Wal-Mart opens second Supercenter

Wal-Mart has placed two new Supercenters in Sioux City in less than two years and another is under discussion in South Sioux City. In fall 2002, a Supercenter was opened at 3400 Singing Hills Blvd. The latest, at 3101 Floyd Blvd., was opened in July 2003.

But, said store manager Jay Weeter, "we still have customers come in the store who didn't even know we were open. I've had customers in here just about every week say, 'I knew they were building the store, but I didn't know you were open yet.'"

Weeter came on board a few months before the July opening. He said the 206,000-square-foot store is on the upper end of Supercenter sizes. "We were given the charge to come in here and open a beautiful store, and we did it," Weeter said.

While it is pleasing to work in such a great new facility, he said, what is truly special is the "fantastic associates that helped set it up ... it is not the building, it is the people in the building." Weeter remarked at length about the employees the new Wal-Mart has, 70 percent of whom are full time, although he couldn't discuss total employee levels.

"Customer traffic keeps increasing all the time," Weeter said. "Our traffic isn't as strong during the week as it is on the weekend, but eventually, yeah, it is going to be. Our goals have been met and exceeded from the day we opened the door."

The Supercenter stores first came about in 1988, and now there all almost as many of them as traditional Wal-Mart stores. There are 1,386 Supercenters and 1,494 discount stores in the U.S. In 2004, the company has plans to build about 220 new Supercenters, with about 140 of those to be upsized traditional discount stores. Weeter said a Supercenter offers a "larger assortment in every department" than a traditional store.

The Floyd Boulevard store has extras galore, with a wide-ranging grocery store on the south side and a host of specialty options near the east entrance. Those include a McDonald's, Cost Cutters hair salon, Regal Nails salon, professional portrait studio, Wal-Mart vision center - and a Murphy USA gas station on the edge of the parking lot. The grocery store has live lobsters, a full assortment of seafood, wedding cakes and party trays. Lots of people mix their retail shopping with their grocery goods.

"It is all about convenience," Weeter said of having so many shopping options in one place. Big sellers have been men's and women's apparel, infant items, garden center supplies and the seasonal departments for holiday-oriented goods.

Weeter first began working for Wal-Mart in 1988 as a part-time cashier in Sterling, Colo., while in college. He rose through the ranks, managed several departments, then co-managed a Supercenter in North Platte, Neb., before coming to Sioux City.

"Our goal, once we get the customers in the doors, is to take care of them to the best of our abilities, so they keep coming back to see us," Weeter said.

Bret Hayworth can be reached at 293-4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com