Walmart Announces Plans To Shut Down 7 Stores In LA Amid Worldwide Closures
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Walmart announced plans Friday to close seven stores in Los Angeles County.
The announcement comes three months after its CEO Doug McMillon told investors the world's largest retailer would review its store fleet in amid increasing competition from all fronts, including from online rival Amazon.com.
"Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future," McMillion said in a written statement. "It's important to remember that we'll open more than 300 stores around the world next year. We are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it."
In total, the retailer plans to shut down 269 stores in the U.S. and worldwide.
In the U.S., 154 locations will be closed, most of them small format stores called Walmart Express, which were launched as a test program in 2011. The remaining 115 locations that will shut down are spread over Latin America, mostly in Brazil.
According to retailer, more than 95 percent of the stores that are set to be closed nationwide are within 10 miles of another Walmart.
The stores being shuttered account for a fraction of the company's 11,000 stores worldwide and less than 1 percent of its global revenue.
According to CBS News, the retailer has warned that its earnings for the fiscal year starting next month will be down as much as 12 percent as it invests further in online operations and pours money into improving customers' experience.
Looking forward, company officials said, Walmart plans to focus in the U.S. on supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, the e-commerce business and pickup services for shoppers.
The closures, which will start at the end of the month, will affect 16,000 workers. The company says 10,000 of the workers are located in the U.S.
The following stores will be closing in the greater Los Angeles area:
— Store #2949: 151 E. 5th Street in Long Beach;
— Store #2960: 4101 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles;
— Store #5642: 2408 Lincoln Avenue in Altadena;
— Store #5688: 6820 Eastern Avenue in Bell Gardens;
— Store #3086: 701 W. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Los Angeles;
— Store #5690: 2045 E. Highland Avenue in San Bernardino; and
— Store #4173: 12120 Carson Street in Hawaiian Garden.
For a complete list of store closings, click here.
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