WalMart Closing Under Performing Stores

The city of Chicago is about to lose half of their Walmart stores, according to company officials. Currently there are 8 Walmarts in the Windy City, and Four of them are about to be closed because in the past 17 years they have not shown the profits the company expected. As a result, Walmart has lost tens of millions of dollars per year over the last 5 years.

The closures are set to take place in just four days, on April 16th.

Presumably, the company looked at all of their stores nationwide, but the good news is, there was no mention of a similar action and similar losses here in Kern County.

Walmart officials say they have tried a variety of strategies to improve business performance before making the decision to close the stores, including reversing the trend to build the so-called “Super Walmarts” by constructing smaller stores, localizing product assortment and offering services beyond traditional retail, according to a company statement.

Chicago isn’t the only city being hit with closures however. In total, 19 stores in 11 states are being targeted including Washington D.C..

Walmart has been quietly closing other stores the company considers under performing, and laying off hundreds of employees at e-commerce fulfillment centers nationwide.

None of the stores in California was on the list.

-Tony Lee