According to recent and emerging reports, Dollar General has purchased 41 stores, which were formerly owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (in the USA.) Todd Vasos, CEO of Dollar General said (in a press release) “Dollar General is excited to add these locations to our existing store base. We look forward to the opportunity to better serve our customers in these communities by continuing to provide the convenience and value they expect from Dollar General.”
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’s rival, Dollar General, aims to open around 900 more stores this year, with another 1,000 planned for 2017.
On the 15/01/2016, an article published on Business Insider reported that Wal-Mart was closing 269 stores and laying off thousands of workers. Specifically, it stated that around 10,000 US workers would be made redundant, with 16,000 redundancies in total (including overseas.)
The article read “Walmart is closing 269 stores and laying off thousands of employees. The move will affect more than 16,000 employees, including 10,000 in the US. The closings include 154 locations in the US — 102 of which are the company’s smallest stores, called Walmart Express, which have been in pilot since 2011. Walmart is closing the stores to shift resources to Walmart’s Supercenters and smaller-format Neighborhood Market stores. Walmart will also shut down 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, and four Sam’s Clubs. All the stores will close by the end of the month.”
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was closing the stores in a bid to streamline its operation, and increase profits (as most of the closed stores were making a loss.) Wal-Mart is still one of the largest retailers in the world, but they have been coming under increasing pressure from online retailers, such as Amazon.com, Inc.
As the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed on the 28/07/2016, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’s share price was trading at $73.24, down by 0.11%. The company’s market cap currently stands at $226.99 billion.