The first customers check out at the new Walmart on Campus on Wednesday. Photos by Katie Demeria.
Walmart is up and running in Ram country.
Virginia’s first Walmart on Campus opened for business at VCU on Wednesday at 912 W. Grace St.
The 4,100-square-foot store is part of a new concept for the world’s largest retailer, and the VCU store is only the fifth Walmart on Campus in the U.S.
A crowd gathers outside the store for a ribbon cutting.
Mike Lewis, manager of Walmart’s operations in the region, said it took about four weeks to settle into the Grace Street storefront once renovations were complete. The store worked with other nearby Walmart Supercenters to speed up the process.
The store is located in the ground floor of one of the two towers local developer Phil Roper recently completed for VCU. The school’s Real Estate Foundation financed construction of the building and owns the property. Crisak Inc. was the general contractor for construction on the space.
Lewis declined to say how much it cost the company to open the campus store.
“Campuses are great for this because you have a lot of students trying to save money – who need to save money – and are on tight budgets,” he said.
The store, he said, is also focused on convenience, saving students trips to one of Walmart’s larger locations for basic necessities.
The Walmart on Campus offers general groceries and other basic products, as well as a pharmacy. Because it is such a new concept, Lewis said, management is still deciding what type of inventory the stores should carry. He said it is a work in process.
The store employs 12 full- and part-time employees.
The VCU store is the smallest of several Walmart projects around the Richmond region. It has multiple Neighborhood Markets in the works in the area and will build another Supercenter where Fairfield Commons mall currently stands.
The first customers check out at the new Walmart on Campus on Wednesday. Photos by Katie Demeria.
Walmart is up and running in Ram country.
Virginia’s first Walmart on Campus opened for business at VCU on Wednesday at 912 W. Grace St.
The 4,100-square-foot store is part of a new concept for the world’s largest retailer, and the VCU store is only the fifth Walmart on Campus in the U.S.
A crowd gathers outside the store for a ribbon cutting.
Mike Lewis, manager of Walmart’s operations in the region, said it took about four weeks to settle into the Grace Street storefront once renovations were complete. The store worked with other nearby Walmart Supercenters to speed up the process.
The store is located in the ground floor of one of the two towers local developer Phil Roper recently completed for VCU. The school’s Real Estate Foundation financed construction of the building and owns the property. Crisak Inc. was the general contractor for construction on the space.
Lewis declined to say how much it cost the company to open the campus store.
“Campuses are great for this because you have a lot of students trying to save money – who need to save money – and are on tight budgets,” he said.
The store, he said, is also focused on convenience, saving students trips to one of Walmart’s larger locations for basic necessities.
The Walmart on Campus offers general groceries and other basic products, as well as a pharmacy. Because it is such a new concept, Lewis said, management is still deciding what type of inventory the stores should carry. He said it is a work in process.
The store employs 12 full- and part-time employees.
The VCU store is the smallest of several Walmart projects around the Richmond region. It has multiple Neighborhood Markets in the works in the area and will build another Supercenter where Fairfield Commons mall currently stands.
Is VCU Walmart only for VCU students only?