Like us keeping up our New Year’s resolutions, Walmart Canada is in “growth mode” right now.
What happened: Walmart Canada will spend $6.5 billion over the next five years to open dozens of new stores, beef up its supply chain, and expand its reach over Canada’s retail sector. It’s Wally World’s biggest investment here since it first entered the country in 1994.
- Walmart confirmed it will open Supercentres in Port Credit and Oakville, Ontario, this year as well as Supercentres in Calgary, Edmonton, and Fort McMurray, Alberta, in 2027.
- The move comes after the culmination of a previous five-year plan in which Walmart spent $3.5 billion to renovate a third of its stores and build distribution centres.
Why it matters: Walmart already has 1.5 million daily Canadian in-store shoppers (and another 1.5 million online), but you might not be one of them. It’s looking to change that and is using this expansion plan to double down on its push to capture new market segments.
- Walmart has already been successful in attracting new clientele you might not typically associate with Walmart, like affluent shoppers and urbanites.
Zoom out: In addition to new stores, Walmart is trying to attract more customers with a distribution network to rival Amazon — aiming to crack 10 million square feet of distribution space in Canada this year.—QH