Walmart, the big box giant, is perhaps one of the remaining few retailers who are still doing well with their brick and mortar business model in this day and age of online shopping. This is not to say that the retailer has not had to make some big changes over the years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the supermarket model has survived a lot better than other specialized stores.
At the end of last year, however, the retailer confirmed it will be closing down several of its underperforming stores around the country. This is a restructuring strategy that the company has been continuously enacting for the past several years as it ramps up to put its expansion plan into motion.
Walmart is making moves and countermoves
For the last three years, the supermarket giant has been assessing its stores and closing down the underperforming locations, likely as a loss minimizing strategy. Parallel to this, the retailer has also shared that it plans to open around 150 new stores around the country in the near future.
For this year, it seems that some stores in the Georgia and California regions will be closed as a shift in retail market dynamics and consumer spending habits become more apparent. Some stores that have already been confirmed for closure include:
Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody (Georgia)
Walmart Neighborhood Market, Roswell Road, Marietta, Georgia
Towson, Maryland (1238 Putty Hill Ave.)
Columbus, Ohio (3579 S. High St.)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (7025 W. Main St.)
Aurora, Colorado (10400 E Colfax Ave.)
Additionally, during the course of this year, the retailer has also confirmed a few new closures for the California region. Walmart stores located in San Diego, El Cajon, West Covina, Fremont, and Granite Bay have also been slated for closure, however, the exact locations have yet to be confirmed.
What led to these closures?
Store closures do not necessarily mean financial despair, especially not in the case of such a high earning retailer. In the case of Walmart, closures of this nature are more a strategic move aimed at optimizing the company’s overall operation and spokespersons for the company have confirmed this to be the case.
The retailer has shared that, “the excessive concentration of stores in certain areas can affect profitability, so they have opted to reduce the number of locations in specific areas to improve overall performance.”
“These closures are part of a strategic plan that seeks to strengthen branches with the highest customer traffic,” the retailer further explained.
As such, despite closing the doors of some stores today, the retailer aims to open up more than a hundred new stores in the coming years and these new stores will likely be strategically located. This strategy is being carried out with the goal of adapting the company to changing consumer behavior which now uses a combination of in-person shopping with growing use of e-commerce.
Other points of interest at Walmart
A boycott was recently organized against the supermarket giant for the week beginning April 7, all the way through to April 14. This consumer driven movement has been organized by The People’s Union USA and is aimed at highlighting the importance of conscious and cautious shopping as a consumer. This is the second boycott of its nature against Walmart, with the first taking place in February as a result of Walmart’s decision to distance itself from all DEI policies within the workspace.
According to The People’s Union leader, John Schwarz, “Walmart, just like the rest of them, has been a part of that problem.” This boycott is aimed at pressuring Walmart to pay its “fair share of taxes and improve treatment of workers and communities.”
“This boycott is about showing them that we are the economy. We fund their success,” Schwarz added.