Wal-Mart Super Center Prepares For Grand Opening

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Woodforest employees are preparing for the January 23 opening. The bank will be open 9-7 Mon - Sat and noon to 5 on Sundays.

Photo by Linda Karn

(posted Jan 9)

Pike: A Destination to Cultural Diversity had an exclusive short tour of the new Wal-Mart Super Center prior to its January 23 Grand Opening. The energy efficient store is located at 46th Street and Lafayette Road.

This is the second store opening for store manager Joe Stephenson, who displayed a sense of calmness and control in spite of the tight schedule to meet the opening date. Stephenson explained one of the biggest challenges is learning the names of 487 new employees as they hustle to stock the shelves.

Employees are in the final days of stocking shelves that include product lines to serve the 67 nationalities that reside in the store's target market. The store has devoted 68 feet of shelf space to capture the Hispanic appetite. Stephenson conducted about five months of research to study the community's demographics. He used the internet to study the products offered in the Wal-Marts in California and Mexico to develop the Lafayette Square Store with its own custom line to the meet consumers' tastes. He also noted the bakery and produce sections will include items that are popular among the Asian culture. Stephenson pointed to one of his proud tenants, Simply Eyebrows by Threading. It is an eyebrow shaping and removal boutique. He said they approached him to open space in the store. Eyebrow threading is very popular in India and it has migrated to the Western culture.

Woodforest Bank is opening its first store in the Indianapolis area. The bank's home office is in Texas, explained branch manager Scott Lindley. He said the bank will be open 364 days a year. Lindley emphasized that Woodforest is a full service bank even though it is an in-store bank. Lindley said Woodforest partnered with Wal-Mart in 1996 and continues to grow. By 2010, the bank plans to have 1,000 locations in Wal-Mart stores.  Bank employee Sarah Surface noted Woodforest now has 14 locations in Illinois.

"Woodforest is known for its customer service," Lindley said. He said the bank offers Second Chance Checking to anyone regardless of the their past banking problems as long as they meet the minimum requirements and have valid identification.