Copyright 2009 The Birmingham News
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May 13, 2009 Wednesday

COMMUNITY NEWS; Pg. 1H Vol. 122 No. 061

512 words

LIZ ELLABY News staff writer

Three Birmingham-area Wal-Mart Supercenters, including two in Hoover, are undergoing changes in everything from floor plan and product displays to exterior color scheme and a new corporate logo, a company spokeswoman said.

A $1 million renovation at the Colonial Promenade Hoover store on John Hawkins Parkway began two weeks ago, and a similar upgrade at the Parkway East Wal-Mart in Birmingham started last month. Renovation of the Hoover Wal-Mart on U.S. 280 is set to begin late this month.

The John Hawkins Parkway and Parkway East stores each are hiring 80-90 full-time temporary employees, partly to work additional night hours, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Wyatt-Moore said. It's not known how many will be hired for the U.S. 280 store.

The yearlong renovations are part of a nationwide program to upgrade 80 percent of the retailer's 3,500 stores over the next five to seven years, Wyatt-Moore said. For most stores, warm earth tones will replace the cool blue-and-gray-toned facades, and the old five-pointed star logo will give way to a flower

graphic.

''This is the most extensive renovation we've ever had,'' WyattMoore said. ''It will affect every department, even the bathrooms.''

The changes were prompted by studies of female shoppers, the retailer's main buyers, Wyatt-Moore said. Female shoppers, who head mainly for the grocery aisles, are also major buyers of health and beauty items, pet supplies, baby goods and cleaning products, she said. Those items will be moved near the grocery for convenience.

Shelving throughout the stores will be lowered to display products, such as small appliances, at eye level, which women prefer, she said.

Electronics departments will be significantly expanded and more accessible, with products displayed on large circular counters staffed by sales associates, she said.

In general, all remodeled stores will have directional maps at the entrance, brightcolored interior paint, wider aisles free of product displays, and easy-to-read signs, according to Wal-Mart literature.

Appearances may vary

In Hoover, as elsewhere, local zoning regulations and covenants may dictate any change in the building's appearance and signs, WyattMoore said.

Hoover's Wal-Mart on John Hawkins Parkway is bound by 24 conditions imposed by the city's zoning commission in 1999 and later incorporated into a court order when residents sued in protest.

Those conditions dictate the appearance down to the color, gray, shown on the renderings. However, the city's landscape architect has some discretion in ruling on minor appearance changes, such as a different shade of gray, Hoover planning consultant Bob House said. A change from gray to brown may require court approval, he said.

The U.S. 280 store has no such restrictions, except that outdoor signs - including the golden arches of a McDonald's restaurant inside - be displayed in white.

Wyatt-Moore said Wal-Mart frequently encounters local restrictions, and has a palette of shades from which to choose.

Five hundred Superstores will begin renovation work this year, she said.

EMAIL: eellaby@bhamnews.com

May 14, 2009