Walmart will add 150 stores in the United States over the next five years, a major expansion initiative for the retail giant.
The company, which announced the measure in a statement Wednesday, he said it would involve millions of dollars in investments. Walmart employs approximately 1.6 million people in the United States and said it hires hundreds of people each time it opens a new store.
Walmart had just over 4,600 stores nationwide as of the end of October 2023, up from more than 4,700 a year earlier. The company has not opened a new store in the US since late 2021.
Most of the stores Walmart plans to open will be new construction, while others will be conversions of existing locations to new formats. The first two new stores will open in the spring, in Florida and Georgia, and the company is finalizing plans to build another 12 stores this year. He also said he would remodel 650 stores.
Walmart announced this week that it would increase the salaries and benefits of store managers and offer them stock grants.
The company posted considerably higher profits in the first three quarters of 2023 and its share price is approaching an all-time high.
Consumer spending, which drives the U.S. economy, has been resilient even as shoppers have come under pressure from high inflation and rising interest rates. Credit card data from the holiday season showed retail sales increased from a year ago.
Jordyn Holman contributed reports.
