US retail giant Wal-Mart has said it has filed a petition with the Superior Court of California, challenging Alameda County’s ban on large retail stores.
Wal-Mart said it has challenged the County Board of Supervisor’s adoption of the “Large Scale Retail Ordinance”, which prohibits retailers with total sales floor area in excess of 100,000 square feet from devoting more than 10% of the sales floor area to non-taxable merchandise, such as groceries and prescription drugs. Membership stores are exempt from the ordinance.
The retailer said the Alameda County Board of Supervisors had passed the ordinance earlier this month in an effort to prohibit Wal-Mart from opening large retail stores in the area.
Wal-Mart said the ordinance is “anti-competitive and anti-consumer” and said consumers should have the right to choose where they shop.
Wal-Mart operates more than 1,500 Supercenters across the country. The first Wal-Mart Supercenter in California will open in March in La Quinta.
