🤔🏬Walmart Closing Half Kine Stores in Chicago: How Come?
Walmart Closing Half Kine Stores in Chicago: How Come? 🤔🏬
Eh, brah! Walmart stay closin half dea storez inside da big kine city Chicago. Dey wen pull back afta dey wen promise foa grow inside da city in 2020. All dis happun afta George Floyd wen get kill by da police, yeah? 🚓🚨
Walmart wen tell erybody Tuesday dat nex week dey goin shut down four storez outta eight inside Chicago. Da storez stay inside South an’ West Side neighborhoods wea get plenny minority peopo, an’ long time dey get choke troubles fo’ buy food an’ odda kine retail tings. 🏙️🛍️
Dis all happening afta Walmart wen say dea work inside Chicago stay one “critical part” of dea $100 million promise fo’ help wit racial equity back in 2020. 👨🏿💼💵
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon wen tell in 2021, “Chicago goin be one example of wat stay possible wen we use business, government, an’ community organizations fo’ da good of all.” 🌍🤝
Da kine Chicago politicians wen try hard fo’ get Walmart an’ odda big kine retaila fo’ come inside da areas dat no moa enough kine retail.
But Walmart wen say dat dese four storez stay losin plenny kala every year, like tens of millions, an’ da annual losses stay gettin double in da las five years. Da company wen try all kine strategies fo’ make da stores mo’ betta, an’ wen spend choke kala inside da city. “But no can, dese efforts neva make da business betta,” Walmart wen write inside one blog post. 💸📉
Da company wen say dat da workas from dese stores can switch to odda Walmart storez, an’ dey goin work wit da local leadas fo’ find odda ways fo’ use da buildings. 🏢🔄
Da odda four storez inside Chicago “still get da same kine business problems,” but Walmart tink if dey close dese four, da odda ones get mo’ betta chance fo’ stay open. 🚪🔓
Da closures show how Walmart an’ odda big kine US retaila wen start fo’ pull back from da big cities. Peopo wen start fo’ question if da government strategies fo’ get mo’ betta food an’ retail inside da areas dat no get enough, goin work if dey jus’ rely on da big kine retaila. 🌆🤔
One professor wen find out in one 2012 study dat da kine businesses close to Walmart stay mo’ likely fo’ close den da odda kine businesses dat stay far away. An’ da jobs wen get lost from da odda retaila stay bout da same as da jobs wen get made from da new Walmart storez. 🏪📚
Da professor wen say, “Da communities inside da city no should tink Walmart o’ odda big kine storez goin fix all da local economy problems.” 🏦💡
Walmart wen close all eight of dea storez in Chicago fo’ lil while in 2020 wen had da protests fo’ George Floyd. Peopo wen tink maybe Walmart an’ odda kine businesses goin leave Chicago, but Walmart wen say dey goin stay an’ help da city. 🌃✊
Da Chicago Mayor an’ Walmart CEO wen announce in June 2020 dat Walmart goin reopen da stores, an’ also goin build two health centas an’ one training academy fo’ da employees inside Chicago. 🏥🎓
McMillon wen say, “Walmart stay committed to Chicago. We not going anywhere.” 💪🏼
But he also wen say dat da Walmart stores inside Chicago stay losin money ’cause of “how da sales, product margin, an’ expenses stay.” He wen say Walmart goin try fo’ cut losses, but no goin raise da prices o’ cut workas’ wages o’ hours. ⏰💰
McMillon wen say maybe gotta revisit dis kine decisions lata if no work, but he neva hope o’ plan fo’ dat. 🔄🚦
One year lata, McMillon wen say, “Walmart like serve da peopo of dis great city, build one successful business, an’ work wit dose who stay determined fo’ see Chicago reach its potential.” 🌟🌁
Da Chicago Mayor wen say she stay “real disappointed dat Walmart, one strong partna befo’, stay closin stores.” 😞
“Jus’ cut an’ run from dese neighborhoods goin make choke hard fo’ get basic kine stuff fo’ thousands of peopo,” she wen say. “I stay askin Walmart fo’ make shua dat dese soon-to-be-closed stores goin get repurposed wit plenny community input so dey can find new ways fo’ serve da neighborhoods.” 🏘️🙏
Da decision Walmart wen make stay afta plenny years dey try fo’ move inside da big US cities. 🇺🇸
Walmart wen grow inside da rural an’ suburban areas during da 1980s an’ 1990s, an’ wen try fo’ enta da cities early 2000s. But, hard time fo’ get in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago an’ odda cities ’cause da unions an’ Democratic opponents. Dey wen worry Walmart goin make da wages go down an’ hurt da small businesses. 🏢💔
Walmart wen finally open one store in Chicago in 2006. Chicago’s mayor dat time, Richard M. Daley, wen help Walmart by no lettin one new rule pass dat wen say all da big kine stores gotta pay dea workas at least $10 an hour. ⌛💵
Odda Chicago leadas wen tink bring in Walmart an’ big kine retaila goin help da economy an’ give access to fresh food fo’ da South Side area wea get choke African Americans. 🍎🍗
But dis strategy neva work so good, say Stacy Mitchell from one research an’ advocacy organization. She tink da city shoulda help da smalla grocers who stay gettin squeezed by da big kine retaila. 🏬🌱
Walmart stay cuttin back in some cities. Dey wen close storez in Portland, Oregon too. 🌉
Da way Walmart stay drive down costs an’ keep prices low no work so good in da cities. Da big kine 180,000 square-foot supercenter no stay good fo’ da urban neighborhoods like stay good fo’ suburban an’ rural areas. 🛒🚗
Walmart no da only one closin stores in big cities. Whole Foods, Walgreens, CVS, an’ Starbucks wen close storez too. All dea challenges like high rent, higha crime, Covid-19, an’ da growt’ of Amazon an’ same-day delivery stay making goin to da storez less appealin fo’ da city peopo. 🌐🚚
So, brah, da whole story stay dat Walmart closin half dea storez in Chicago, an’ stay showin how da big retaila stay pullin back from da big cities. Da kine strategies fo’ help da local economy an’ peopo get betta access to food an’ retail stay need fo’ tink different, an’ maybe gotta focus mo’ on helpin’ smalla local businesses fo’ betta da community. 🏠🌱
An’ dass all, brah! Da scoop stay pau. 📰🤙
NOW IN ENGLISH
🤔🏬 Walmart Closing Half of Its Stores in Chicago: Why?
Hey there! Walmart is closing half of its stores in the big city of Chicago. They pulled back after promising to grow in the city in 2020. All this happened after George Floyd was killed by the police, right? 🚓🚨
Walmart announced on Tuesday that next week, they will shut down four out of eight stores in Chicago. The stores are located in South and West Side neighborhoods with predominantly minority populations, and these areas have long struggled with access to food and other retail options. 🏙️🛍️
This is all happening after Walmart said their work in Chicago was a “critical part” of their $100 million commitment to help with racial equity back in 2020. 👨🏿💼💵
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in 2021, “Chicago will be an example of what is possible when we use business, government, and community organizations for the good of all.” 🌍🤝
Chicago politicians tried hard to attract Walmart and other large retailers to areas that lacked sufficient retail options.
But Walmart said that these four stores were losing a lot of money every year, like tens of millions, and the annual losses have doubled in the last five years. The company tried various strategies to improve the stores and spent a lot of money in the city. “Unfortunately, these efforts did not make the business better,” Walmart wrote in a blog post. 💸📉
The company said that the workers from these stores can transfer to other Walmart stores, and they will work with local leaders to find other ways to utilize the buildings. 🏢🔄
The other four stores in Chicago “still have the same business problems,” but Walmart thinks if they close these four, the others will have a better chance of staying open. 🚪🔓
The closures show how Walmart and other large U.S. retailers have started to pull back from big cities. People have started to question if government strategies to improve food and retail access in underserved areas will work if they just rely on large retailers. 🌆🤔
A professor found in a 2012 study that businesses close to Walmart were more likely to close than other businesses that were farther away. And the jobs lost from other retailers were about the same as the jobs created by the new Walmart stores. 🏪📚
The professor said, “Urban communities shouldn’t think Walmart or other large stores will fix all their local economy problems.” 🏦💡
Walmart closed all eight of their stores in Chicago for a short time in 2020 during the protests for George Floyd. People thought maybe Walmart and other businesses would leave Chicago, but Walmart said they would stay and help the city. 🌃✊
The Chicago Mayor and Walmart CEO announced in June 2020 that Walmart would reopen the stores, and also build two health centers and a training academy for employees in Chicago. 🏥🎓
McMillon said, “Walmart is committed to Chicago. We’re not going anywhere.” 💪🏼
But he also said that the Walmart stores in Chicago were losing money because of “how sales, product margin, and expenses were.” He said Walmart would try to cut losses, but wouldn’t raise prices or cut workers’ wages or hours. ⏰💰
McMillon said they might have to revisit this decision later if it doesn’t work, but he didn’t hope or plan for that. 🔄🚦
