MILWAUKEE — Customers at a Milwaukee Walmart were shocked to hear their go-to store at 7025 W. Main Street would be closing.
“They are? What? This store is closing in a month?,” exclaimed Andrea Willis, as TMJ4 told her the news.
Walmart announced Wednesday in an email that they are closing the Neighborhood Market location on May 17.
After a careful review process, Walmart said the specific store hasn’t met financial expectations. They added the 105 employees will be eligible to transfer to a nearby store.
The store on Milwaukee’s west side is close to people who live in both Milwaukee and West Allis.
“I’m so sad they’re leaving. I call this my Walmart. I always say I’m going to my Walmart, the one on Main Street,” Ester Wells said.
Walmart Neighborhood Markets are essentially smaller versions of Walmart, according to the company’s website.
“Usually big-box retailers when they try to go small with city stores, it doesn’t usually work,” Marquette Marketing Professor Alexander Milovic explained. “A grocery store like that runs on smaller profit margins.”
It’s the second Milwaukee Walmart to close in just over a year. In March 2023, a Walmart at 10330 W. Silver Spring Drive in Timmerman Plaza shut its doors.
The next-closest grocery stores include two Pick ’N Saves roughly a mile away, and a Walmart Supercenter within three miles
“I have little ones with me so just want to make it a quick in-and-out instead of going around in circles at the toy aisle. Single moms with small children don’t want to get distracted with big stores,” Wells said while on a quick dinner run.
Other shoppers shared the store is convenient because it’s close to home.
Walmart’s Director of Corporate Communications, Kelsey Bohl, shared this statement:
“We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our Neighborhood Market at 7025 W Main St. Milwaukee, WI. We look forward to continuing to serve them at one of our 11 other Walmart stores in the Milwaukee area, on Walmart.com, and through delivery to their home or business.”
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