i here Walmart is taking over Zellers…whats the scoop…any one else know if this is true or not or just another rumour
Heard the same from one of the employees! Apparently their contract is up the end of June and there has, so far, been no movement from management. Walmart has been keeping an eye on the happenings with Extra so it seems some decisions will be based on that saga ! Can’t really see a Walmart here though, not with a large one only up the road !
Wal-Mart an American equivalent of Zellers.
But I’m wondering what would happen to Wal-Mart in Terrace if Costco set up a warehouse chain in Rupert.
[quote=“codybear933”]
Can’t really see a Walmart here though, not with a large one only up the road ! [/quote]
There was a Zellers in Terrace while we had one in Rupert. Not much different.
the difference is zellers is in every hick town along with fields or one or the other. we have both both lol. walmart needs more population its in terrace because its a hub city and draws customers from neighboring towns
Only up the road…an hour and a half away!
I also heard about this. One of my friends was talking to the manager at Zellers (who he/she is good friends with) and they told him/her that this Zellers would be closing down at the end of its lease and that Wal-Mart was probably going to be taking over the spaces that occupy Zellers and Extra Foods…thus making it ia two floor kind of store with escalators (similar to the way all of The Bay’s are set up across Canada).
One thing is for sure, if Zellers ever closes down the mall mangement is going to have to drop rent to lower prices to attract new larger tenants, because I cannot see the mall lasting too long without its two major anchor stores empty. That would leave Fields as their next biggest anchor type of store and that simply is not enough to keep that place alive.
I wonder what mall merchants are thinking about all of this, they cannot be happy to see the malls two largest and long running anchors leave.
Any mall merchant insiders here to help squash these rumours or to add a few more logs to the fire :evil:
Um, a two story Wal-mart heh…i think i will hold my breath…with the town shrinking i can’t see it.
I just do not understand why they would close, you cant tell me that place does not make money, now that movie gallery is closed arnt they the only place you can get video games and that. as for fields i do not see why they even open, every time i am in the mall it is empty
Yeah, a two-storey Walmart on opposite ends of the mall…that’s gonna be a fancy escalator.
Isn’t Zellers on top of the Extra Foods spot?!?! That would make them on the same end 
[quote=“Uncle Stumbly”]
Yeah, a two-storey Walmart on opposite ends of the mall…that’s gonna be a fancy escalator.[/quote]
The Zellers stock room sits right over Extra Foods. Approximately where thier bakery was.
allbusiness.com/retail-trade/4296908-1.html
MASSAPEQUA, NY – Wal-Mart opened its first enclosed mall store here yesterday. The two-level, 131,000 sq. ft. location is housed in a former Stearn’s department store. It is part of Sunrise Mall, a regional shopping center about 30 miles east of Manhattan. The store marks Wal-Mart’s eighth foray into New York’s Long Island region.
The new Wal-Mart can be accessed directly from the parking lot as well as from the upper and lower levels of the mall, which is also anchored by Sears and JCPenney. Kevin Cassidy, the store’s co-manager, says that unlike Wal-Mart’s typical “greenfield” locations that prevail elsewhere in the U.S., the Sunrise Mall store combines a department store-style layout with typical Wal-Mart merchandise and services. “The two-story store is an experiment for Wal-Mart,” he adds. “Every eye is going to be on us to see how well we do.”
The lower level emphasizes consumable products–including a frozen food section that spans about 20 feet–pharmacy, hbc, a vision center, outdoor furniture, and men’s and ladies’ apparel. The upper level, accessed by a central escalator and elevator, features electronics, a one-hour photo and digital processing center, children’s apparel, hardware, sporting goods, home, toys, and lawn and garden. While the latter offers an ample assortment of pots, tools and fertilizers, it houses few live plants. The store also does not have a firearms section. Only about half of the Long Island stores sell firearms, says Cassidy.
The new location employs about 350 people. Unlike a typical Wal-Mart, each floor has a co-manager, who is overseen by a store manager. Other Wal-Mart’s only have one co-manager. All stores have assistant managers. “This way, we don’t have to run up and down,” says Cassidy.
While the store does not feature the high ceilings and wide open spaces that are typical for Wal-Mart, it has some special features. The escalator, for example, incorporates a device that carries shopping carts from one level to the next. Opening day customers quickly caught on to this concept, though they created somewhat of a log jam at the base of the escalator as they waited to ascend or to visit one of several tables taking credit card applications or distributing free copies of a local newspaper.
The store also utilizes wall racks to merchandise goods. While these fixtures are also used in typical Wal-Marts, Cassidy says they are more prevalent in this store. Racks can be brought down to floor level for inventory adjustments. Unlike most Wal-Marts, the store does not have a Radio Grill restaurant. Rather, it has a small snack bar. Cassidy said that since the mall recently revamped its food court, Wal-Mart deemed a larger, in-store eatery unnecessary. In addition to men’s and women’s restrooms, the store has a family bathroom.
Cassidy says the owners of Sunrise Mall were quite pleased with Wal-Mart’s decision to open a store. Like many regional malls, Sunrise Mall has suffered a decline in traffic over the past decade. Weeknights in particular are slow. But with Wal-Mart drawing traffic during all hours of operation–it is open the same hours as the mall, 9 to 9:30–both Wal-Mart and other mall merchants should benefit, says Cassidy. For Wal-Mart, Cassidy projects traffic will be roughly 20% higher than at the chain’s other Long Island stores.
While some observers say the cost of operating a regional mall store are very high, Cassidy says rent at Sunrise Mall is “comparable” with rents at Wal-Mart’s other Long Island locations. Finding space with ample parking, though, is very challenging in this densely stored market. “That is what made this location most attractive.”
Despite having to lease pre-used space in every instance, Cassidy said Wal-Mart is very bullish about expanding on Long Island. The company already operates five stores in Suffolk County. The Sunrise Mall location is its third for Nassau County. In October, Wal-Mart will open a store in Valley Stream, a town on the border of New York City’s Queens borough. Wal-Mart also operates a two-story store in downtown Los Angeles.
–A Retail Merchandiser Report
I got confused by the doors facing different directions, emptying happy patrons with their purchases clutched tightly in their hands into parking lots at opposite sides of the mall.
You are, of course, completely correct. Alas.
Why wouldn’t Zellers just do the two storey thing if it’s economocally viable? They already do two storey stores in Surrey Place and Metrotown.
[quote=“Uncle Stumbly”]Why wouldn’t Zellers just do the two storey thing if it’s economocally viable? They already do two storey stores in Surrey Place and Metrotown.
[/quote]
Well if the company is running the place like it was back when I worked in the stock room, it’s because they don’t care about this store. It’s always been a store that they spend as little money as possible on and rotate managers through to train them.
Building a two storey store would take at least two things that this store doesn’t have. Money, and a long term vision.
Well, could it possibly be because we are not a busy metropolis, we are a town of 10 thousand people and when you look around and keep a score card of what businesses have gone belly up in the last 2 years alone and the ones that are on the brink, what company in their right mind would want to invest here?
those stores have gone belly up because they are a bunch of overpriced boutique stores
I’d have to agree. A large majority of people in this town can not afford boutique stores. Zellers, Walmart, Army & Navy, and liquor stores are more suited for this town.
exactly look at the ones that are closing soon too . concrete overpriced. uptown shows is closing because of change of interest in what she wants but i dont think the prices compare to the bigger stores.
with only henrys and eastwind here now we have all we really need for video rentals . but maybe an ebgames would be good to have game rentals in town.they are a store that sells games but used games are just as good as rentals . they are a mall store anyway . be a good fit for the mall.
[quote=“decker”]
with only henrys and eastwind here now we have all we really need for video rentals . [/quote]
I think the red box in Safeway gets a lot of business. $2 for a night is pretty cheap…for those who don’t fly the Jolly Roger.