Chains like Dollar General and Family Dollar are expanding in low-income areas, but they don’t sell fresh groceries. In 2019, Target closed two stores, angering residents. Whole Foods closed in Chicago earlier this year, along with CVS, Aldi and Save A Lot. Walmart gave less than a week's notice it would close four stores in Chicago. This is a particular issue in predominantly minority, low-income areas that experience economic neglect, and other chains have recently shuttered stores in these areas as well. A 2012 study of Walmart’s impact in Chicago found businesses closer to Walmart were significantly more likely to close than similar businesses farther away - and the number of jobs lost by nearby retail competitors essentially offset the number of jobs created at the new Walmart stores. If government couldn’t provide for a populace in desperate need of jobs and fresh foods, the thinking went, for-profit corporations would.īut in Chicago, that’s not what happened. The closures are another example of the shortcomings of local governments and even national political leaders betting on leading chains to provide key public services and fill gaps.

Walmart saw it as a twofold opportunity: broaden its customer base while proving to skeptical officials in other cities that it was a strong corporate partner. Meanwhile Walmart, which rose mainly in rural and suburban areas, also fought hard to enter Chicago. Critics pointed to studies that suggested a Walmart presence could push out mom-and-pop stores and drive down wages, as it had in smaller towns.īut, at the time, officials argued opening Walmarts would provide jobs, economic development and convenient places to shop for affordable groceries and pharmacy services in some of the city’s low-income communities. Mayors and key political leaders had pushed to draw Walmart, despite protests from small businesses, labor groups and community activists. His predecessor, who is retiring, was a major proponent of drawing Walmart to Chicago.

Brooke Collins/City of ChicagoĬity leaders “used a lot of political capital and their trust were questioned, Now it’s kind of like, ‘I told you so,’” said Chicago Alderman-Elect Ronnie Mosley, who will represent a Chicago ward where one of the Walmarts is set to close. City leaders saw Walmart as a a way to fill access gaps. Walmart, which made $20.6 billion in 2022, did not specify why losses were growing in Chicago.Ĭhicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel cut the ribbon at the grand opening of a new Walmart in 2013. Despite years of different strategies, the company said, it did not see a route to profitability for these stores. “These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years,” Walmart said. Three are in predominantly Black and low-income neighborhoods, and their closures with little warning mean residents - including elderly citizens and people without reliable transportation - will have to travel further to buy groceries and pick up their medications. The largest retailer in the country announced plans this week to close four of its eight stores in the city, citing growing financial losses. And Walmart welcomed the opportunity to show cities it could be a strong corporate partner.īut now, Walmart is pulling back from Chicago. A line of Chicago mayors heavily courted Walmart over the last two decades, brushing aside community protests.

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