Walmart Will Close All 102 of Its Smaller ‘Express’ Stores

Wal-Mart Stores said Friday it was closing 269 stores, including all 102 of its Walmart Express stores, a small-format concept that the retailer has struggled to make as profitable as Supercenters.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will close the Port Covington Walmart in South Baltimore in a cost-cutting move to shutter 269 under-performing stores worldwide, the giant retailer said today.

The first Walmart Express opened in summer 2011.

The proliferation of stores in many USA areas is partially responsible for the closures, as more than 95 percent of the stores set to be closed are within 10 miles of another Wal-Mart. The company said the closings aim to help it better focus on strengthening supercenters, “optimizing” Neighborhood markets, growing e-commerce and expanding store pickup options. Twenty-three Neighborhood Markets, 12 supercenters, 7 stores in Puerto Rico, 6 discount stores and 4 Sam’s Clubs are all slated to close shop.

In total, the impacted stores represent less than 1 percent of both global square footage and revenue, according to Walmart’s website.

The move was made after Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon reviewed the company’s 11,600 stores worldwide, analyzing their financial performance and how they fit within the company’s broader plans. Overseas, Walmart projects 200-240 stores to open in the coming fiscal year.

The remaining 55 stores are spread elsewhere in Latin America.

The company further said that approximately 16,000 associates or employees would be impacted by the decision, about 10,000 of them in the United States but would be compensated.

SC will see two other stores shuttered: a Wal-Mart Express in Pacolet on Sunday and a Wal-Mart store in Winnsboro on January 28. The company operates more than 5,000 stores overall in the U.S.

Five Walmart Neighborhood Markets will also be closed: 2408 Lincoln Ave., Altadena; 6820 Eastern Ave., Bell Gardens; 701 W. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Chinatown; 12120 Carson St., Hawaiian Gardens; and 2045 Highland Ave., San Bernardino.

Seven to 10 new Sam’s Clubs stores are also expected to open in new locations. “We spent considerable time assessing our stores and clubs and don’t’ take this lightly”.

Delia Garcia of Walmart said about 1,100 employees will be affected by the closure of the seven Southern California stores.