TAMPA — Bigger isn't always better, even when it comes to Walmart.
The world's largest retailer is looking to its bite-sized Neighborhood Markets — like the one that opened Wednesday along Gunn Highway, north of Tampa — to boost lagging sales and better compete against aggressive rivals.
The stores are part of Walmart's plan to broaden its customer base and win back shoppers who have flocked to fast-growing dollar stores and other discount retailers. In Florida, of course, the retailer is also trying to take away business from Publix, the state's top grocer.
Averaging about 41,000 square feet, Neighborhood Markets are about one-fifth the size of the largest supercenters and sell mostly groceries, which account for more than half of Walmart's revenue. There are more than 380 of them nationwide, relatively few compared with the 3,348 supercenters.
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