Walmart Plans To Shutter 4 Chicago Stores In April Citing Low Profits

CHICAGO — Walmart has announced it will close four stores in Chicago this month, citing poor performances similar to those that led to the closing of three suburban stores earlier this year.

The decision to shutter the stores wasn’t an easy one, the retail giant said in a statement, but said that collectively, stores in Chicago have not been profitable since the first location opened its doors 17 years ago.

The stores lose “tens of millions” each year, the store said on Tuesday and company officials said that the yearly losses had doubled since 2018.

Walmart announced on Tuesday that the following "underperforming" stores will close by April 16:

• Chatham Supercenter, Walmart Health Center and Walmart Academy, located at 8431 S. Stewart Ave.
• Kenwood Neighborhood Market, 4720 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
• Lakeview Community Market, 2844 N. Broadway St.
• Little Village Neighborhood Market, 2551 Cermak Road

"The decision to close a store is never easy. The impact is greater than just closing a building. It affects people — people who work in, shop in and live in communities near our stores — and we never take that lightly."

Pharmacies at the above locations will remain open to serve patients for up to 30 days, Walmart says. Employees will have the opportunity to transfer to other Walmart or Sam's Club locations, the company said.

“Over the years, we have tried many different strategies to improve the business performance of these locations, including building smaller stores, localizing product assortment and offering services beyond traditional retail,” the company’s announcement said.

The announcement regarding the closure of the Chicago stores comes after Walmart announced earlier this year that stores in suburban Lincolnwood, Homewood and Plainfield would close.