Less than three weeks after Walmart’s south Red Deer store completed its conversion into a Supercentre, a similar transformation has begun at the retail giant’s Parkland Mall outlet.
Felicia Fefer, Walmart Canada’s public relations manager, confirmed on Thursday that the north-side store is expected to achieve Supercentre status by late summer.
She said renovations started this week and the required changes will occur within the store’s existing 138,000-square-foot footprint.
Fefer said the conversion will create 110 jobs, including construction and in-store positions.
Walmart Supercentres carry a full range of grocery items and a broader selection of merchandise in other departments, and have an upgraded design and layout, as compared with traditional Walmart stores.
Despite the existence of Supercentres in Sylvan Lake and Olds, the two Walmarts in Red Deer were old format stores prior to this year.
The south-side store at 2010 50th Ave. received an approximately 32,000-square-foot addition, boosting its size to 160,000 square feet, as part of its changeover — which occurred officially on March 25.
The City of Red Deer has issued a building permit for work valued at $1.5 million at Walmart’s 6375 50th Ave. premises. The contractor is Graham Construction & Engineering Inc. of Calgary.