Latest news with #2025InvestmentCommunityMeeting
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Walmart set to open 5 stores and 1 new Sam's Club: Here's where
Walmart is set to expand its footprint, with five stores slated to open by the end of September. The big box giant's CEO John Funer said in a January 2024 press release it plans to build or convert more than 150 stores. Furner said in the same press release that Walmart plans to renovate more than 650 locations across 47 states. In April, the company said in a press release that it will renovate all 600 Sam's Club locations, open 30 new clubs as originally announced in 2023 and build "a pipeline to open approximately 15 new clubs each year." "We are not limited by our physicality — we are enabled by it," Sam's Club President and CEO Chris Nicholas said during the company's 2025 Investment Community Meeting. "Our omnichannel model creates more opportunities to engage with members where they are, and how they want to shop." Here's where Walmart and Sam's Club are opening new locations. A Walmart spokesperson told USA TODAY that the company is set to open 10 locations by the end of the year. The spokesperson confirmed that the following locations are set to open by the end of September: Walmart Neighborhood Market – 8600 Hwy 69, Tuscaloosa, Alabama – Mid-June Walmart Supercenter Conversion – 600 Showers Dr., Mountain View, California – July Walmart Supercenter – 9399 North Spring Run Parkway, Eagle Mountain, Utah – August Walmart Neighborhood Market – 6275 US-90, Milton, Florida – August Walmart Neighborhood Market – 4239 Berryhill Road, Pace, Florida – September The company also confirmed that a Sam's Club location in Tempe, Arizona is set to open in early August. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Walmart to open 5 new stores. See where new locations will be
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Walmart set to open 5 stores and 1 new Sam's Club: Here's where
Walmart set to open 5 stores and 1 new Sam's Club: Here's where Show Caption Hide Caption Tariffs prompting Walmart to raise prices in coming weeks Walmart says they are raising prices soon due to President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade policy. Walmart is set to expand its footprint, with five stores slated to open by the end of September. The big box giant's CEO John Funer said in a January 2024 press release it plans to build or convert more than 150 stores. Furner said in the same press release that Walmart plans to renovate more than 650 locations across 47 states. In April, the company said in a press release that it will renovate all 600 Sam's Club locations, open 30 new clubs as originally announced in 2023 and build "a pipeline to open approximately 15 new clubs each year." "We are not limited by our physicality — we are enabled by it," Sam's Club President and CEO Chris Nicholas said during the company's 2025 Investment Community Meeting. "Our omnichannel model creates more opportunities to engage with members where they are, and how they want to shop." Here's where Walmart and Sam's Club are opening new locations. Walmart to open 5 locations by September, 1 Sam's Club coming soon A Walmart spokesperson told USA TODAY that the company is set to open 10 locations by the end of the year. The spokesperson confirmed that the following locations are set to open by the end of September: Walmart Neighborhood Market – 8600 Hwy 69, Tuscaloosa, Alabama – Mid-June Walmart Supercenter Conversion – 600 Showers Dr., Mountain View, California – July Walmart Supercenter – 9399 North Spring Run Parkway, Eagle Mountain, Utah – August Walmart Neighborhood Market – 6275 US-90, Milton, Florida – August Walmart Neighborhood Market – 4239 Berryhill Road, Pace, Florida – September The company also confirmed that a Sam's Club location in Tempe, Arizona is set to open in early August.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Walmart set to open 5 stores and 1 new Sam's Club: Here's where
Walmart is set to expand its footprint, with five stores slated to open by the end of September. The big box giant's CEO John Funer said in a January 2024 press release it plans to build or convert more than 150 stores. Furner said in the same press release that Walmart plans to renovate more than 650 locations across 47 states. In April, the company said in a press release that it will renovate all 600 Sam's Club locations, open 30 new clubs as originally announced in 2023 and build "a pipeline to open approximately 15 new clubs each year." "We are not limited by our physicality — we are enabled by it," Sam's Club President and CEO Chris Nicholas said during the company's 2025 Investment Community Meeting. "Our omnichannel model creates more opportunities to engage with members where they are, and how they want to shop." Here's where Walmart and Sam's Club are opening new locations. A Walmart spokesperson told USA TODAY that the company is set to open 10 locations by the end of the year. The spokesperson confirmed that the following locations are set to open by the end of September: Walmart Neighborhood Market – 8600 Hwy 69, Tuscaloosa, Alabama – Mid-June Walmart Supercenter Conversion – 600 Showers Dr., Mountain View, California – July Walmart Supercenter – 9399 North Spring Run Parkway, Eagle Mountain, Utah – August Walmart Neighborhood Market – 6275 US-90, Milton, Florida – August Walmart Neighborhood Market – 4239 Berryhill Road, Pace, Florida – September The company also confirmed that a Sam's Club location in Tempe, Arizona is set to open in early August. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Walmart to open 5 new stores. See where new locations will be Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sam's Club to remodel stores in Oklahoma, US as part of 'register-free' move: What to know
Sam's Club is remodeling each of its 600 locations, including all 13 stores in Oklahoma, with a focus on both physical and digital expansions. CEO Chris Nicholas said during Walmart Inc.'s 2025 Investment Community Meeting on April 9 that the company is emphasizing a strategy based on improving membership numbers and expanding physical and digital capabilities. 'This is one of the fastest, most scalable transformations happening in retail today,' said Nicholas in a news release on April 11. 'We're investing with intention — in our fleet, our associates and the member experience — to become the world's best club retailer.' Renovations are set to begin soon, but there is no information available on whether the stores will need to be closed during the process. Check with your local Sam's Club to see if your store will close during renovations. Here's what remodels will do to Oklahoma's 13 locations. The remodeled Sam's Club stores will follow the model of a store that reopened in Grapevine, Texas in late 2024 after it was damaged in an EF-1 tornado in December 2022. After "extensive renovations," the location introduced the company's transition to a "register-free shopping experience." "High-top tables near the showroom and entrance are staffed by member specialists ready to assist anyone new to Scan & Go," the company said in news release in December 2024, adding that the register-free experience was "met with enthusiasm, with the majority of members preferring the streamlined system in its first week." With the new design, customers can explore online exclusives, use Scan & Go to add items to their cart, and ship purchases directly to their doorsteps. All of Sam's Club's locations nationwide will be remodeled, which includes 13 locations in Oklahoma: 1117 W. I-35 Frontage Road, Edmond 802 NW Sheridan Rd, Lawton 6521 SE 29th St, Midwest City 1705 S. Broadway Ave, Moore 3400 W. Main St, Norman 5510 SW Fifth St, Oklahoma City 4101 N. May Ave, Oklahoma City 1900 W. Memorial Rd, Oklahoma City 9000 NW Passage, Oklahoma City 12905 E. 96th St N, Owasso 6922 S. Mingo Rd, Tulsa 4420 S. Sheridan Rd, Tulsa 7757 S. Olympia Ave W, Tulsa This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Sam's Club to remodel in Oklahoma, US as part of 'register-free' move
Business Mayor
21-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Sam's Club Bets On AI To Eliminate Receipt Checks And Enhance Retail
AI promises to enhance the retail checkout experience getty Sam's Club unveiled a vision for the future of retail at its recent 2025 Investment Community Meeting — a shopping experience free from traditional checkouts and receipt verifications. Central to this vision is the expansion of its AI-powered 'Just Go' technology, designed to streamline the exit process and enhance customer convenience. Continuous Innovation of the Checkout Experience The 'Just Go' system builds upon the previously announced AI-Powered 'Scan & Go' Exit Technology, allowing members to scan items using the Sam's Club mobile app as they shop. Upon exiting, AI-powered computer vision and digital receipt-matching verify purchases, effectively removing the need for manual receipt checks, a common pain point among club shoppers. The company's new Grapevine, Texas, location serves as a real-world showcase for this technology. Described as a 'tech-forward flagship,' the store does not feature traditional checkout lanes. Instead, it's outfitted with intelligent exit gates and backroom robotics like automated forklifts and a vertical tire storage carousel. This signals Sam's Club's larger ambition to blend physical and digital retail infrastructure across its 600+ U.S. clubs. 'We're investing with intention, in our fleet, our associates, and the member experience, to become the world's best club retailer,' said Chris Nicholas, Sam's Club president and CEO. Empowering Associates, Not Replacing Them While automation in retail often raises alarms about job losses, Sam's Club is clear that it is not replacing associates with AI systems. 'Sam's Club's 100,000 associates remain central to the company's momentum,' as stated in the company's recent announcement. Instead, the goal is to free associates from manual tasks like receipt checking so they can focus on higher-value, member-facing roles. For example, AI-driven inventory systems can now autonomously track stock levels and trigger replenishments, which allows staff to prioritize personalized service and in-aisle engagement. This shift not only enhances the customer experience but also opens up internal opportunities for upskilling and advancement. Retail Industry Still Experimenting with AI-Enhanced Experiences In contrast, Sam's Club's main competitor, Costco, has been slower to adopt digital checkout alternatives. The wholesale giant still relies on physical receipts and exit greeters to manually verify purchases, a system many shoppers accept as part of the brand's in-store culture of savings and trust. Costco has made investments in warehouse automation and e-commerce, but remains cautious in replacing human oversight with AI. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Amazon Go, which pioneered the 'Just Walk Out' model. Amazon's convenience stores, and more recently full-sized grocery stores, use ceiling-mounted cameras and shelf sensors to automatically charge customers as they leave. However, the model remains niche. Despite the hype, Amazon recently announced it would pause further expansion of Go stores, citing high operational costs and complex scalability issues. Sam's Club's approach that integrates receiptless exits into existing store formats and mobile-first tools may prove to be a more cost-effective and scalable version of the Amazon Go vision. As Sam's Club's parent company, Walmart provides both a testing ground and strategic umbrella for AI innovation. The retail giant has made significant investments in automation, from intelligent shelf-monitoring robots to AI-powered delivery logistics, but has not yet rolled out widespread 'Just Go' checkout systems in its supercenters. Instead, Walmart has focused on a hybrid model: self-checkout kiosks, scan-and-go options, and advanced mobile payment tools to offer flexibility. Sam's Club, with its membership model and controlled store environments, acts as an ideal incubator for cutting-edge tech that might later be adapted for the Walmart ecosystem. Globally, other retailers are also experimenting with AI-powered checkout. Alibaba's Hema stores in China use facial recognition and app-based checkouts, blending physical and digital shopping with embedded loyalty programs. Meanwhile, Decathlon in France and Tesco in the UK have piloted RFID-based checkout-free experiences, although at a smaller scale than Amazon or Sam's Club. Carrefour, one of Europe's largest grocers, launched an AI-powered 'Flash 10/10' store in Paris in partnership with tech firm AiFi. Like Amazon Go, it promises '10 seconds to shop, 10 seconds to pay,' though it's limited to select locations. These examples underscore a key trend: while fully autonomous stores are becoming more common globally, most retailers — like Sam's Club — are pursuing hybrid solutions that balance tech innovation with operational pragmatism. The Road Ahead for AI-Enhanced Retail Sam's Club is not just automating for speed, it's rethinking the member experience for a digital-native generation. With plans to open about 15 new clubs each year and modernize dozens more, the retailer is setting a fast pace for the adoption of AI at scale. The appointment of Diana Marshall as Chief Experience Officer further highlights the company's prioritization of tech-enhanced personalization and data-driven service. By aligning AI deployment with customer needs and employee growth, Sam's Club positions itself at the forefront of the next wave in retail transformation, aiming to not just build better stores, but a better way to shop.
