Department store giant Walmart has announced the upcoming closing of several stores nationally due to a number of issues, including weak financial performances.
Six stores, four based in the Midwest and one each in the South and Southwest, are scheduled to close within the next month.
The Southwest store is located in Albuquerque at 301 San Mateo Boulevard.
The closures come two months after Doug McMillon, chief executive officer of Walmart, remarked on the TV show Squawk Box that stores thefts in 2022 had reached a historic high.
“If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close,” McMillon remarked.
Despite reports to the contrary, the company has not yet officially said whether more stores are scheduled for closure in the near future.
City officials in Milwaukee, where a long-standing Walmart is set to shut its doors during the first two weeks of March, have announced that an effort is already underway exploring “possible replacement options” for the store.
Stores earlier closed by the chain have been repurposed into community centers, libraries, and storage facilities, among other uses. Notes the publication CCIM: “Since these properties are never designated as historic buildings, no special restrictions apply to modifications, and they don’t have to preserve facades.”
Based in Bentonville, Arkansas, Walmart currently operates in excess of 10,500 stores internationally—up from 8,500 a decade ago.
Despite the closing of the six Walmart stores, the company continues to embrace an aggressive growth strategy. Earlier this year it announced plans to open just over 30 of its Sam’s Club locations over the next several years.
Walmart locations greatly vary in size, but on average come in at about 180,000 square feet.
By Garry Boulard
