Walmart Canada has announced that it is closing 6 stores and investing over $500 million this year in its store network, with a focus on refurbishing and refreshing stores in communities across the country.
This is the largest yearly investment in store upgrades Walmart Canada has made as it continues improving the overall customer experience and modernizing the business. The work is expected to create more than 2,000 construction jobs in communities from Prince George, British Columbia to New Minas, Nova Scotia. After all the work is completed, more than 60 percent of all Walmart Canada stores will be improved by the investment this year.
Walmart Canada is committed to evaluating their store network to meet customer needs and ensure continued growth strategies. As part of the retailer’s store strategy, Walmart Canada will also close six stores: Malton, ON, Hamilton (County Fair), ON, Calgary (Deer Valley) AB, Edmonton (Abbotsfield) AB, Kitchener East (ON), St. John’s South, Nfld. All associates at these stores will be offered positions at nearby Walmart locations to better serve customers in these markets. Each of these locations is in a market that is already well served by other Walmart stores.
“We are on a mission to modernize all aspects of our business and that includes our stores,” said Horacio Barbeito, President and CEO of Walmart Canada. “Investing in our stores is a major priority. In so many cases our stores are pillars in the community, and we want them at their best – especially as we serve our customers in more omnichannel ways.”
These updates are the latest in a series of store investments, building on the retailer’s planned $3.5 billion investment over the next five years to make the online and in-store shopping experience simpler, faster and more convenient for Walmart customers.
“When a customer chooses to shop at our stores we want to do everything we can to ensure they are met with the best and most modern experience possible,” said Sam Wankowski, Chief Operations Officer, Walmart Canada. “We are making a lot of improvements, including digitizing the experience to be more contemporary and creating a more efficient store to serve our customers regardless of how they choose to shop with us.”
The Projects include:
- Upgrading Supercentres by enhancing the look and feel of the store for example with improved lighting, repairs, paint, new signage, and a refreshed exterior front look
- Upgrading and improving associate lounges
- Enhancing some of our highest e-commerce volume stores with an improved picking space for online orders
- Revamping sales floor layout in select stores
- Walmart Canada’s first automated market fulfilment centre inside the Scarborough West Walmart Supercentre
- The Calgary Northland Walmart and the Kitchener Walmart will be converted to Supercentres, and will feature an impressive assortment of fresh groceries, general merchandise, and convenient services available at Walmart’s low prices every day.
They are Increasing the number of automated checkouts while hiring fewer cashiers.
i will not use them,i want a live person to deal with
This post sounds like a news release from Walmart. New construction jobs? Yes, but very temporary. What about the staff losing permanent jobs at the stores that are closing? If you believe Walmart is doing this to improve the customer experience, you don’t understand the Walmart business model: low wages, few benefits, minimal hours, and eliminate the competition.
I’m very happy to see the renos & investment happening at my local Walmart. Many business are increasing automated checkouts to compete economically with online shopping, Walmart is not the only one. The online shopping experience is a pale comparison to the fun of in-store shopping IMO. I’m all in favour of whatever steps needed to keep my local brick & mortar shops open, all of them.
I have read that the closure of the Malton Supercentre (Mississauga ON) means a store only a few years old is going to make local residents’ shopping harder to do.
The Hamilton store is in old plaza that probably will either need to update or to become a condo/survey site. Two bus routes are in the immediate area.