Walmart Announces Spate of Store Closings

Ahead of its fiscal fourth quarter and yearly earnings report released on Feb. 21 and following a third quarter that saw an 8.7% gain in total revenue, Walmart is making some adjustments to its physical store footprint. This week, the retailer revealed store closings in different parts of the country.

In Chicagoland, Walmart is shuttering stores in the suburbs of Homewood and Plainfield and closing another pickup-only site in Lincolnwood. The decisions were based on several factors, according to company officials. “We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our Homewood, Lincolnwood, and Plainfield locations. We look forward to serving them at our other stores in the surrounding communities and on walmart.com,” a Walmart spokesperson shared in a statement.

Walmart reported that it will take what it has learned from the pickup-only site and apply those insights to its pickup and delivery services in other stores. Affected employees at the three Cook County stores can opt to transfer to other Walmart locations in the area.

North of the Chicago market, Walmart is preparing to cease store operations at a site on Silver Spring Drive in Milwaukee. Walmart currently operates two other supercenters in metro Milwaukee, along with a smaller-format store in that city.

Meantime, in the western part of the United States, the retail behemoth announced one store closing in southeast Albuquerque, N.M. While that brick-and-mortar location will close its doors, residents can still shop at 15 other Walmart stores in the urban Albuquerque area.

Also on the chopping block: a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Pinellas Park, Fla., near Tampa. That store, like most of the aforementioned locations, will end its run by March 10.

In addition to coping with broader issues like inflation and theft at physical stores, Walmart has contended with other challenges at certain locations. Suspected arson caused the temporary closing of an Atlanta store in 2022, while small fires and smoke also impacted stores in Webster, N.Y., Colorado Springs, Colo., Selma, Ala., and Barnwell, S.C.

Even as some Walmart stores are going dark, the company is updating other locations, including recent remodels in Teterboro and North Bergen, N.J., Yaphank, N.Y., Hodgkins, Ill., and Quakertown, Pa., among other sites. The retailer also continues to broaden its business across the omnichannel and invest in new technologies, like the recently-unveiled Text to Shop  experience and its expanded drone delivery service in seven states and 36 stores. 

Each week, approximately 230 million customers and members visit Walmart’s more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites under 46 banners in 24 countries. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.