New Club focuses on sustainability, selection and value

COCOA, Fla., June 22, 2009 – A new Sam’s Club on the Florida Space Coast will soon provide local businesses, college students, retirees and moms-on-the-run a new destination for their shopping needs. The Club, located off State Road 520 with easy access from Interstate 95, opens in Cocoa on July 2.

Approximately 220 Club associates, along with community leaders and local dignitaries, will celebrate the official grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 2. The Club is located at 450 Townsend Rd., near the intersection of Interstate 95 and State Road 520 in Cocoa.

Associates have already gotten involved in the local community, including sponsoring events for members of the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. “They’ve jumped right in to become part of our local business community. We take the Sam’s Club opening as a huge positive for our part of Brevard County. We appreciate their confidence in us and our community,” said Melissa Stains, president/CEO of the Chamber.

The new 136,447-square-foot Club will feature a wide variety of merchandise that reflects the growing diversity among warehouse club shoppers. Business, Advantage and Collegiate members looking for ways to save in today’s economy will find exceptional values on products from electronics to fresh produce and $4 generic prescriptions.

“More and more people turn to Sam’s Club to help them save money in this tight economy,” said Club Manager Tony Street. “Small-business owners, families and even college students are finding that their money goes further here.”

Constructed with environmentally friendly materials and energy-efficient fixtures, it offers Members a pharmacy, an optical department and a fuel station, in addition to a digital photo center and tire and battery installation services. A Home Efficiency Center focuses on merchandise customers can use to decrease their home and business energy usage, such as LED light fixtures and Energy Star® appliances.

Sam’s Club to Employ 220 Associates
The new Cocoa Sam’s Club will employ approximately 220 associates. Ten associates have worked for Sam’s Club or Walmart for more than 10 years, including Club Manager Tony Street. He started his career as a part-time, hourly associate in 1991, working in the tire department of the Sam’s Club in Kingsport, Tenn.

Sam’s Club Celebrates Community Commitment
As part of Sam’s Club commitment to give back to the communities it serves, associates from the Cocoa Club have selected several local organizations to receive a total of $28,000 in grants. The city of Cocoa will receive $10,000 in grants to support its fire and police departments, and Clearlake Middle School will receive a $10,000 grant to support programs threatened by reduced state funding. Project Hunger, a grassroots campaign established to provide additional support to Brevard County hunger relief programs, will receive an $8,000 grant to help it replenish the shelves at area food banks.

The Sam’s Club location will also fight hunger throughout the Florida Space Coast by making regular product donations to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The program is part of a partnership between Sam’s Club and Feeding America. Sam’s Club locations all across the country regularly donate perishable food items to area hunger relief agencies, helping fight hunger in their communities and reducing food waste. Last year, Sam’s Club donated more than 13 million pounds to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief charity.

Cocoa Sam’s Club: Exceptional Value for Business, Home and Life
Street says the Cocoa Sam’s Club will offer a number of amenities including a fuel station, a pharmacy featuring $4 and $10 generic prescriptions as well as great deals on branded prescriptions, a full café and a deli department featuring rotisserie chicken and freshly prepared meals.

“The location of our Club makes it convenient to pick up a freshly prepared meal to bake at home, party trays and cakes to help celebrate special occasions or refreshments for a day at the beach or picnics at Cocoa Village,” Street said.

Affordable room and dorm furnishings, electronics and apparel will appeal to area college students, who can take advantage of a $15 gift card when they sign-up for a new Collegiate Membership. Each Collegiate Membership comes with a complimentary add-on card, so roommates or housemates can share savings as well as shopping duties. (Editor’s Note: For more information about the types of Sam’s Club Memberships that are available, go to www.samsclub.com.)

Sam’s Club Membership provides superior access to merchandise and services for the business owner, homeowner or college student seeking the best value all under one roof. Small business owners and operators will also have access to additional services to help increase productivity and profitability including health insurance solutions, merchant and credit card processing and marketing solutions and numerous other benefits for their business provided by third party vendors.

Sam’s Club Commitment to Sustainability
In keeping with its commitment to the environment, the Club was constructed with energy-efficient technology and environmentally friendly features to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste.

One of the ways the new Club eliminates energy waste is with daylight-harvesting skylights that reduce the amount of energy required to light the store by up to 75 percent daily. While Sam’s is not open 24 hours, it is occupied 24 hours a day. During the hours when the store is closed, the light level is reduced by more than 50 percent, also reducing energy levels used. LED lighting throughout the club, including in the cooler/freezer box doors and jewelry counter, operates 70 percent more efficiently than traditional fluorescent light. (For a full list of sustainable features, see the Sustainability Fact Sheet at the bottom of this release).

Gifts for Every Occasion
The new Cocoa Sam’s Club offers a treasure-hunt shopping experience complete with an extensive inventory of more than 4,000 affordable essential and luxury items. Some “must haves” include designer apparel, purses, sunglasses, quality jewelry, crystal and collectibles. For the home, fresh flowers, kitchen appliances, dinnerware and home accessories are also popular.

About Sam’s Club
Sam’s Club is a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT). The first Sam’s Club opened its doors in Midwest City, Okla., in 1983. Today, Sam’s Club serves more than 47 million U.S. Members with locations nationwide and in Brazil, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Sam’s Club offers exceptional values on merchandise and services for business owners and consumers. Online merchandise and Club information is available at www.samsclub.com.

Club Fact Sheet
Cocoa Sam’s Club

Club Fast Facts

• Ribbon-cutting ceremony: 8:30 a.m., Thursday, July 2
• Club opening: 9 a.m., Thursday, July 2
• A presentation of $28,000 in community grants: 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 1 and an Exclusive Shopping Preview for Special guests from 5pm to 8:30pm on Wednesday, July 1.
• Address: 450 Townsend Rd., Cocoa, Fla.
• Club hours:
  • Gold Key hours for Business Members – 7 a.m. – 10 a.m. Mon. – Fri.; 7 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Sat.
  • All Memberships – 10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Mon. – Fri.; 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sun.
• 136,447-square-foot Sam’s Club.
• The Club will employ approximately 220 associates.
• Ten associates have worked for Sam’s Club or Walmart for more than 10 years.
• Club Manager Tony Street started his career as an hourly associate in 1991, working in the tire department at the Sam’s Club in Kingsport, Tenn.

Merchandise Mix

• Available products include electronics; computer software; mattresses; outdoor living furniture; office products; appliances; restaurant and foodservice supplies; vending and concession supplies; health, beauty and medical supplies; apparel; fitness equipment; toys; flowers; gifts and awards.
• Luxury items include designer sunglasses and handbags, jewelry, gourmet foods, wine and crystal and collectibles.
• The Club offers a gas station, a pharmacy, optical department, a one-hour photo lab, tire and battery services, a bakery, a fresh floral department, liquor sales, and a café.
• Members also enjoy healthcare, business, financial and personal services such as health and medical discount programs, roadside assistance, travel services, auto, boat and RV programs and cost effective merchant credit card processing solutions, provided by third party vendors.

Membership Options

• Advantage Membership - $40
• Business Membership - $35
• Advantage PLUS Membership - $100
• Business PLUS Membership - $100
• Collegiate Membership - $40, includes a $15 gift card and complimentary Membership

(Editor’s Note: For more detailed information on Membership options, visit any Sam’s Club location or samsclub.com.)

Community Contributions

• Sam’s Club will distribute $28,000 in grants to local non-profit organizations in celebration of its grand opening. Grant checks will be distributed to representatives of the charities during a special presentation ceremony at 10 a.m., July 1. Recipients include:
  • City of Cocoa Fire Department
  • City of Cocoa Police Department
  • Clearlake Middle School
  • Project Hunger

For more information

• Club Manager: Tony Street, 321-639-0124
• Sam’s Club information online: www.samsclub.com

Sustainability Fact Sheet
Cocoa Sam’s Club

The Cocoa Sam’s Club showcases the following sustainable features:

• The waste heat from the refrigeration equipment is captured and used to heat water for the grocery food prep areas of the Club.
• Energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lighting in the freezer cases that generate minimal heat and use 50 percent less electricity than traditional fluorescent fixtures.
• A Home Efficiency Center focuses on merchandise Members can use to decrease their energy usage, such as LED light fixtures and Energy Star® appliances
• Almost 200 skylights and an improved daylight harvesting/ skylight system that reduces consumption even more than in previous installations.
• During these hours when the store is closed, the light level is reduced by over 50 percent.
• More than 95 percent of the floor area in a Sam’s Club has a natural concrete finish. This represents a major reduction of carpet and vinyl tile finishes from other stores. This not only addresses environmental concerns with the manufacture and disposal of PVC, it also reduces the need for most chemical cleaners, wax, and wax strippers.
• The restroom sinks in the club use sensor-activated low-flow faucets. These faucets reduce water usage by 84 percent.
• The white roof is an energy star qualified. The high solar reflectivity of this membrane results in lowering the "cooling" load by about 10 percent.
• Closed loop CO2 secondary refrigeration system in the freezer cases and a closed loop secondary glycol system in the chilled food/beverage areas that significantly reduce conventional refrigerant charge and greenhouse gas impact and uses fewer materials such as copper piping
• A trench drain collects oil that might leak out onto the Auto Center floor into a monitored oil interceptor to capture oil, preventing it from entering the municipal sewer system.
• Sam’s Club is designed and equipped to recycle tires, auto batteries, cardboard, single-use cameras, plastic waste and silver from photo lab.
• Rainwater harvesting from portion of rooftop to supplement landscape irrigation and club cooling system.

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