Walmart to close record number of stores in US and overseas

New York

WALMART, whose supercentres once transformed the way Americans shop, announced on Friday that it would close a record number of stores in the United States and overseas, as it fights to hold its ground in a retail landscape under siege by the behemoth Amazon.

The giant retailer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, said in a statement that it would shutter 154 stores in the US, or about 3 per cent of its locations, as well as 115 stores overseas. It will also end its Walmart Express small-store format, which failed to catch on in urban areas. As many as 10,000 employees could lose their jobs in the US and 6,000 elsewhere, it added.

The closures underscore the turmoil faced by brick-and-mortar retail across a variety of fronts. Web merchants are gobbling up a growing share of shopping dollars, their vast online catalogues rendering Walmart's sprawling superstores increasingly less relevant. And consumers …