping district, and company spokesman Steven Restivo said the grocery should be open within a year.
Operating under the name Walmart Market, the grocery will be about 34,000 square feet, similar to a mid-size supermarket. Such smaller stores are part of a marked change in strategy for a company that built its reputation on sprawling big-box sites. Wal-Mart is now concentrating on opening smaller stores to improve its penetration in urban areas – especially New England, which the company has targeted as a major focus for expansion.
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