Walmart Stores Inc. is attaching its name to Marketside, the small convenience-size grocery stores it began operating last year. The Phoenix-area stores are now being called Marketside by Walmart.
Walmart rebranded its U.S. stores under the Walmart name last year, complete with a new logo that includes a yellow sunburst.
Caren Epstein, a spokesperson for the big box store told Reuters the Marketside rebranding is the second phase in the roll-out of its new U.S. name, and will also extend to its Neighborhood Markets.
In October, Walmart opened four Marketside stores as a test to try to appeal to shoppers who wanted ready-to-eat meals and fresh produce, but did not have enough time for major grocery store trip. The Marketside stores are about 15,000 square feet in size compared to the 187,000 square feet of an average Walmart.
Earlier this month, Walmart said that while it was pleased with Marketside, it was not accelerating the test of the stores given the economic climate, Reuters reported.
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In addition, Walmart is delaying the relaunch of its private label brand. The Great Value brand includes thousands of products across more than 100 food, beverage and household product categories.
In March, Walmart began putting revamped Great Value products on its shelves, and said it expected the relaunch to be completed by the end of the summer. It has changed formulas for 750 products, added more than 80 new items to the line and updated its packaging.
Epstein said Walmart had an “aggressive” relaunch schedule and “part of the delay was wanting to make sure we got it right,” Reuters reported.