Walmart Is Closing 269 Stores Worldwide

The day before Wal-Mart opens two new Neighborhood Markets in Murfreesboro, the company will close five of its smaller stores across Tennessee as part of the retail behemoth’s plans to shutter 269 locations worldwide and focus on the company’s Supercenters and e-commerce business. In the US, Walmart will also close 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, and four Sam’s Clubs.

Wal-Mart announced Friday that it is closing 154 stores in the USA, with the goal of becoming more nimble in the face of increased competition. According to a statement from Walmart, 95% of the affected stores are within 10 miles of a second Walmart location and associates will be placed in these other locations.

Wal-Mart, however, is not shrinking.

While the move seems like a drastic one on the surface, some number-crunchers believe 269 closures isn’t enough to improve Walmart’s business agility. The store, which opened in 2002, sits amid empty parking lots and a closed former Sam’s Club on 50 acres now planned for a new headquarters for Baltimore-based Under Armour.

The closures mark Walmart’s exit from its small-format Walmart Express pilot that began in 2011.

“We are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it”, said McMillon.

Larsen said a Wal-Mart executive in Tallahassee called him this morning to inform him of the closing.

Nick said associates will be paid an additional 60 days from February 10 and severance to those who qualify.

“This is going to have a big impact on us”, Whitewright Mayor Allen West said.

Levin raised the possibility that the closings announced Friday could be just the beginning, sending a “chilling message” to its associates that they could be next. “This sends a chilling message to the company’s hardworking employees that they could be next and with no one standing up for them, that is no doubt the reality”.

The company will also be closing 115 stores in Latin America, with almost half of those being in Brazil. “The key thing we learned was that our customers are better served through our larger neighborhood markets, which average 30,000 to 45,000 square feet”.