Walmart Increasing Its Presence in Canada

Retail

Published: January 22, 2013 8:53 am

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is making an expansion in Canada, which some investors may say is on the heels of a similar move from rival Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) that already has begun. Walmart Canada has announced that it plans to complete at least 37 supercenter projects and will be expanding its distribution network in the next fiscal year. The investment is put at $450 million.

The company went on to say that these expansion plans are expected to generate more than 7,000 store, trade and construction jobs. Each store carries close to 100,000 different products. The locations for specific store and distribution center projects will be announced as the details for each project are finalized. Today’s announcement is a continuation of the growth rate of 35 to 40 supercenter projects in Canada for the past several years.

As of January 31, 2013, Walmart Canada will have 379 stores, including 209 supercenters. By the end of January 2014, the company’s store count is expected to rise to 388. Fiscal year 2013 saw an addition of 73 projects, which included 39 former Zellers locations.

An expansion of $450 million may seem like a lot, but it is important to realize that Walmart has a market value of $231 billion and its current sales expectations for fiscal 2013 are $470 billion.

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