Wal-Mart nearly doubles size of Hamilton store
Thursday, October 19, 2006
HAMILTON — With twice as much space and twice as many workers, the Main Street Wal-Mart is the second in the Greater Hamilton area this year to be supersized.
The store's 18-month expansion project added more than 200 workers and 100,000 square feet, nearly doubling its size to 217,292 square feet, store manager Mike DeGroat said. Much of the expansion focused on the store's food center, he said.
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Along with the usual dry goods and frozen foods, the new area includes a meat department, produce, a bakery and a deli.
"That new area will account for about 30 percent of the store's sales now," DeGroat said. "We really expect the frozen food and the meat section to drive that."
The electronics section also got a lot of attention with the addition of high-end, high-definition, digital and plasma screen televisions, enhanced displays, and a full line of GPS receivers and home entertainment systems.
"This is the future of the company here," DeGroat said. "We expect to see a lot of growth with this."
Other additions include a McDonald's restaurant, tire and lube center, hearing center, nail and hair salons, lawn and garden center, and an area Wal-Mart calls its "connection center." The area features one-stop shopping for multiple mobile phone providers and satellite television service.
The store at 1505 Main St. is open around the clock.
Wal-Mart opened a Supercenter in Fairfield Twp. this May after a year of construction. That store is located at the corner of Bypass Ohio 4 and Princeton Road.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2025 or cdumond@coxohio.com.


