Walmart shutting down Mamou location

MAMOU — Walmart ann-ounced Friday it is closing the doors on 154 of its U.S. stores, including the Mamou store located at 1445 Old Hwy 13. The tentative date of closure is Jan. 28. which means that the Mamou store would have been open for one year and two weeks.
The nearest Walmart locations for Mamou residents will the Walmart Supercenter in Ville Platte and the Walmart Supercenter in Eunice which are both 13 miles away from the Mamou store.
Mamou Town Council member Lisa Deshotel was stunned by the announcement, especially considering how well the store was doing in the small Cajun town.
“While it is quite disappointing that it is being closed it is not a reflection of the amount of business our store had here,” Deshotel said. “This is not a Mamou issue. It wasn’t because this store wasn’t do well.”
According to a press release, the majority of the closures are the company’s 102 Walmart Express stores, the smallest format stores, which is what is located in Mamou.
In addition to all the Express stores, 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers and four Sam’s Clubs will be closed.
In all, Walmart is closing 269 of its 11,600 worldwide locations. The company estimates that roughly 16,000 associates will be affected by the store closures, including roughly 10,000 in the United States.
“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Walmart Stores, Inc. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”
It said more than 95 percent of the closed stores in the U.S. are within 10 miles on average of another Walmart, so the hope is those associates can gain employment at nearby stores. In cases where that isn’t available, transition assistance will be available, the company said.
In addition to the Mamou location, Louisiana will also see seven other Walmarts shut their doors. Those stores are in Colfax, Lake Arthur, Iowa, Clinton, Kentwood, Zwolle and Independence.