Report: Wal-Mart to rebrand Express stores as Neighborhood Market

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reportedly planning to do away with its Wal-Mart Express banner. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, an internal corporate memo indicates that Wal-Mart will rebrand its 21 Express stores, which average about 12,000-sq.-ft., to its larger 45,000-sq.-ft. Neighborhood Market banner in the next few months.



"Wal-Mart's research into customers' habits showed that its small Express stores were serving the same purpose as its larger Neighborhood Market stores,” CDO Judith McKenna is reported as stating in the internal memo. “While testing the Express format, the company learned that customers rely mostly on the stores for grocery fill-in trips, last-minute dinners and prescription pickups.”



New small stores that open in the future, including 90 scheduled to open by the end of 2014, will be branded Neighborhood Express. Wal-Mart launched the Express banner as a test in 2011. The retailer does not plan to rebrand its existing store formats that are smaller than Express, such as Wal-Mart To Go and Wal-Mart On Campus, which measure as small as 2,500-sq.-ft.