WALMART HAS BIG PLANS FOR GROWTH IN TEXAS
Walmart says it will invest $277 million in Texas this year, with plans to remodel more than 40 stores, build four new stores and add a number of in-store and online tools.
The retail giant’s plans include remodeling four Central Texas Walmart stores — one each in Austin, Marble Falls, Boerne and Kerrville.
In Austin, the remodel is planned for the Walmart store at 710 E Ben White Blvd., the company said in a news release.
Walmart will also expand its online grocery pickup and Scan & Go tools into more Texas markets, along with its big orange Pickup Towers.
Walmart plans to spend more money in Texas than any other state this year, said Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield.
The next-biggest budget is $200 million to upgrade stores in Florida, she said.
Texas is Walmart’s largest state, with 508 Walmart stores, 85 Sam’s Club stores and 19 distribution centers. The company employs 171,796 people in Texas.
When Walmart outlined its 2018 spending plans last fall, the company said it didn’t expect to open many stores and instead would devote its $11 billion capital budget to store remodels and digital experiences. The company also said e-commerce investments and supply-chain capabilities were priorities.
In the U.S. this year, Walmart plans to open fewer than 15 new Supercenters and 10 Neighborhood Markets. Four of those new stores will be in Texas: Fort Worth, Fulshear, El Paso and
Vidor. Walmart also opened Supercenters in Frisco and Prosper in January.
Much of the Texas spending will be in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where 18 Walmart stores will be remodeled, the company said.
Walmart has refocused its business in recent years as it battles Amazon for market share. Walmart shifted spending to improve store operations for a better-trained staff and higher hourly wages. It’s also using its stores as resources for its e-commerce business.
While that’s working for Walmart against Amazon in the online grocery business, Amazon still has a commanding lead in general merchandise sales online. Walmart closed 63 Sam’s Club stores this year, including three in Houston and one in San Antonio.
Last year, Walmart’s annual revenue reached $500 billion for the first time.
In February, the company raised its starting hourly wage to $11, then in March expanded its parental leave policy. The company also has been building a network of 200 training academies and has so far sent through 250,000 employees.