New Wal-Mart Supermercados Welcome Tiny Fatinos. But Are These Stores A Good Idea?

We've previously told you about Wal-Mart's new chain of "Supermercados" aimed at peanut butter-wary Latino shoppers. Well, Wal-Mart's newest proposed stores - set to open up in various cities throughout Texas - are designed to cater to Latinos' shopping habits in ways more specific than we could ever have hoped for. Finally, a place for short, fat people to stock up on cheap, mass-produced foodstuffs:

A similar concept store opened near Houston in November to generally positive reviews. Posts to an Internet message board for Houston architecture praised the wider aisles, superior flooring and shorter shelves that allowed patrons to see more of the store.

We don't have to tell you how tough it is to waddle into a Trader Joe's and reach for cans of organic, fair-trade frijoles negros while dodging the veritable forest formed by tall, skinny Anglo legs. Also, did you know that Hispanico food practically pulsates with life? You just can't package that sort of spicy vitality in a resealable plastic bag. Writes Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sally Aiello:

The size, location and adjacencies of the different departments are coordinated to create better sightlines, better orientation and a better shopping experience. The merchandise assortment will cater to the needs and vibrant tastes of customers from South Texas and the Hispanic community.

While we do enjoy that Wal-Mart is trying to exploit Latinos for money in a new, exciting, above board ways, we wonder why stores in heavily Latino-populated communities can't just include more Latino-oriented products to their current merchandise instead of segregating populations and introducing slightly problematic concepts - like wider aisles and shorter shelves - that seem to paint an ethnic group as being entirely physically different from the mainstream. Why not add shorter shelves to other stores to accommodate short and tall shoppers alike? Why not have wider aisles to fit more people, regardless of ethnicity? Why take away peanut butter?! Commenters on The Monitor's story on the proposed plans for these new Wal-Mart concept stores are overwhelmingly against the idea... Probably because they're xenophobes:  

	kommonsense wrote: Wal-Mart employees will make the store more "comfortable" for Mexican shoppers by seeding the parking lot daily with dirty diapers and randomly openinging sealed cans, bags and containers throughout the store. 2/5/2009 5:57:16 PM Recommend(6) Report Abuse
	rucraze wrote: Wally Martinez Lives 2/5/2009 3:17:11 PM Recommend(2) Report Abuse
	aguilera wrote: START LOOKING FOR THE MERCHANDISE ON THE FLOOR/ 2/5/2009 2:56:51 PM Recommend(4) Report Abuse
	brujo44 wrote: Make sure they accept WIC AND LONESTAR because Hispanics thats all we know! 2/5/2009 1:09:22 PM Recommend(4)

Ay. Mean. But, really, as more and more companies begin to realize that this country is full of Latinos that aren't yet being advertised to and used to their fullest ability as consumers, this issue is going to keep coming up: Do you create specialized, separate stores for this particular demographic (which is larger than and more complicated than we suspect chains like Wal-Mart believe us to be), or integrate us? 

‘Concept' Wal-Mart to open this spring [The Monitor]