Walmart Closing 269 Stores, Milford Spared

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.

Two Walmart Express stores in Chicago will be closing on Sunday, part of a global restructuring by the giant retailer.

Express stores are usually confined to very small area of about 12,000 square feet, compared to Wal-Mart Supercenters at 182,000 square feet and the roughly 38,000-square-foot Neighborhood Markets, which are created to rival traditional grocery stores.

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

The news follows the Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart’s October 15 announcement that it would review its 11,600 stores based on their financial performances and whether they fit its long-term plans. 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.

Analysts said the store closures are a way for the retailer to capitalize on food sales and expand its “multi-channel” strategy by allowing pick-up for online and in-store purchases. CEO had announced a few months ago that the company will close as many as 269 stores worldwide, majority in the USA.

“Juneau is in a unique circumstance in that there aren’t other Wal-Marts relatively close by as you might find in other locations that are being closed”, Garcia said. More than half of the stores are in the United States.

Larsen said a Wal-Mart executive in Tallahassee called him this morning to inform him of the closing. During that time Sam’s Club plans to open seven new stores as well. The closures include Walmart’s collection of “Express” outlets, developed to compete with convenience stores.

Walmart shares dropped 2.4% to $61.57 on the news. The company is investing further into online operations and is adding expenditures to improve customers’ experience.

According to the Associated Press, 95-percent of the American closures “are within 10 miles of another Walmart”.

She also said that while the stores will be closing by January 28, most employees will likely continue working until February 10 while stores are dismantled and merchandise is removed.