Sams Club to close 10 stores, layoff 1,500

Same position as WalMart, layoffs at the bottom end.

pressroom.samsclub.com...

Announcement of Sam's Club Closures - Jan. 11, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010


Sam's Club President and CEO Brian Cornell announced the closure of 10 financially underperforming Sam's Club locations in the United States -- part of the company's strategy to leverage expenses and drive member value -- in a memo to Sam's U.S. associates.

Dear Associates,

As you all know, our business model is built on making the best choices for our members, while providing more value for their dollars than anyone else. A key part of our commitment is keeping our operating costs low, and passing these savings on to members who are counting on us now more than ever.

In reviewing our current business performance, we have made the difficult decision to close 10 Clubs. Despite the outstanding efforts of our Associates, these Clubs continued to lose money and we have decided to close them.

The impacted Clubs are located in Nampa, ID; La Quinta, CA; Louisville, CO; Vista, CA; Rolling Meadows, IL; Clay, NY; Irvine, CA; and one Club in the Houston, TX, Phoenix, AZ, and Sacramento, CA markets.

Approximately 1,500 Sam’s Associates will be impacted as a result of the closures. We do not make these decisions lightly, and are doing all we can to make the transition for impacted Associates as smooth as possible. In addition to providing severance pay and benefits for eligible Associates, we are working to find employment opportunities at other Sam’s Club locations or Walmart stores and will hold job fairs at each location to help Associates learn about potential openings.

The Club closures are one piece of a larger strategy focused on driving superior value, growth and improved returns. We remain committed to opening and operating the best Clubs in the warehouse industry, in the right sizes and formats, in locations that make the best use of our capital. We’re continuing to identify opportunities for growth, and increasing our investment in remodeling to improve operating productivity and efficiency.

By the end of this fiscal year, we’ll have added 6 Clubs and completed 52 remodels. In fiscal year 2011, we plan to add between five and 10 new, expanded or relocated Clubs and remodel between 60 and 80 Clubs.

We’re confident we have the right strategy in place to ensure we run a high performance business, one that is even more competitive going forward. Our dedicated and talented Associates continue to drive this strategy and our success. Thank you for all you do for our members and for each other.

Well money losing business usually do not last long.

But on the flip side, I bet the executives that suggested such a cut will be getting some nice bonuses from the money saving moves. There is a reason why the Dow keeps rising while employment falls.

What an epic waste of commercial real estate and resources. I mean your average Sam's Club is a HUGE piece of property. It's ironic to see ten of these building sitting idle while our homeless population surges.

America is such a pathetic society........oops the world is such a pathetic place as well. Plenty of food and shelter to go around yet more people dying from starvation and homelessness on a daily basis.

Yet, people will continue supporting Walmart and Sam's club. No matter the cost to the population.

I wonder how many businesses they drove out when adding these stores. yet they close when it is not profitable enough.

i love the twist on how they care about their numbers. uh huh.
If you cared about the community, you would keep the jobs there, as pathetic as they are.

But don't worry about an increase in welfare recipients in these areas. Most likely the people get paid so little they already receive welfare. That is how WalMart makes its money, pay so little, don't provide health insurance, so that the state has to pick up the tab.

[edit on 12-1-2010 by nixie_nox]