Walmart closing 269 stores, including entire ‘Express’ format

Also closing are 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount stores and four Sam’s Clubs.

Walmart to close 269 stores: Walmart (WMT) will close 269 stores around the world in a strategic move to focus more on its supercenters and e-commerce business, the company said Friday. The company, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, said it is working to ensure that workers are placed in nearby locations.

A year after it opened, the Walmart Express in Pacolet will close Sunday, one of 154 Walmart stores in the United States being closed by the company by the end of January.

The announced closures will impact about 10,000 workers in the United States, the company said.

On Friday WalMart announced the closing of 269 stores across the globe.

Walmart now has 4,500 stores in the U.S.

Wal-Mart, the uncontested retail giant is just as susceptible to the difficulties of market demands as anybody else is.

Active management of the company’s portfolio of assets remains an essential cog in maintaining a business that is healthy, said McMillon.

We are continuing to grow, and we’re making smart choices in managing our portfolio. City Administrator Austin Gilley said the city was told the store performed well but the decision was a corporate move to close Express stores nationwide. This wave of store closures includes the retailer’s 102 Wal-Mart Express locations, with locations in Leonard and Whitewright, both of which opened about a year ago.

“We continue with our view that the combination of the Neighborhood Market and Supercenter is a powerful strategy in the food sector, with the Neighborhood Markets functioning as key components of Wal-Mart’s multi-channel strategy”, Moody’s lead retail analyst Charlie O’Shea said. Locally, Walmart aims to introduce 50 to 60 Supercenters and 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets in Fiscal 2017, which begins from February 1.

“It’s a shame, isn’t it?” said Glenda Hammontree, 61, who said she makes the 5-minute drive to the store several times a week. 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.