Sam’s Club, the warehouse division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is closing several clubs and transforming others to e-commerce warehouse facilities.
The Bentonville company notified employees today. A company official confirmed about 50 clubs will be closing, while approximately 10 others will be converted to e-commerce centers, the result of a review of its portfolio.
Some of the stores impacted were closed immediately. Others will remain open throughout the rest of the month. It’s not immediately clear how many employees are affected by the decisions.
“Transforming our business means managing our real estate portfolio — we need a strong fleet of clubs that are fit for the future,” Sam’s Club Chief Executive Officer John Furner said in a memo to employees. “After a thorough review, it became clear we had built clubs in some locations that impacted other clubs, and where population had not grown as anticipated. We’ve decided to right-size our fleet and better align our locations with our strategy.”
The Sam's Club closings were announced on the same day Wal-Mart said it was boosting the pay for its U.S. workers and issuing bonuses to current employees.
Sam’s Club has 600 club locations throughout the U.S.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.