Sam’s Club Accelerates Store Openings, Anticipates More Business in ‘Tough Times’

Walmart’s warehouse club business, Sam’s Club, reportedly plans to open 15 stores per year, saying its ability to save customers money is even more relevant in uncertain times.

The retailer’s plan for new stores marks an acceleration, as it said two years ago that it would open 30 stores in five years, CNBC reported Wednesday (April 9).

Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas said in the report that the business expects to gain customers as they look to save money in tough economic times.

“In times of plenty, we do well. But in tough times, we do really well,” Nicholas told CNBC in an interview.

Nicholas announced the retailer’s plans during Walmart’s investor day held Wednesday, according to the report.

He also said Sam’s Club plans to renovate all of its locations in the U.S., which number about 600, per the report.

Both the remodeled locations and the new ones will adopt an “all-digital” format introduced in October at a Sam’s Club in Grapevine, Texas, according to the report. That format includes no checkout lanes, store displays of items sold only online, and a larger area for fulfilling orders placed online and either picked up at curbside or delivered to the customer’s home.

Sam’s Club also expects to double its membership over the next eight to 10 years, helped in part by the new stores, per the report.

Other warehouse clubs have also announced growth plans, with Costco planning to open 28 new stores in its current fiscal year and BJ’s Wholesale Club planning to add 25 to 30 new stores over the next two fiscal years, the report said.

In a press release issued Wednesday ahead of its investor day, Walmart said that it added 373 stores and clubs over the past two years, while renovating another 1,930, and that the convenience of faster delivery, curbside pickup and in-store shopping are helping drive the company’s growth.

“History tells us that when we lean into these periods of uncertainty, Walmart emerges on the other side with greater share and a stronger business,” John David Rainey, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Walmart, said in the release.