Walmart plans to shut 6 stores in Mississippi

“In our view, today may not be the end of closures”. He added that closing stores was never easy, but it is a necessary thing to do in order to maintain the company positioned for its future.

“With that being said, it probably isn’t enough”. According to the Wal-Mart store locator, there are 43 stores within 50 miles of downtown Nashville. The chain has 4,500 US stores altogether.

Walmart CEO McMillon said the company plans “disciplined” growth this fiscal year, which starts February 1, with more than 300 store openings globally.

Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, more than half of them in the USA and another big chunk in its challenging Brazilian market. Employees who have worked for Walmart for more than a year will be eligible for a severance package.

Wal-mart spokesperson Gregg Hitt said that the criterion behind the shutting down is based on the financial performance. The stores, which sold essentials like toothpaste, were meant to be a solution to the threat of the fast-growing dollar stores.

The American stores that will close include 102 of Walmart’s Express outlets, a small-format project that began in 2011 to compete with convenience stores.

The retailer will now focus on its Neighborhood Markets, which, at about 40,000 square feet, are slightly larger than Express stores.

None of the company’s six Walmart and one Sam’s Club stores in the Coachella Valley are on the list of 154 domestic closures.

Wal-Mart officials said they hope to place some of those associates in nearby locations.

Stores that will be closed in Southern California will be Walmarts at 151 E. Fifth St.in Long Beach, effective January 28, and at 4101 Crenshaw Blvd.in Baldwin Hills, effective Sunday. The smaller Walmart stores employ about 30 full- and part-time associates. Its Every Day Low price strategy has also not been able to break against heavy promotions from key rivals.

Locally, Walmart operates four stores in Sarasota, three in Bradenton and one in Lakewood Ranch.

“We believe Wal-Mart’s announcement of store closings this morning is just a “pruning” of its voluminous network”, said Charlie O’Shea, Moody’s lead retail analyst, in a statement.

Seven to 10 new Sam’s Clubs stores are also expected to open in new locations. Because of this, NPR’s Chris Arnold described Wal-Mart’s move as more of a “repositioning” rather than scaling back.