The company headquarters announced last week that they will be closing 269 stores around the world around that same time, including the downtown store located at 151 E. Fifth St.
Doug McMillon, who serves as the president and CEO of Walmart Stores, Inc. noted in a press statement that his company made the decision after a “thorough review” of their portfolio of stores. McMillon named “financial performance” and “strategic alignment with long-term plans” among the factors that led to the announcement.
“The decision to close stores is difficult, and we care about the associates who will be impacted,” McMillon said. “We invested considerable time assessing our stores and clubs and don’t take this lightly. We are supporting those impacted with extra pay and support, and we will take all appropriate steps to ensure they are treated well.”
The timing of the announcement took place just a couple of months after the downtown location celebrated a “grand reopening” late last year.
“Yes, it was a surprise, I think for all of us involved,” said First District Councilmember Lena Gonzalez in a phone interview.
Retailers and shoppers will feel the absence. The store takes up a footprint of more than 100,000 square feet at City Place Long Beach. Close by, a former Fresh & Easy lies vacant, along with a few other empty storefronts around the shopping center.
In a statement, Gonzalez said that all 300 affected employees will be offered jobs nearby.
She added in her interview that when Walmart representatives broke the news to her, they indicated that the area was losing its customer base, and shoppers were now patronizing the north Long Beach store more often. Gonzalez confirmed that in her conversations with the store representatives, Long Beach’s plastic-bag ban and the city council’s directive to increase the minimum wage weren’t named as any of the reasons behind the decision to close the downtown store.
Walmart’s CEO even noted that the closure announcement had nothing to do with its new wage policy that was to be implemented in 2016. According to a press statement, all associates hired after Jan. 1 would be paid more than $10 per hour.
Jeremy Harris, senior vice president of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged the Walmart’s critical role in the downtown shopping center as he noted that the area has more condominium and apartment dwellers now.
“I just hope folks here in the city and also the rest of the retail establishments keep in mind the growing number of folks living downtown,” Harris said. “And they need markets, they need places to shop, especially if we’re going to be that walkable, bikeable downtown city.”
Nonprofit organization Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) released a statement acknowledging that it would be working with the property owner, Mayor Robert Garcia and the City of Long Beach to explore options and stressing the importance of ensuring that the space “reflects the community so dedicated to our neighborhood” and “offers a destination that [downtown Long Beach] yearns for and deserves.”
DLBA also forwarded a press statement from City Place Long Beach.
“The Walmart closing will have no impact on the recently announced repurposing and repositioning of City Place Long Beach,” the statement reads. “The nearly four-year, three-phase, multi-million-dollar project is currently underway and will transform downtown Long Beach…Studio One Eleven, architects and urbanists, is leading the urban design and facade improvements. In collaboration with P+R Architects, they also designed the interiors for the development.”
The DLBA declined an interview request for this story.
Since both Studio One Eleven and P +R recently announced that they will move their headquarters to City Place as anchor tenants in the shopping center, it may be an opportunity to further rethink how to transform that space.
Not everyone loved having a Walmart in the area in the first place, especially the retailers who were concerned about the amount of law-enforcement activity nearby.
The store claimed a significant share of police activity. The 1st-district councilmember’s office acknowledged that there were an estimated 1,200 calls for service in 2014, with complaints that included petty theft and stolen bikes. Gonzalez acknowledged that safety is one of the major concerns with losing a major tenant like Walmart. She said that she will be meeting with the company in charge of security at City Place, the property owner as well as the Long Beach Police Department.
She also acknowledged that the new vacancy may be an opportunity to rethink the future of City Place as well as the rest of the downtown area. Her office will be announcing a community meeting in February, and Gonzalez hopes to create a task force to take another serious look at where the area is headed.
“I think it’s now a good time to talk about the Downtown 2.0,” Gonzalez said.
