Walmart Moving into Convenience Store Business

Walmart is numero uno among big box stores. And it's no secret that many a small business has failed after Walmart came to town.

Now the chain has shifted its thinking and is going small — into convenience stores. Target is also laying plans for a mini version of its trademark big box stores. What is this going to mean for the future of small market owners and franchisees of chains such as 7-Eleven and ampm?

Says Kenneth Stone, professor of economics at Iowa State University and an expert on Walmart,

They [Walmart] have been playing around with various formats for years, and they haven’t had too much luck with it. I think they are going to have a tough time with this one also. — Christian Science Monitor

The company is just starting to put its toes in the small store water. The first Walmart Express is under construction about 20 miles from the head office in Bentonville, Arkansas. A Walmart on Campus, one of three small Walmart prototypes, opened in January at the University of Arkansas: the company says it is doing very well. The third mini prototype is Walmart Market.

Forty of the small Walmarts are slated to open this year, with hundreds to follow.

MSNBC