San Bernardino Wal-Mart among 154 American closures

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. yesterday said it will close 269 stores, including its Walmart Express chain, as the world’s largest retailer streamlines amid increased competition, higher US costs and disappointing
Latin American results.

The remaining 115 locations to close are spread over Latin America, mostly in Brazil. The Bentonville, Arkansas, company said it is working to ensure that employees are relocated to nearby stores.

“I think they need to exit some markets totally and close a lot more than they are closing”.

Friday’s action follows a thorough review of Walmart’s almost 11,600 worldwide stores and took into account a number of factors, including financial performance as well as strategic alignment with long-term plans.

Around 16,000 store associates are affected by the store closures, with about 10,000 in the U.S. Some will have the opportunity to relocate to other Walmart stores.

The Wal-Mart Express stores that are closing in North Carolina are in Princeton, Coats, Four Oaks, Broadway, Red Springs, Stedman, Oriental, Benson, Carthage, Pikeville, Liberty, Richfield, Yanceyville, Snow Hill, Ayden and Midway. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future”, Wal-Mart Stores President and CEO Doug McMillon said in the release.

Walmart’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange closed down 1.79 percent at $61.93 on Friday, part of a wider market plunge that saw the Dow fall by 2.39 percent.

Walmart’s store closures come as the retail behemoth is making big investments to remake itself for the digital era.

Wal-Mart, however, is not shrinking. Our experience over the last three years operating our current stores in DC has given us a fuller view on building and operating stores in the District. A Wal-Mart store, at 4001 Hallmark Parkway, in San Bernardino, is a little more than 7 miles away.

Wal-Mart will continue to operate five other locations across Robeson County, including a Supercenter and two Neighborhood Market stores in Lumberton, a Supercenter in Pembroke and a Neighborhood Market in St. Pauls.

“They did let me know that the people that have a job here, they gone try to get them replaced and the ones that don’t get replaced they were going to give them 60 days pay, plus severance pay, plus get them training with the resumes”, said Mayor Carithers.