Wal-Mart to shut 269 stores, including 154 in US

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Wal-Mart is doing some rare pruning.

The world’s largest retailer is closing 269 stores, including 154 in the U.S. that represent all of its locations under its smallest-format concept store called Wal-Mart Express. The other big chunk is in its challenging Brazilian market.

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. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said the store closures will affect 16,000 workers, 10,000 of them in the U.S. Its global workforce is 2.2 million, with 1.4 million in the U.S. alone.

The store closures will start at the end of the month.

The announcement comes three months after Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon told investors that the world’s largest retailer would review its fleet of stores with the goal of becoming more nimble in the face of increased competition from all fronts, including from online rival Amazon.com.

Michael Exstein, an analyst at Credit Suisse, described the moves as “baby steps” in his report published Friday, but he believes they are positive ones. He noted that this is the first mass closing that Wal-Mart has announced in at least two decades.