United States-Wal-Mart expanding food outlets.

UNITED STATES-WAL-MART EXPAND EVEN MORE.

The nation’s largest grocer, is making an aggressive push across Massachusetts to double its supermarket business over the next year

The effort to woo more bargain-conscious Bay Staters includes the construction of a new supercenter in Worcester and the addition of markets to stores in Halifax, Hudson, Oxford, Salem, Springfield, and Swansea. A grocery addition already under construction at Wal-Mart’s North Attleborough location is expected to be completed this fall.

At a time of massive layoffs and store closings across the Commonwealth, cities, towns, and residents once dedicated to derailing anything Wal-Mart are rolling out the red carpet for the discounter. Wal-Mart says its efforts will create 700 jobs at Massachusetts stores, and it is actively seeking additional store opportunities in New England, one of the last frontiers for the Bentonville, Ark., company to conquer.

"Some of the towns have joked that we’re providing the economic stimulus they need," said Christopher N. Buchanan, a Wal-Mart senior manager of public affairs and government relations. "There’s still a great deal of growth opportunities here."

Across the nation, Wal-Mart has pushed to convert discount stores into larger supercenters with full-service groceries. The merchant has faced opposition in other areas of the country, and New England has been a particularly tough market to crack because of limited real estate and local resistance. But Wal-Mart says it is facing fewer obstacles here these days as consumers increasingly hunt for bargains and communities look to attract businesses and jobs during these tough economic times.

In just five years, Wal-Mart has taken away about 3 percent of retail food sales in New England - or about $1 billion - from traditional stores, according to the Griffin Report of Food Marketing, a trade publication in Duxbury. Wal-Mart currently is the sixth largest grocery chain in New England with $1.5 billion in sales at its 37 supercenter stores. And analysts predict the discounter will gain market share at an accelerated pace over the next five years as it opens more supercenters across the region.

Each of Wal-Mart’s new supercenters will house traditional general merchandise, such as clothes and toys, in addition to a full-service market with fresh produce, a delicatessen, bakery, dry and frozen goods, and meat and dairy departments. Retail analysts, who estimate the grocery items are often priced anywhere from 10 to 20 percent lower than at competitors, expect the supercenters to help drive down prices at rival chains and permanently alter the supermarket landscape in New England.

"The timing is right for the Wal-Mart expansion because consumers are looking for a bargain," said Kevin Griffin of the Griffin Report of Food Marketing.