Wal-Mart making big push into Southern California grocery market

[steve2470]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wal-mart-markets-20120303,0,2653663.story

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has launched a big push into the highly competitive Southern California grocery business, which could spell further trouble for the region's major supermarket chains.

The nation's largest retailer, which announced plans last week for a grocery store in downtown Los Angeles, has two more of its smaller-format grocery-focused stores called Neighborhood Markets in the works in Orange County, one more in Ventura County and another in San Diego.

So far, the Bentonville, Ark., company has announced plans for 13 Neighborhood Markets in California, said Steven Restivo, Wal-Mart's senior director of community affairs. All will have pharmacies, he said. More Neighborhood Markets in California could be announced in the future, Restivo added.

The Orange County stores will be at Beach Boulevard and Atlanta Avenue in Huntington Beach and Avenida de las Flores and Antonio Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita. The Ventura store will be in Camarillo.