Wal-Mart Planning to Enter Convenience Store Market

Wal-Mart (WMT) is planning to enter the market for local convenience stores in large cities, The Financial Times reported.

Wal-Mart, the largest U.S. retailer, is looking at property for smaller-format stores in urban areas including San Francisco and Detroit.

"They've been looking at sites between 20,000 and 50,000 sq ft over the summer," one broker in northern California told the FT.

The company will outline its business plans later this year, Bill Simon, Wal-Mart's CEO for the U.S., told the FT. The plans will include convenience stores similar to those it runs in Latin America.

The company is currently planning to enter the Chicago market with more than 20 stores, a mix of supercenters and small-format stores.

"You'll see us taking the Chicago approach with other cities," Simon said.