Sylmar Sam’s Club to Close

Soon, San Fernando Valley shoppers will have one less Sam’s Club store to choose from. Parent company Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Jan. 14 that it will close about 10 percent of its 660 Sam’s Club stores nationwide as part of a company reorganization following a vigorous performance review. The Sam’s Club at 12920 Foothill Blvd. in Sylmar is one of the 63 locations due to close. Sylmar’s Sam’s Club will close to the public by Jan. 26. The store, which has occupied 104,849 square feet as a shopping-plaza anchor tenant since 2009 and employs about 150 people, is one of four Sam’s Clubs in California scheduled to shutter. The other stores are in Sacramento, City of Industry and Stanton. About 10,000 Sam’s Club employees will be affected by the nationwide closures. Part of the plan is to convert 10 of the stores into ecommerce facilities. “Transforming our business means managing our real estate portfolio and Walmart needs a strong fleet of Sam’s Clubs that are fit for the future,” Sam’s Club Chief Executive John Furner said in a statement. “We know this is difficult news for our associates and we are working to place as many of them as possible at nearby locations. Our focus today has been on those associates and their communities, and communicating with them.” Sam’s Club spokesperson Laura Ladd Poff said the Sylmar store’s eligible hourly employees will continue to receive compensation for 60 days while they look for other opportunities in nearby Sam’s Clubs or Wal-Mart stores. If the workers have not transferred by the end of this period, they will receive severance. “Our hope is that many associates at the Club will choose to stay with the company via transfer and we’ll begin working to make that happen,” Poff said. According to Costar Group, Wal-Mart owns the locations for 591 out of 660 of its Sam’s Club stores; the other 69 are leased. Sam’s Clubs stores generate about $57 billion in revenue per year and account for about 12 percent of Wal-Mart’s total sales. A Wal-Mart report said that Sam’s Club comparable store sales were up 2.8 percent year-over-year and that foot traffic was up 3.6 percent.