By SUZANNE THOMPSON Southeast Shelby to gain Wal-Mart, Sams Club By SUZANNE THOMPSON The Daily News The long wait for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Southeast Shelby County is almost over. At an estimated cost of $11.5 million, the areas newest Wal-Mart and Sams Wholesale Club at 7475 and 7525 Winchester Road will create about 450 jobs. The 220,000-square-foot Supercenter will replace the Wal-Mart at 6990 East Shelby Drive, which will close when the new location is completed, said Amy Hill, spokesperson for Wal-Mart. About 200 associates are employed at the Shelby Drive store, and it will take another 300 to operate the new Supercenter, Hill said. About 145 associates will be employed at the 128,408-square-foot Sams Club. Company officials decided to expand its presence in Southeast Shelby County because of the growth of the area, she said. "We see some tremendous opportunities for our customers in that area," Hill said. Wal-Mart Supercenters have 36 general merchandise departments as well as a full-service grocery store, she said. There are five other Supercenters in the Memphis metropolitan area, Hill said. About three-fourths of the 200 stores Wal-Mart plans to open this year will be Supercenters, she said. "Supercenters are our growth area. Customers really enjoy the one-stop shopping convenience of a Supercenter," Hill said. All Wal-Mart Supercenters include a garden center, a tire and lube express, and many have a one-hour photo shop and bank in the lobby area, she said. Some Supercenters also have a beauty salon and other amenities, but plans for those elements are not yet final for the Winchester Road location, she said. Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Hudson Construction Co. is the general contractor for the project, according to a building permit issued June 14 by Shelby County Construction Code Enforcement. Construction on the Sams Wholesale Club is scheduled to be completed Sept. 9, and the new Wal-Mart Supercenter should be finished by Oct. 30, according to officials with Hudson Construction. Wal-Mart reported record sales and income for the first quarter, with net income of $1.32 billion dollars, up from $916 million during the same period in 1999. In June, net sales for the company totaled $17.97 billion, up 20 percent from $14.86 billion in June 1999. Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, and now employs more than 600,000 in the United States.