IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Walmart will close 269 stores worldwide, including one of its locations in San Bernardino.
The retail giant also disclosed that it will drop Walmart Express, the small store format that it started in 2011, according to a statement posted Friday on the company’s website.
Walmart will now focus on improving its supercenter stores and neighborhood markets while seeking to expands its online business.
The San Bernardino store, a Walmart Neighborhood Market at 2045 E. Highland Ave., is one five California stores scheduled to be closed by the end of this month.
Walmart plans to close 154 U.S. stores and 115 international locations, according to the statement.
“Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future,” said Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Walmart Stores Inc., in the statement. “It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”
Walmart, one of the world’s largest retailers, operates nearly 11,600 stores worldwide. Friday’s announcement came three months after the company announced it was conducting a major review of its entire portfolio.
