Walmart shutters handful of stores in multiple areas

Walmart has confirmed that it plans to close five store locations in several different markets and what appear to be its last two pickup/delivery-only concept stores in the Chicago area and in Bentonville, Ark.

The pickup/delivery-only locations were part of a test the company had launched in 2014, before the pandemic accelerated the demand for grocery e-commerce. The first such facility opened in the company’s headquarters city of Bentonville, followed by a location in Metairie, La., and the location outside Chicago in Lincolnwood, Ill., which opened in 2019 in a former Dominick’s supermarket.

The Metairie location closed last year, and the last two pickup- and delivery-only locations are scheduled to close this Friday. The company said it has gleaned learnings from these locations that can be incorporated into its pickup and delivery operations at other locations.

The other five stores slated for closure include four Supercenters and one Neighborhood Market, which is the company’s smaller format, similar to a traditional supermarket. All are scheduled for closure on Friday, March 10:

• Supercenter at 17550 South Halsted St., Homewood, Ill.

• Supercenter at 12690 S. Rte. 59, Plainfield, Ill.

• Supercenter at 10330 W. Silver Spring Dr., Milwaukee

• Supercenter at 301 San Mateo Blvd. SE, Albuquerque

• Neighborhood Market at 6900 U.S. Hwy. 19 North, Pinellas Park, Fla.

The company said the decision was made after a careful review process, and that the stores had not performed up to expectations.

“We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them,” Felicia McCranie, communications director, Walmart, told SN in a statement. “We look forward to serving them at our other stores in the surrounding communities and on walmart.com.”

As of January last year, the company operated 3,573 Supercenters, 370 discount stores and 799 Neighborhood Markets, according to the company’s year-end financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The number of Neighborhood Markets has been declining since reaching a peak of 813 at the end of fiscal 2019. Before that, Walmart had been opening dozens of Neighborhood Markets each year.

Walmart has historically closed a small number of Supercenters every few years and converted several discount stores into full Supercenters by adding a full grocery component.