4 ms·
"We know the community will have questions about why we are closing these locations. The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not
by PKop 4y ago
"We know the community will have questions about why we are closing these locations.
The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago – these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years. The remaining four Chicago stores continue to face the same business difficulties, but we think this decision gives us the best chance to help keep them open and serving the community."
- leafstrat 4y ago[flagged]
- floxy 4y agoAnyone have thoughts on what the motivation was to keep operating in the red for 17 years, with losses apparently increasing over time?
- richbell 4y agoIsn't Walmart's whole shtick that they move into an area and operate as a loss leader with the hope that their competition is forced to close?
- floxy 4y agoI guess if you have deep pockets you can try for decades to put the local mom & pop shops out of business?
- PKop 4y agoSo it's probably that this has nothing to do with their competition then, and rather some other factor causing the continued massive losses and ultimately their pull-out.
- dmix 4y ago> and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years Something happened in the last 5yrs which made it untenable.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- throwaway19423 4y agoTax rebates or hope they would eventually be profitable? Target in Canada is a great case study on what not to do.
- 1123581321 4y agoIt’s simply wanting to make headway in urban markets enough to justify a large investment. The stores were unprofitable but not so much that they couldn’t be kept open to continue learning. Go back 15-20 years and Walmart’s attempts to grow into dense urban areas were major news stories. Frightening at the time for fans of indie and small chain retail but almost quaint now that Amazon dominates.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- draw_down 4y ago[dead]