Walmart is abruptly closing 63 Sam's Club stores and laying off thousands of workers

www.businessinsider.com...

Interesting timing with the wage & benefit increase for Walmart.

I'm not sad to see Sams club go, I think it might be one of the most depressing stores out there. Once I went to Costco I never looked back!

a reply to: JAGStorm

Sam's Clubs have been closing in earnest here in the Chicago area for a few years. Hope the one in Elkhart Indiana stays open. My brother and his wife love the place. I've only been in a Sam's Club one time...with him.

Yea I am thinking Costco may be winning the bulk sales war and the profit margins aren't favorable to Wal-Mart. These things happen in business...anyone know if Costco is giving back to their employees after the tax legislation?

a reply to: RickyD

"Costco CEO Richard Galanti made a vague promise to help his employees if tax cuts are passed, saying the company will "do what we do well ... taking care of our employees and ultimately taking care of our shareholders.”

originally posted by: JAGStorm
www.businessinsider.com...

Interesting timing with the wage & benefit increase for Walmart.

I'm not sad to see Sams club go, I think it might be one of the most depressing stores out there. Once I went to Costco I never looked back!

It's the "one-two punch".

ATT just did the same thing.

Release some good news about bonus or pay increase. Raise everybody's spirits.

Then release the bad news about layoffs and cuts.

The good news helps to cushion the blow of the coming bad news.

The bad news brings people spirits down, but now from a higher level.

End result, people feelings about the co is unchanged.

a reply to: RickyD

Costco already pays their employees a living wage.

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Article is old. Hopefully this hasn't changed.

originally posted by: RickyD
Yea I am thinking Costco may be winning the bulk sales war and the profit margins aren't favorable to Wal-Mart. These things happen in business...anyone know if Costco is giving back to their employees after the tax legislation?

Costco already pays their employees pretty well, but they have a different business model. They tend to target higher income shoppers and locate in like areas. They aren't as "low price" as Sam's and Wal-Mart.

Companies shut stores down all the time. The only thing that makes this news is that it wasn't announced which doesn't really say anything. I can see why a company wouldn't necessarily want to announce it ahead of time. People don't take bad news well sometimes.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Laissez faire capitalism sucks. It's nothing but boom or bust. Just miserable.

a reply to: Edumakated

Yup, I don't know about the other closing locations that were listed in the article, but the ones being closed in Texas are in the "sketchy" neighborhoods of big cities.

a reply to: JAGStorm

It sucks for the employees, for sure, but this has been a long time coming. In areas where Costcos exist, Sam's seems to be losing customers more and more--Costco just has better products overall, so there's really not comparison, IMO.

But like with most other things in business, I guarantee that these decisions were not made overnight, and that this has been a long time coming--I just wish that employees, like the ones working at the two that are closing here in the Cincinnati area, had more time to mentally, emotionally, and fiscally prepare.

a reply to: AMPTAH

Yep. Give with one hand and take with the other.

As a Costco shopper, I am sad to see Sam's stores close. Less competition is rarely good for the consumer.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Its what you Americans know, but it may be a time for a change! See: theweek.com...

Very interesting article. I read it this morning about the same time I saw a story to the effect that the Hep A outbreak spread to Utah and that's come from the homeless population in San Diego according to One America News. What with all the technological changes, automation, etc., eliminating jobs, my guess is that the US will have to adopt a different social-economic model. As things stand now, its pretty ridiculous. In our area, the Flu outbreak is nearing epidemic proportions and they ran out of the vaccine 3 months ago. You combine an epidemic with increasing poverty and homelessness and you gotta disaster!

They shut all 3 Alaska Sam's Club locations... That's an odd move considering how insanely popular they are up here. It's also a move I am not happy about, not because I've ever been inside a Sam's Club (I have not) but because it likely means larger crowds and more Walmart creatures at CostCo, which I am a member of.

I like Sams club stores.

They have many of the same things that Costco has but they also have some different items

I'm a member of both and shop at both so I think it's kind of sad

Sam isn't an idiot. He knows that Trumps "trickle down" will doom his big box. Other Walmarts are bailing as well.

all closing....

Payless ShoeSource - 400 stores.
JC Penney - 138 stores.
Macy's - 68 stores.
Sears and K Mart - 150 stores.
HH Gregg - 88 stores.
Abercrombie & Fitch - 60 stores.
Guess - 60 stores.

Hand writing on the wall....

a reply to: SlapMonkey

I worked for a tech giant and massive layoffs were coming (around 25 yrs ago) They told all of us about four months ahead of time, and offered a stay on until the end bonus. It didn't work, most people left early. I'm guessing stores like Walmart wouldn't have much success keeping employees unless there wasn't much else in the area. I've had surprise layoffs too, and yes it sucks, and every employee should always be prepared as possible because it is just the way of doing business now.

They just built a new Sam's club across from a Costco in our area. It is doing terrible (from what I can tell the parking lot is always empty). I don't think it's just the products at Costco (but yes I agree they are better), it is everything, I noticed even the lighting is better at Costco!

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: dfnj2015

Its what you Americans know, but it may be a time for a change! See: theweek.com...

Very interesting article. I read it this morning about the same time I saw a story to the effect that the Hep A outbreak spread to Utah and that's come from the homeless population in San Diego according to One America News. What with all the technological changes, automation, etc., eliminating jobs, my guess is that the US will have to adopt a different social-economic model. As things stand now, its pretty ridiculous. In our area, the Flu outbreak is nearing epidemic proportions and they ran out of the vaccine 3 months ago. You combine an epidemic with increasing poverty and homelessness and you gotta disaster!

It's called natural selection, AKA survival of the fittest. Trouble is it doesn't work once well meaning idiots tamper with it and artificially support segments of the population which nature has deemed to not be among the fittest.

Oh that's how they're going to raise wages and give bonuses...

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: JAGStorm

Laissez faire capitalism sucks. It's nothing but boom or bust. Just miserable.

Say it isn't so, the Federal reserve was put in place to stop the boom and busts and make the economy smoooooth.


FAIL