Homewood Walmart To Close Permanently

HOMEWOOD, IL — Homewood's Walmart storefront will abruptly shutter by next month, the Village shared on social media Wednesday.

A Walmart representative "was unable to provide a clear qualitative reason for the abrupt closure," the Village wrote, but said that the store "did not meet Walmart's financial expectations."

"Early this morning, Homewood was contacted by Ahmed Young, Director, Public and Government Affairs — Corporate Affairs for Walmart Inc. Mr. Young shared that the Walmart located at 17550 South Halsted Street will be permanently closed by Friday, March 10, 2023," the Village wrote.

"The Walmart store has been one of Homewood’s largest revenue producing stores for years and services shoppers from various surrounding communities including Thornton, Glenwood, East Hazel Crest, Markham, Harvey, Hazel Crest South Holland and Flossmoor."

Young said in Walmart's notice to the village that, "While our underlying business is strong, this specific store hasn’t performed as well as we hoped.

"There is no single cause for why a store closes—our decision is based on several factors, including historic and current financial performance, and is in line with the threshold that guides our strategy to close underperforming locations."

All associates in the store will be eligible for transfer, according to the chain.

"We employ thousands of associates in Walmart stores in the immediate area, six Walmart stores are within 20 miles of this location, three of those are under seven miles away," Young wrote.
"All associates in the store will be eligible for transfer. We have invested in our associates and we want to keep them in the Walmart family."

The Village was caught off guard by the news.

"The Village was surprised by this news and will work with the property owner to fill the space as soon as possible," Mayor Rich Hofeld said.

Chain representatives announced a Plainfield Walmart location will also close, saying it "hasn't performed as well as we'd hoped."