Wal-Mart pushes sales focus on smaller stores

As same-store sales continue to drop for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., U.S. stores division CEO Bill Simon told those attending the megaretailer’s annual shareholders meeting Thursday this would be the first year it builds more small stores than large ones.  

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is planning to build 270 to 300 Neighborhood Markets and Walmart Expresses this year compared to 115 Supercenters.

Same-store sales, which measures sales at stores open at least one year, declined for Wal-Mart during the first quarter of 2014, representing the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. Overall revenue was up 1 percent to $114.6 billion during the quarter compared to the same period last year, but income declined to $3.59 billion from $3.78 billion.

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