Major retail chain Walmart has officially announced that it will permanently close its last two stores within the Portland area in late March.
The two Portland locations, 1123 North Hayden Meadows Drive and at 4200 Southeast 82nd Avenue at the Eastport Plaza, are set to close on Friday, March 24 due to not meeting financial expectations.
A Walmart spokesperson stated:
“The decision to close these stores was made after a careful review of their overall performance. We consider many factors, including current and projected financial performance, location, population, customer needs, and the proximity of other nearby stores when making these difficult decisions. After we decide to move forward, our focus is on our associates and their transition, which is the case here.”
Nearby residents have expressed their concerns with the store closures, saying it will likely have a big impact on them and low-income shoppers.
One shopper stated, “Safeway is the go-to-store if I have to but that’s three times the price I would spend here. What are we going to do? You got to go further, then you have to spend gas money. Might as well pay for it at Safeway at this point.”
The Walmart spokesperson also stated that the pharmacy will work to transfer customers’ prescriptions to other nearby locations before the closure date.
Additionally, all employees at the two locations have been given the option to transfer to other nearby locations if they so choose.
In a statement, the company said, “We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our Hayden Meadows and Eastport Plaza locations.”
Minus the two closing locations, there will still be over a dozen stores in the nearby metro area, just outside of Portland’s city limit.
