Oxymoronic

Today I had a new experience. A brand new Wal-Mart opened near my house. It is actually 4 miles exactly from the parking lot to my driveway. However, this is not any ordinary Wal-Mart. It is described as an "upscale" Wal-Mart. That means no hunting deparment, more jewelry and clothes, and an expanded housewares area.

Here's a picture of what it looks like (not the actual store - as you might be aware, we don't have palm trees where I live).





















Adding to its newness, the store has many new and improved features over your local Wal-Mart. All the floors are hard wood. (Ok, they're laminate, but it looks like hardwood and your cart glides over them like butter.) The aisles are at least 12 feet wide. They are the widest aisles I've ever seen. There are large signs above the different areas of the store that not only tell you the name of the department, but also feature a corresponding picture. There's a full-fledged Subway, a place to get your haircut, and a mini Chuck E. Cheese-style game room at the check out.

And there's the strategic marketing that is at work in this place. You're strolling through the toy section, and you suddenly come upon an aisle filled with chips and soda. An accident you ask (especially when all of the food is at the complete other end of the store)? Not a chance. Then when you travel over to the birthday card and wrapping aisle, another aisle filled with chips and soda pops up. In the menswear area, where the athletic clothes are, is a display of flavored exercise waters. These people aren't messing around.

So for those of you wondering about the title of this post, I called it that because upscale and Wal-Mart aren't two words that I think naturally flow together. But in this case, I'm willing to overlook it.