Fourth Neighborhood Market opens

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. today opened its fourth Neighborhood Market store in Springfield. The opening was accompanied by an early-morning ribbon-cutting ceremony by Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce ambassadors.

The roughly $1.6 million, 41,171-square-foot store at the intersection of West Mount Vernon Street and North West Bypass employs about 180 under the management of Doug Moon, a Wal-Mart employee since 2000 who has served as an assistant manager in Fredericktown and Farmington and as a co-manager at a Desloge Walmart store, according to a news release.

The smaller Neighborhood Market stores sell a full line of groceries and include a drive-thru pharmacy.

Wal-Mart most recently opened a Neighborhood Market on Oct. 3 at 545 W. El Camino Alto Drive in James River Commons. In May, Wal-Mart opened Neighborhood Market stores at 3150 W. Republic Road and 1320 S. Glenstone Ave.

Publicly traded Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) operates more than 10,300 stores in 27 countries, and it has opened roughly 200 Neighborhood Market locations, the release said.

As of 11:06 a.m., the company's shares were trading at $77, compared to a 52-week range of $54.81 to $77.60.[[In-content Ad]]