Top Stories » Headlines » Retailing

Walmart plans to shut down all of four of its Marketside stores, according to a Mouth by Southwest report. The locations -- all in Arizona -- will close Oct. 21.

This abruptly ends the Bentonville, Ark-based discounter's first experiment with smaller-sized stores. The company launched the Marketside format in 2008 when it opened stores in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz. In contrast to a typical Walmart Supercenter, Marketside stores are 16,000-square-foot locations that specialize in prepared meals and fresh food.

However, the store closings do not leave Walmart with only large stores. The retailer continues to operate and build its smaller Walmart Express stores in test markets in Richfield, N.C.; Arkansas; and Chicago.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Walmart plans to open 11 more Walmart Express stores, which are the same size are the same size of the Marketside  locations, by the end of the year, boosting its store count to six.

Source: Convenience Store News