No. 34

Wal-Mart Opens Its First L.A. Store

The Broadway’s loss was Wal-Mart’s gain.

Two years after The Broadway was shuttered at the Panorama Mall in Panorama City, the discount-retailing giant took over the space last May, opening the first Wal-Mart in the Los Angeles market. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. purchased the outlet from Broadway’s parent, Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc., in early 1997 for an undisclosed sum. Real estate sources estimated the sale at $2.3 million.

The arrival of the nation’s only two-story Wal-Mart has injected new life in the area’s sagging economy, attracting hundreds of applicants for the store’s 300 jobs and bringing new traffic to the mall. The neighborhood has weathered a tough economic climate since the closure of the nearby General Motors assembly plant in 1992 and business departures following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Now, merchants say they are optimistic that the success of the 165,000-square-foot retailer will spill over into their registers.

The opening also marked a shift in strategy for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company, which has long shunned moves into city centers in favor of sites on the outskirts, away from downtown merchants. Company executives say the store has exceeded sales expectations through the holidays, and that plans are under way for a second Wal-Mart in the San Fernando Valley, to be located in Porter Ranch.

Nola L. Sarkisian