At least one Chicago alderman isn’t happy with the way Walmart announced its store closures Tuesday, especially the one located in her ward.
“With little to no warning, the Walmart on 47th & Cottage Grove will close its doors this Sunday,” wrote 4th Ward Ald. Sophia King on Twitter on Wednesday. “This is truly a disappointing decision, especially given the short notice.”
“Certainly, Walmart has the resources and respect to give more notice,” she added. “The City must fight to provide access to healthy and nutritious food.”
With little to no warning, the Walmart on 47th & Cottage Grove will close its doors this Sunday. The pharmacy will remain open for up to 30 days to continue serving customers. This is truly a disappointing decision, especially given the short notice. 1/3
— Alderman Sophia King (@King4thWard) April 11, 2023
Walmart announced it was closing four Chicago stores in Chatham, Lakeview, Little Village and Kenwood, the one in King’s Southside ward.
“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,” according to a statement issued by Walmart.
In that same statement, the company highlighted a list of investments it made to its Chicago locations over the years, which included the construction of smaller stores, upgrading existing stores, building two Walmart Health facilities and a Walmart Academy training center.
“It was hoped that these investments would help improve our stores’ performance,” said Walmart. “Unfortunately, these efforts have not materially improved the fundamental business challenges our stores are facing.”
The Walmart stores set to close to the public by Sunday, April 16, include the following:
- #5781 Chatham Supercenter, the Walmart Health Center, and the Walmart Academy, 8431 S. Stewart Ave.
- #3166 Kenwood Neighborhood Market, 4720 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
- #5645 Lakeview Neighborhood Market, 2844 N. Broadway St.
- #5646 Little Village Neighborhood Market, 2551 W. Cermak Road
The pharmacies at these locations will remain open to serve patients for up to 30 days.
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