Renovated Walmart to Hold Grand Opening Wednesday Morning

The following news release comes from Walmart: 

Residents of Naugatuck are invited to the newly expanded Walmart store, which opens Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 1100 New Haven Road. The grand-opening ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. The expanded store will bring more opportunities for savings for customers and will employ approximately 300 associates, including 23 new jobs created by the expansion. It will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Ribbon-Cutting Celebration at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14  

Community and business leaders will join Walmart associates at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14, for a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Customers are encouraged to come to the store to take advantage of a wide variety of grand-opening events and promotions. The celebration events include product samplings from companies such as Pepsi, Nabisco and Frito Lay. All events are family-friendly, free and open to the public.

“We are proud to be celebrating our newly expanded store during the year that Walmart celebrates its 50thanniversary of the first store opening,” said store manager Leslie Cook. “We look forward to serving the people of our community, helping save them money so they can live better.”

Customer Convenience and Wide Product Selection

By combining general merchandise and a full line of groceries in one convenient location, the store offers Naugatuck shoppers the convenience of one-stop shopping close to home.
The new store features a wide assortment of quality, value-priced merchandise, including:

•       Family apparel
•         Health and beauty aids
•         Electronics
•         Toys
•         Lawn and garden items
•         Jewelry
•         Automotive products
•         Home furnishings
•         Hardware
•         Sporting goods
•         Pet supplies
•         Housewares 

The grocery area will include a wide selection of fresh produce, including a variety of organic products. Other features include a full bakery, meat and dairy products, dry goods and staples, beverages, a deli, frozen foods, canned and packaged goods, baking items and household supplies. For added convenience, the store will also offer a vision center, a pharmacy, electronics department, a garden center, a digital-photo processing center and a Walmart Connect Center.

The pharmacy will offer a full range of products and services to support the health and wellness of customers and their families. The pharmacy team can answer questions and offer health and wellness solutions. They can also assist customers who wish to transfer their prescriptions to Walmart. The pharmacy is conveniently located at the front of the store. 

Store Design Incorporates Environmentally Friendly Features

This store features many energy-saving elements, part of Walmart’s overall efforts to reduce the total amount of energy used in stores and other operations. These features include LED lighting in freezer cases and non-sales areas, new energy-efficient HVAC units and a recycling program.

Community Organizations Benefit from Grand-Opening Grants

Nonprofit organizations will also benefit from the retailer’s ongoing charitable contributions and support for community projects. As part of Walmart’s commitment to the communities in which it operates, $2,000 in grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will be presented to two local organizations at the grand opening. The Naugatuck Police Department and Naugatuck Fire Department will each receive $1,000.

Healthier Food and “Great For You”

Walmart made a major commitment to make food healthier and healthier food more affordable, ensuring families won’t have to choose between a product that is good for them and one they can afford. Steps in the healthier food initiative include:

• Reformulate thousands of packaged food items by 2015 by reducing sodium and added sugars and removing all remaining industrially produced trans fats.
• Make healthier choices more affordable by providing savings on fresh produce and reducing the price premium on “better-for-you” items.
• Provide solutions to address food deserts by bringing stores in underserved communities.
• Increase charitable support for nutrition programs that help educate consumers about healthier food solutions and choices.

The “Great For You” icon appears on select Great Value and Marketside products as well as fresh and packaged fruits and vegetables. The icon was developed to help customers easily identify nutritious food options so they can make healthier eating choices for themselves and their families. For more information, visit corporate.walmart.com/healthier-food.

Walmart.com Services

Walmart.com services will be available at rear of the store.  In addition to a digital-photo processing lab, the store will also offer two services for customers who shop online. Site-to-Store is a free service that allows customers to ship online orders from www.walmart.com free to any Walmart store for pickup. Pick Up Today is a free service that allows customers to order store items online and pick them up at their local Walmart store that same day (or the next day if items are ordered after 6 p.m. local time). 

Pay With Cash

All Walmart stores and Walmart Neighborhood Markets participate in the “Pay With Cash” program. This allows customers to order at Walmart.com and pay for the items with cash at all stores in the U.S. Walmart is the first major retailer to offer online purchases without the need for banking services or a credit, debit or prepaid card.

Economic Impact Includes Approximately 23 New Jobs

The newly expanded Naugatuck Walmart will employ approximately 300 associates, including 23 new jobs created by the expansion, according to Cook. The average wage at Walmart for full-time hourly associates in Connecticut is approximately $13.54 per hour.* Eligible full- and part-time associates at Walmart are able to take advantage of many employment benefits, including a wide variety of health care plans, 401(k) participation, discounts, membership at Sam’s Club and the opportunity to purchase stock. More than three-fourths of the company’s managers began their Walmart careers as hourly associates.

About Walmart 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 10,300 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of $444 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/walmartnewsroom. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com andhttp://www.samsclub.com.