Walmart Announces 269 Store Closures, 154 of Them in the U.S.

by Talk Business & Politics ([email protected]) 184 views 

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Friday that is closing 269 stores worldwide, including 154 locations in the U.S.

The affected stores in Arkansas include 10 Walmart Express locations, the company’s smallest format stores, which were first introduced in 2011.

Those stores will close Jan. 28. They are:

  • #2498: 720 N Hwy 71, Mansfield
  • #2578: 3500 Mulberry Hwy 64 W, Mulberry
  • #2601: 814 W. Main, Charleston
  • #2669: 1531 E Hwy 64, Coal Hill
  • #3819: 8848 N Hwy 59, Van Buren
  • #3878: 5 Hwy 124 West, Damascus
  • #4217: 154 E Roller, Decatur
  • #3032: 905 S Gentry Blvd, Gentry
  • #3033: 800 1st Ave SE, Gravette
  • #3034: 881 W Buchanan, Prairie Grove

A Neighborhood Market at 117 Audubon Drive in Maumelle just north of Little Rock will also close Jan. 17.

“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart, said in a statement. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”

Walmart operates nearly 11,600 stores throughout the world. The closures will have an impact of less than one percent, in terms of global SF and revenue.

The U.S. locations being shuttered, according to a news release, includes all 102 of the company’s Walmart Express locations.

The company instead will focus on strengthening its Supercenters, optimizing Neighborhood Markets, growing the e-commerce business and expanding Pickup services for customers.

Also included in the closures are 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers and four Sam’s Clubs.

Click here to view the full news release.