|
The company last month shut 63 stores, or about 1/10th of its
total, and laid off nearly 10,000 workers after a review of
profitability. The layoffs were the largest since the first
Sam's Club opened in 1983.
The moves are a part of a strategic shift by Sam's new chief
executive, John Furner, as he attempts to turn around a business
that has underperformed its parent Walmart and rivals like
Costco Wholesale Corp.
"We are creating a new Sam's Club for our members," Furner said
on a media conference call.
"We are adding more value to our membership, we're making
strategic choices and changing how we work to drive visible
growth," he said.
Sam's Club will now offer two membership options, down from
three earlier. They will be offered as Sam's Club for $45 a year
and Sam's Plus for $100 a year.
The company will offer free shipping on 95 percent of the items
it sells online, with no minimum order size for Sam's Plus
members, Jamie Iannone, chief executive of SamsClub.com, said on
the conference call.
The retailer, which currently relies on Walmart's supply chain
network to make online order deliveries, recently said it will
open its own first e-commerce fulfillment center in Memphis,
Tennessee, and expects to ship its first package in the spring.
It is also considering other regions, like Texas, Central
Florida, Southern California, the Chicago area, the Mid-Atlantic
and the Northeast, for new e-commerce warehouses.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Boca Raton, Florida; Editing by
Leslie Adler)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
