Ten Sam's Club stores to close; Springfield spared

Walmart Stores Inc. said Monday that the company is closing 10 "underperforming" Sam's Club stores as part of a strategy to leverage expenses, but Springfield's two Sam's Clubs are not on the chopping block.

Stores will be closed in Nampa, Idaho; La Quinta, Vista and Irvine, Calif.; Louisville, Colo.; Rolling Meadows, Ill.; and Clay, N.Y.; the cities of Houston, Texas; Sacramento, Calif., and Phoenix will each lose one store, according to a memo from Sam's Club President and CEO Brian Cornell to company employees.

The company estimates that 1,500 employees will be affected by the decision, though Walmart says it is working to find jobs for them at other Sam's Club or Walmart locations.

While some stores are closing, others are being added. The company will have added six new Sam's Clubs and completed 52 remodels by the end of this fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31, and will add five to 10 new clubs in fiscal 2011 according to the memo.

At least one retail industry expert, meanwhile, says the decision to close the stores is a sign of health.

Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York retail consulting firm Davidowitz & Associates Inc., said Tuesday that retailers should be constantly looking at and cutting their real estate portfolios, according to the Arkansas Business Journal.

"The smart retailer is the retailer who constantly has their portfolio under a microscope," Davidowitz said. "And I think that's a sign of intelligence and good management. I don't view it as a negative. I view it as a huge positive."

Shares of Walmart stock (NYSE: WMT) closed Tuesday at $54.73, just off the 52-week high of $55.09. Shares were trading at $54.68 as of 10 a.m.[[In-content Ad]]