Walmart is closing stores and putting 16,000 people out of work. http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...-269-stores/ar-BBoeOI6?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCDHP
Saw that on the news feed this morning. It just seems a little odd to me, but I've never seen a Walmart Express store around here. from the link ... The Arkansas-based retailer said it would still open 142 to 165 stores in the United States in the year ending in January 2017. For the first time, it also disclosed plans to open 200 to 240 stores overseas in the coming year. Overseas?
Community of about 3,000 south of us saw a new WalMart Express open three years ago. That store is one on the list to be closed. Seems like a huge investment in land, building, and fixtures to shut it down in such a short time. But, I'm not one to second guess WalMart's business decisions.
I was reading about this, too; since we are supposed to have one of the Walmart Neighborhood Markets being built a few blocks down the street from us. They are still working on it, so it looks like they will still build it. From what I read, Walmart is just looking at the market and deciding what they want to close and what to keep. The Walmart Express stores are very small, about 12,000sqft, and the newer Neighborhood Markets are more like 35,000sqft. Apparently they are more like a Dollar store; but with an expanded grocery section, where the smaller Express store was more like a convenience store. They are also renaming all of the smaller Walmart stores as Neighborhood Markets, regardless of size. the article that I read said that the smaller stores might be put in towns where the bigger stores would not be profitable .
I've never seen a Walmart Express, but did have a Walmart Neighborhood Market nearby when I lived up in Houston. It was o.k., but was more a small grocery store than what most of us expect from Walmart. I'd still have to drive to Walmart or another large store to get some of what I needed, since they carried a limited selection, and what they carried was geared to the shoppers in the area, which didn't mesh with my needs, other than the basics. I read before that Walmart created these Express and Neighborhood Markets (the newer ones, not the ones I went to) aimed at students and millenials living in large cities who tended to shop locally, rather than driving to do their shopping. I think they miscalculated, and I thought from the get go it was a mistake. I believe they bought this administrations line that empty nesters and others will be moving into the cities from suburbs, and that those people will have a lot of disposable income, and choose not to drive outside of their residential and work areas.
I'm NW of Houston, and I see they are closing one of their Supercenters near me. But I can see why, as they have enough of them in every direction around here. Wonder what that empty store will become in the future? ... it's big!
After destroying most of the mum/pop stores now they can down size and move into other areas. They have made us into a throwaway society with all the cheap Chinese products.
So far no notice in Hawaii about any Walmart store closing, but we just saw the news recently that K-Mart on Nimitz Hwy. is closing by March of 2016 due to lease is up. http://senegal-actu.com/2016/01/kmart-store-on-nimitz-highway-to-close-in-march-affecting/
From what I know, Walmart is the biggest employer in the retail business particularly in the category of grocery. If true, that 16,000 who would lose their jobs would be a headache to the government. Although we only have 7-11 here, I guess it is practically the same as Walmart. But I wonder what the real reason is for closing their stores. Is it really downsizing or cost cutting? Let's hope they wouldn't close all their shops and it is just an interim period for a grander plan in the near future.