In the new renovated store at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga, Ont., this newly made store is about value delivery, said Gonzalo Gebara, President and CEO of Walmart Canada. “This new layout reflects our intention to showcase a different value experience,” he added. Gebara emphasized everyday low prices and promotional Rollbacks throughout this 20,717-square-metre store.
Since arriving in Canada in 1994, Walmart has entrenched a place for value through purchases made — first through the purchase of the Woolco banner. It has continued to focus on competitive pricing — strongly in its supercenters introduced in 2006, which added fresh food to its offerings. More dependent on grocery sales for growth, Gebara mentioned the requirement to balance customer need for savings on both merchandise and food.
Under Gebara, Walmart Canada enters into a new phase of affordability and advanced technology. “We’ve made sizeable investments to ensure the customer can shop however they want,” he said. Such investment is a part of a larger initiative of $3.5 billion of modernizing operations across the country that was introduced in 2020.
Improvements include the adoption of the latest technology and in-store design for a seamless shopping experience. The fact that 70% of the stores feature Walmart Pickup helps customers pick their online orders in the store. Meanwhile, advanced inventory management systems along with fulfillment centers translate to better order processing and relatively fast order fulfillment services within the shortest possible time.
Walmart has been stealing away more and more grocery market share to take it to almost eight percent by 2022. Though Loblaw still owns the lion’s share, Gebara mentioned that Walmart is actually doing better per store and is taking almost two percent of the market share per store.
Looking ahead, it expects to service a wider range of customers as it continues to adapt its product offerings and expanded fresh food options. “We know fresh food is critical to our customers,” Gebara said. It is also growing its private label offerings and addressing rising demand for pet supplies.
As Walmart Canada enters its fourth decade, Gebara is focused on accelerating growth through geographic expansion and ongoing innovation. “Our goal is to provide more Canadians with the opportunity to experience Walmart, particularly by addressing the needs of new Canadians,” he stated.
