Walmart and Macy's, two most iconic retailers of America, have announced for closing down hundreds of stores, on Friday. Walmart is shutting down its 269 stores and also layoffs thousands of workers. Meanwhile Macy's is closing its 40 stores in the beginning of this year. Besides, Sears, Target and some other retailers also have announced for store closings recently.
Walmart is pairing with underperforming U.S. stores. The retailer thus desires to expand promising grocery Neighborhood Markets format and strengthen its e-commerce capacity. The closure is believed to allow the retailer to step up its digital and in-store initiatives.
The closures' list name 154 U.S. locations including 102 "Express" format stores, Test piloting smallest locations, some supercenters, Sam's Club locations. Neighborhood Markets and 115 stores in Latin American markets are also added to the closure list. These have been chosen on the basis of financial performance and feasibility of the locations with Walmart's broader strategy, reports USA Today quoting Greg Hitt, spokesman for Walmart.
Walmart has been experimenting since 2011 with a chain of smaller format stores, Walmart Express. The concept targets mid-week business from customers disliking a giant box for a few items. However, that idea has proved to be a flop and Walmart is pulling the plug on the format, accounting for 102 of the 154 U.S. closings.
The shuttering announced stores account for around 1% of the total sales revenue from its global fleet. Around 10,000 workers in the US are in the blink of loosing jobs.
The retail giant employs around 16,000 across the globe. However, Walmart Store, the parent company expects, the looser associates will be relocated in nearby Walmart places, reports Fortune.
Macy's announced store closings pose a number of implications on the overall retail landscape. This decision may influence other specialty retailers and department stores to approach towards online sales. However, Walmart's decision confirms the ever ushering of ecommerce suppressing sales in stores, reports Business Insider quoting an analyst working for Conlumino, a New York based research firm.
Walmart and Macy's both have remained as a 'must go place' since long for those desiring to purchase some specific items. The growth of Amazon and other ecommerce outlets have provided easy access to a comprehensive and relatively cheap assortment of products. Eventually they have suppressed the traditional stores.
Ecommerce is growing with huge momentum and people now a day prefer to purchase online instead of visiting a traditional store. Due to ever squeezing business growth, many retailers have started to close down their stores. The number of job loosing employees only in case of Walmart's US associates has been projected to 10,000 and further increase in the number is being feared by the analysts.
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