Several East Texas Walmarts to Close This Month

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Several East Texas outlets are affected as Walmart announces it will close 154 locations in the U.S. KETK reports outlets in Edgewood, Frankston, Diana, and Waskom are expected to shut down January 28. They’re among numerous Texas Walmarts going out of business. Nationwide, the closures include company’s 102 smallest format stores, Walmart Express, which had been in pilot since 2011. Walmart says it instead will focus on strengthening Supercenters, optimizing Neighborhood Markets, growing the e-commerce business, and expanding Pickup services for customers. Also covered in the closures are 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, and four Sam’s Clubs.

According to a Walmart press release, the company said last October that an active review of its portfolio was underway to ensure assets were aligned with strategy. Friday’s action follows what’s termed a thorough review of Walmart’s nearly 11,600 worldwide stores. Company officials say the review took into account a number of factors, including financial performance as well as strategic alignment with long-term plans. In total, the impacted stores represent less than 1 percent of both global square footage and revenue, according to the release.