Yesterday was Robert Manchester’s lucky day. He was at Sam’s Club for what was his last visit before the store closes for good on Friday, Feb. 5. The store was busy, although based on what people …
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Yesterday was Robert Manchester’s lucky day. He was at Sam’s Club for what was his last visit before the store closes for good on Friday, Feb. 5. The store was busy, although based on what people had in their shopping carts they weren’t buying much. That’s because there wasn’t much to be bought. The upper reaches of store shelving were bare. Clothing and other items were spread out on tables, but there wasn’t a lot of that either.
But Manchester landed a giant tuna in a sea of mackerel. In his cart was a 55-inch Hitachi TV. The price tag read $249. Manchester was beaming as he stopped at checkout associate Greg Blanchette.
“This was the last one; they had it way in back,” Manchester said.
Was this what he had been searching for?
Manchester said he already has four TVs in his Cranston home.
“I guess I’m going to put this one in the bathroom,” he said with a laugh.
He was one of the few Sam’s Club members to be laughing.
Jesse Arsoniadis had barely a case of soda in his cart. He’s been coming to the Warwick Sam’s Club off Bald Hill Road since they opened. He remained faithful to Sam’s after the original store was demolished because of contaminated soil in the spring of 2012. He was back about two years later when the all-new facility opened.
“I need a store. Where am I going to go?” he asked.
A number of other customers already had ideas. One member who also owns property in Maine plans to use her membership there. She was one of the few sticking with Sam’s. The other three interviewed all said they are thinking of joining BJs, another club membership retailer with three Rhode Island stores.
Melissa Coutcher is one of those who are incredulous with Walmart’s decision to close the Sam’s Club here and the two stores in neighboring Massachusetts. She said she had been recruited as a new member only days before the announcement of store closings made on Jan. 15. She opted to have her $45 membership fee returned. Members can also choose to use their membership for online purchases or at other stores, said Tara Raddohl, Sam’s Club director of corporate communications, in an email.
“As to why we’re closing these clubs,” she writes, “after careful consideration and analysis, we’ve made a difficult but important decision to close some locations. The Warwick club is one of those locations. Each club in our chain requires a certain minimum number of members, in addition to sales, to operate successfully. Despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to grow sales and/or the membership base necessary to maintain a financially successful club in these locations.”
Mayor Scott Avedisian said in a press release that the city has already identified potential tenants for the building that is owned by the Kalikow Group, based in Westbury, N.Y. The 131,408-square-foot building, which opened in January 2014, carries an assessed valuation of $11.4 million.
“This recent development regarding Sam’s Club is disappointing to hear about. It is especially difficult given the fact that the Warwick location is a brand new store, which recently just re-opened,” said the mayor. He did not identify potential tenants for the property.
Corporate offices for Sam’s Club did not specify how many employees would be impacted by the closure of the Warwick store, although according to associates at the store there are about 100.
“The local teams are working with the associates in the clubs that will be closing to find jobs at Walmart stores. Also in some instances, if an associate is looking to relocate, the management team is working with other Sam’s Club locations for job placement,” Raddohl said in response to questions.
According to the corporate release issued on Jan. 15, a total of 154 stores – most of them Walmart Express stores – are slated for closure. Only four Sam’s Clubs are closing, the three here and one in Waterford, Mich.
“Today’s action follows a thorough review of Walmart’s nearly 11,600 worldwide stores that took into account a number of factors, including financial performance as well as strategic alignment with long-term plans. In total, the impacted stores represent less than 1 percent of both global square footage and revenue,” reads the release.
“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said in a statement. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”
HE NEEDS ANOTHER STORE: Jesse Arsoniadis, who owns Jesse’s New York System on Plainfield Pike in Johnston, is sad to see Sam’s Club closing.
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RISchadenfreude
Yet another result of RI's burgeoning economy and attitude towards business...
Friday, January 29, 2016 Report this
Justanidiot
RIS... don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Friday, January 29, 2016 Report this
RISchadenfreude
Justanidiot, already gone- watching the State of Corruption implode from a distance, not having to put up with xenophobic, insulated, unintelligent clowns like yourself on a daily basis.
Friday, January 29, 2016 Report this
HerbTokerman
Walmart is awful as a company anyway.
They pay employees crap wages, no benefits and make them more dependent on government handouts.
People are starting to wake up to not supporting corporate greed in addition to realizing it's worth paying more for quality merchandise vs poorly made goods by basically slave labor in Asia.
Support small business and other companies that treat their workers well that sell quality products made in the US.
Friday, January 29, 2016 Report this
RISchadenfreude
Herb, it's worth paying the extra 7-8% to shop elsewhere and not deal with Walmart's customers and useless employees. It isn't easy to find a Walmart that isn't on a bus route, either; I prefer to shop with people who have their lives together enough to drive a vehicle.
Monday, February 1, 2016 Report this
richardcorrente
In the last 10 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Rhode Island Secretary of States office, Warwick has lost 4,666 businesses. Sadly, you can now make that 4,667.
I have a plan to attract new businesses. Read it at correntemayorwarwick.com.
Thank you.
Richard Corrente
Democrat for Mayor - 2016
Tuesday, February 2, 2016 Report this
Justanidiot
thank you mayer corrente. In that same time period, how many new businesses have started in Warwick? I am sure that it is less than those that fled, but half a statistic is worse than none. I expect more from the mayer's orafice.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 Report this