Walmart to Add 150 Stores in Five-Year Expansion

In a vote of confidence for bricks-and-mortar retail, Walmart has announced that it will add 150 large-format stores over the next five years.

John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., also said in a statement on Wednesday that the retail giant will remodel 650 of its existing stores during the next 12 months.

Most of the 150 stores in the expansion will be newly built, the balance will involve conversions of smaller stores into Walmart Supercenters. The first two new stores will open later this spring in Santa Rosa Beach, FL and Atlanta.

Furner said Walmart is finalizing construction plans to begin building 12 new stores this year. The retailer, which currently has more than 4,600 stores, has not opened a new store since 2021.

Walmart is in the midst of a $9B upgrade of 1,400 stores, which are being remodeled to embrace the company’s “Store of the Future” concept, which has introduced new technology to store layouts and expanded product selections.

The company reported sharply higher profit in the first three quarters of 2023, reporting revenue of more than $160B in Q3, a trend that is expected to continue when Walmart reports Q4 earnings that will include robust holiday shopping. The retailer’s stock price hit an all-time high in November.

Last week, Walmart announced it was raising average hourly wages to $18. On Monday, the retail giant announced that the top store manager at each of its U.S. locations will receive annual stock grants valued at up to $20K, depending on the size of the store.

Managers of supercenters will get the full stock grant, while those at smaller locations will get stock grants worth between $10K and $15K.

In October, Walmart held what it called “re-grand openings” for 117 remodeled stores in 30 states. A new checkout design, based on customer feedback, has been installed in the front of stores, while pharmacies and vision centers have been expanded.

Pharmacies have moved to the front of the store and added private screening rooms for pharmacist consultations and services. New “activated” corners allow customers to interact with items.

Walmart also has changed the store layouts to give shoppers more room in the aisles. Digital “touchpoints” have been placed throughout the store to provide product information.