These are the first Walmart stores to close in 2024

Last year, the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, closed stores in several states: Illinois, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, and Hawaii. Already, the retail giant has announced that more locations will close in 2024, starting with two in San Diego, California.

San Diego to see two Walmart locations close

Closing stores with low or non-existent profit margins is one way to compete with Amazon, which reduces costs by not staffing physical locations. The two locations affected during this round of closures are:

Penn Live reported that a total of 357 people were employed at these locations and that they would have the chance to be relocated to another store. In a note to Business Insider, the company’s spokesperson Brian Little said that Walmart was “grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our San Diego and El Cajon stores.” However, with these stores closing, Little hopes that those customers will shop in other locations or make purchases online.

Aside from closures, company leaders also noted in their last earnings call that they were working to remodel many stores across the US. With the materials needed to conduct these updates increasing, the company spent more on these remodels than initially planned. “We did an alltime high level of remodels in the quarter, but this is investing in our business, which we definitely want to lean into,” said John David Rainey, Walmart’s Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer.

So far, the strategy of closing locations and focusing on e-commerce has allowed them to remain the world’s largest retailer, according to an analysis conducted by the National Retail Federation. The company maintained its top position with revenues of $585.2 billion thanks to its new online marketplace and delivery model, strong growth in select markets, and compliance.