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Overview

This 75,000-square-foot retail space opened as a Mervyn's Department Store. This chain declared for bankruptcy on 10/17/2008. (See Michael Coit, The Press-Democrat.com, "59-Year-Old Mervyns Unable To Pull Itself out of Bankruptcy," published 10/18/2008, accessed 08/22/2024.) A Walmart Discount Store opened in this space nine years later.

Building History

This building was erected for the Mervyn's Department Store chain, which shuttered its

In 2024, Walmart had 143 supercenters in the State of CA, including this location at 19503 Normandie Avenue in Torrance, CA. In addition, Walmart operated 67 discount stores, 64 neighborhood markets, 30 Sam's Clubs, and one other pharamacy outlet, for a total of 304 units. Only one supercenter had been built within the limits of the City of Los Angeles, however.

In 2004, the Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance forcing all companies seeking to build a 100,000-square-foot store of which 10% of floorspace was dedicated to non-taxable items (i.e., food), that retailer would have to pay for an economic study to justify its reasons for construction. The Los Angeles Times reported on 08/11/2004: "The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed a proposed law that would make it harder for Wal-Mart to erect superstores in the city by requiring the company to study whether surrounding areas would be harmed by the addition of the mammoth centers. City officials pushing the law believe that Wal-Mart may have a tough time showing that its mega-stores would have a positive impact on communities which would give the City Council a reason to reject them. But Wal-Mart officials declared Tuesday that the proposed law was a win for the company, saying that the firm kept Los Angeles from adopting an all-out ban on the Supercenters--200,000-square-foot stores that combine the traditional discount offering with groceries. Under the ordinance, retailers wanting to build stores larger than 100,000 square feet that devote more than 10% of their sales floor to food and other nontaxable items would have to pay for an economic analysis, The report would forecast whether a proposed store would eliminate jobs, depress wages or harm neighborhood businesses in many parts of the city." (See Jessica Garrison, "L.A. Council Votes to Restrict Superstores," Los Angeles Times, 08/11/2004, p. A1.) Supercenters were built in other municipalities--Burbank, Carson, Compton, Downey, Lakewood, Long Beach, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs, and South Gate-- in Los Angeles County around the city, but generally not in the city proper. The only Walmart Supercenter (#2526) built within the City of Los Angeles in 2024 was one in Porter Ranch (19821 Rinaldi St, Porter Ranch, CA 91326), an affluent neighborhood in the northwestern part of the San Fernando Valley. The Porter Ranch Supercenter opened in 2010, but this was an enlargement of an existing Walmart Discount location, opened in 2000, before the City of Los Angeles law was enacted.

This City of Los Angeles law, in part, explained why another highly populous state, Texas, had 391 Walmart Supercenters in 2024.

When it opened in 2017, this Torrance Walmart did not sell food. The newspaper Daily Breeze.com website stated in 09/2017: "The Torrance store is the first Wal-Mart to open in Los Angeles County since a SuperCenter opened in 2006 in Rosemead, said company spokeswoman Rachel Wall. The Torrance store was originally slated to have a grocery store component, but the retailer later modified those plans." (See Nick Green, Daily Breeze.com, "Torrance Wal-Mart store opens," 09/06/2017, accessed 08/22/2024.)

Alteration

In 09/2017, this former Mervyn's location was converted into a 75,400-square-foot Walmart.

PCAD id: 25459