Walmart abruptly closes 6 locations.

[Alpha8472]

All but one of the stores has reopened. They all have a brand new decor. Walmart's cheap looking decor has gone down hill since Project Impact began. At first the new blue signs had pictures that went along with the department signage. That looked decent. Then a new design of signage was implemented that got rid of photographs and went to thin single panel flat signs. These look cheap and ugly.

The new decor at these Walmarts feature white signs and look much nicer. These remodeled Walmart stores feature a new design. For example, the Electronics Department has been redesigned to feature a cage with excess stock so that employees don't have to walk to the backroom to get merchandise. I have friends who work for Walmart and the way it works is that when a person wants an iPhone or iPad, the employee must walk all the way to the stockroom, unlock a storage room, get the item, sign for it, and walk all the way back just for one item. That takes about 10 minutes. Then the next customer that asks for a phone or another expensive item had the same 10 minute wait. This is absolutely stupid and wastes time. This requires extra employees to guard the electronics department while one employee goes to the back. The new design cuts down on the number of employees. This is all about labor reduction and saving money.

The new Electronics departments in remodeled stores now have one main entrance to Electronics. This reduces the ability for shoplifters to escape. Now they must pass through one gateway so that employees can better stop shoplifters. Also there are more hands on displays. Previously if you wanted to see a cell phone or iPad you had to ask employee to unlock one for you to see it. This requires an employee to get it for you and that takes labor. Now you can self serve yourself and this cuts down on employees.

Cosmetics departments at Walmart stores are being redesigned so that they are closed off except for one entrance and exit. This allows a single gateway with a cash register and an employee to discourage shoplifting of high theft cosmetics.

Walmart.com Pickup has moved from the back of the store to the front of the store. Walmart.com Pickup is notorious for not being staffed at all. If a person wants to pick up, the customer often has to run around the store and flag down an employee who has to go to a phone and call for an employee that knows how to do Pickup. This takes up to 10 minutes and makes customers upset. Now Pickup is run by Customer Service which is always staffed with employees who do merchandise returns. This is all about cutting employees and saving time.

Also there are now more self checkouts which reduces the number of employees further.

The checkout lanes have been widened. Older style Walmart stores are notorious for their cramped checkout lanes which cause massive traffic jams.

Some of these reopened Supercenters are now only open 6-12AM to cut down on employee hours and to close during high theft hours of 12-6AM.

I see what Walmart did here. They redesigned these stores to cut down on the number of employees, shoplifting, and ultimately it will save costs

[BillyGr]

The new Electronics departments in remodeled stores now have one main entrance to Electronics. This reduces the ability for shoplifters to escape. Now they must pass through one gateway so that employees can better stop shoplifters. Also there are more hands on displays. Previously if you wanted to see a cell phone or iPad you had to ask employee to unlock one for you to see it. This requires an employee to get it for you and that takes labor. Now you can self serve yourself and this cuts down on employees.

Cosmetics departments at Walmart stores are being redesigned so that they are closed off except for one entrance and exit. This allows a single gateway with a cash register and an employee to discourage shoplifting of high theft cosmetics.

So they basically took a page out of their 1990's playbook?

After all, most of the original Walmart stores (at least around here that is when they were first opening standard stores before the Supercenter period) had this for electronics, with it set up so that there was only one (maybe two) entry ways.
That was also common in some of the other discount stores at the time (Ames immediately comes to mind).

[wnetmacman]

So they basically took a page out of their 1990's playbook?

After all, most of the original Walmart stores (at least around here that is when they were first opening standard stores before the Supercenter period) had this for electronics, with it set up so that there was only one (maybe two) entry ways.

90's playbook, yes. Original Walmart, no.

The idea of an Electronics 'Cage' started originating during the early Supercenter days around 1992. The first Supercenter I went to was the 12th one in Longview, TX (#398, if anyone keeps score). That store was indeed built with the cage, and by that point it was being implemented throughout the chain. My first Walmart experiences were that electronics was actually Records and Cameras, and the cameras were in a glass case, with film just behind them. Records were in the round hole cases. I bought my first CD player at a Walmart in the pre-cage days, and everything was out on a shelf, with very little locked up in the back.

[Alpha8472]

Also, people have posted photos the redesigned bathrooms. Yes, they did redo the bathrooms. The restrooms have what looks like granite countertops surrounding the sinks. It probably is just fake granite, but it looks really nice. Previously, Walmart used ugly plastic sinks and plastic countertops. These were hard to keep clean because they were cheap plastic and the drains had tiny little holes. These clogged up all the time. Who came up with this junk?

They at least went with higher quality ceramic sinks this time. The floor tiling also looks higher quality and much less slippery. The standard Walmart tile is this cheap looking plastic style stuff that is super slippery. The slightest amount of water makes it a trip hazard. I guess they finally realized that they should invest in non-slip tiles rather than get sued on a regular basis.

In fact, large sections of flooring have been replaced with concrete that is less slippery. You've all seen that old white Walmart flooring. That stuff is super slick when wet. Non-slip flooring is the way to go if Walmart wants to avoid lawsuits on a frequent basis. It will also cut down on the number of janitors needed to clean up spills.

Electronics also has carpeting. That is a change as Walmart got rid of carpeting years ago because they didn't want the expense of cleaning carpet stains. Then they realized that if people trip and fall on carpet, they are less likely to get injured and sue.

The Pico Rivera store is also installing a locker system for Walmart.com Pickup. Items ordered online will soon be able to picked up by going up to the locker and using self service pick up. This system is designed to cut down on employees since customers will serve themselves.

[BillyGr]

So they basically took a page out of their 1990's playbook?

After all, most of the original Walmart stores (at least around here that is when they were first opening standard stores before the Supercenter period) had this for electronics, with it set up so that there was only one (maybe two) entry ways.

90's playbook, yes. Original Walmart, no.

The idea of an Electronics 'Cage' started originating during the early Supercenter days around 1992. The first Supercenter I went to was the 12th one in Longview, TX (#398, if anyone keeps score). That store was indeed built with the cage, and by that point it was being implemented throughout the chain. My first Walmart experiences were that electronics was actually Records and Cameras, and the cameras were in a glass case, with film just behind them. Records were in the round hole cases. I bought my first CD player at a Walmart in the pre-cage days, and everything was out on a shelf, with very little locked up in the back.

Note when I said "original Walmart" that we didn't have Walmart stores in this part of the country (NY) until the 1990's, so these were in fact the original stores here. Obviously other places had stores since the 1960's (1962 to be precise, the year of the "Big 3" (Kmart, Walmart, Target). Also original in that all the stores they built here were standard discount stores not Supercenters until somewhat later on.

[storewanderer]

We still don't know if they did any "plumbing" repairs.

In any case at least they reopened the stores and it sounds like did some major work inside. Based on photos I've found these look pretty good and it looks like they put a fair amount of thought into this. I'm fortunate to live near a "good" Wal Mart and really it is a pretty good shopping experience. The store is always clean, checkout is fast and the employees are mostly okay, I almost always find what I need, the garden area is well kept with great looking plants during summer and even nice houseplants, produce even looks okay. But, I can go in any other direction and find various "bad" Wal Marts around town that are dirty, full of out of stocks, and have very long lines.

I also find the Wal Marts in smaller towns tend to be better.

[pseudo3d]

Interesting that they are reverting to the "cage" layout, but at least they reopened most of the stores (very few Wal-Mart stores have closed permanently without replacement--the "shoplifted to death" location in Hearne TX comes to mind). That's one thing I was surprised what happened to the "new" Walmart in town, it was a 1988 (renovated in 1995, basically a full 1990s model) store that had the "cage" area complete with its own checkstand (one way in and out). When they renovated it in 2010, becoming a Supercenter with a floorplan that resembled Target, the electronics section was in the back and much more open. I noticed that in theory you could grab something, then sprint down the open hallway straight toward the doors. Not sure that if that ever happened that way, but the minute the Supercenter opened, shoplifting began to go up (or at least reported in the paper more), culminating in an incident where a security guard shot a shoplifter (I realize that's glossing over the back story, but the evacuation of the store on a busy afternoon made for bad press and something that had never happened at that store).

[wnetmacman]

very few Wal-Mart stores have closed permanently without replacement--the "shoplifted to death" location in Hearne TX comes to mind

Actually, and very quietly, Walmart closed about 100 or so 'ultra small town' locations within the last 10 years. Hearne was notable because it was the first store Sam ever closed. The town became a shadow of what it was when Walmart moved in; it wasn't *just* shoplifting. There are several reports available out there as to why this one store didn't succeed.

New York Times Article on Hearne

A few other examples:
Kinder, LA. The town's current population is 2500, and that's because of a casino a few miles up the road; when the store was put there, it was less. After leaving, Walmart offered to come back, but has been turned down every time. The store has been closed at least 20 years.
Bunkie, LA. Bunkie is the seat of Avoyelles Parish, but the bulk of activity is about 18 miles away in Marksville. When Marksville became a Supercenter, the store was 'combined' with Marksville; only one now exists where there were once two.
Pine Bluff, AR had two stores pre-supercenter; when the town's one Supercenter was built, they were consolidated into one.

[pseudo3d]

very few Wal-Mart stores have closed permanently without replacement--the "shoplifted to death" location in Hearne TX comes to mind

Actually, and very quietly, Walmart closed about 100 or so 'ultra small town' locations within the last 10 years. Hearne was notable because it was the first store Sam ever closed. The town became a shadow of what it was when Walmart moved in; it wasn't *just* shoplifting. There are several reports available out there as to why this one store didn't succeed.

New York Times Article on Hearne

A few other examples:
Kinder, LA. The town's current population is 2500, and that's because of a casino a few miles up the road; when the store was put there, it was less. After leaving, Walmart offered to come back, but has been turned down every time. The store has been closed at least 20 years.
Bunkie, LA. Bunkie is the seat of Avoyelles Parish, but the bulk of activity is about 18 miles away in Marksville. When Marksville became a Supercenter, the store was 'combined' with Marksville; only one now exists where there were once two.
Pine Bluff, AR had two stores pre-supercenter; when the town's one Supercenter was built, they were consolidated into one.

The Hearne location is often cited as "an example of Wal-Mart killing a town", but it was already on the decline and wasn't getting better. Downtown's a near-ghost town now, nearly a third of the population is below the poverty line (twice the national average), corruption in the city council/mayoral office is rampant...considering all the other small towns that still survive/co-exist with Wal-Mart, this is not (at least mostly) Wal-Mart's fault.

[arizonaguy]

We still don't know if they did any "plumbing" repairs.

In any case at least they reopened the stores and it sounds like did some major work inside. Based on photos I've found these look pretty good and it looks like they put a fair amount of thought into this. I'm fortunate to live near a "good" Wal Mart and really it is a pretty good shopping experience. The store is always clean, checkout is fast and the employees are mostly okay, I almost always find what I need, the garden area is well kept with great looking plants during summer and even nice houseplants, produce even looks okay. But, I can go in any other direction and find various "bad" Wal Marts around town that are dirty, full of out of stocks, and have very long lines.

I also find the Wal Marts in smaller towns tend to be better.

Most of the Walmart stores near me fit your description. Walmart has really cleaned up their Phoenix area stores tremendously to the point where the average Walmart is cleaner and stocked better than the average Target. My only complaint about my local Walmart (that I don't have about my local Target) is that Target seems to respond better to lines with additional cashiers than Walmart does.

I don't want to speculate, but I truly believe that the reasoning behind these stores closing in the first place was an "anti-union" move as well as a way to renovate these stores into the latest prototype. Unless someone can find the permits and see what exact plumbing work was done.