History
The prototype did not go as well as planned. Wal-Mart was unaccustomed to operating such massive stores, and an economic recession had brought on a decline in retail sales. Although the stores were profitable, sales projections were too optimistic and the company did not anticipate the massive heating and cooling costs, the resistance of customers towards parking and congestion issues, and the formidable shopping experience in stores "too big to find anything."
The first Wal-Mart Supercenter, which used a floorplan in the 125,000 sq ft (11,600 m2) range, was opened in 1988 in Washington, Missouri. As the Supercenter proved to be a much more profitable experiment, Wal-Mart renamed the stores "Wal-Mart's Hypermart USA" in April 1990, and eventually began either converting them to Supercenter operations or closing them.
The Hypermart USA concept was officially discontinued in 1990, when Wal-Mart announced it was converting Kansas City's Hypermart USA in Benjamin Plaza near Bannister Mall into a Wal-Mart Supercenter. At the time, Wal-Mart said it would cost almost $5 million to renovate the 270,000 sq ft (25,000 m2). store. This store closed mid-January 2007 with the opening of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter on the site of the former Blue Ridge Mall now Blue Ridge Crossing as the first Wal-Mart "high-efficiency" store which opened January 19, 2007. An inefficient floorplan and the facility's large size were cited as some of the reasons for the relocation.The original Hypermart in Garland, Texas closed in May 2008, and was replaced by Wal-Mart's first "Hispanic Community" store a few blocks away.
The Topeka, Kansas hypermarket, located on Southwest Wannamaker Road, is still open, although its exterior has been remodeled as well as the Arlington, Texas location on S Cooper Street.
Read more about this topic: Hypermart USA
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