Customers shop at a Walmart store on May 19, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty’s paintings
Walmart announced on Tuesday that it could abruptly close four unprofitable stores in Chicago, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual losses.
The corporate said its eight stores in Chicago combined haven’t been profitable since they first opened 17 years ago. This meant a lack of “tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars a 12 months”, in response to the press releaselosses which have almost doubled in the last five years.
Four stores will close on April 16, although their pharmacies will remain open for as much as 30 days. Locations are in the Kenwood, Lakeview, Little Village, and Chatham neighborhoods of Chicago.
“Through the years we’ve tried many alternative strategies to enhance the business performance of those locations, including constructing smaller stores, locating the product range and offering services beyond traditional retail,” the corporate said in an announcement. “As we searched for solutions, it became even clearer that there was nothing the leaders could do for these stores to get us to the purpose where they were profitable.”
Walmart said all employees at these four stores are eligible to relocate to other Walmart locations and will be paid by August 11. The corporate will keep its remaining four stores open in Chicago.
Walmart said in March that it could close several stores, in response to media reports. Walmart also announced in March that it could lay off a whole bunch of employees at e-commerce achievement centers nationwide.
As of January 31, the corporate operated over 5,300 stores, including Supercentres, discount stores, Sam’s clubs and small-format stores.