Walmart says it will close its Dorval store on July 17, making it the third location to close in the Montreal area this summer.
The news comes just two weeks after the multinational chain announced plans to shutter locations on Côte-des-Neiges Rd. and in Pointe-aux-Trembles this June.
“While these decisions are never easy, they are part of our ongoing efforts to ensure we meet the evolving needs of our customers and position our business for continued growth in Quebec,” Walmart spokesperson Steeve Azoulay wrote in an email statement on Monday.
Asked why this closure wasn’t announced with the other two, Azoulay said “each location is unique and requires individual consideration.”
According to Charles de Brabant, a professor at McGill’s Bensadoun School of Retail Management, the closures don’t necessarily indicate that the company is struggling in Quebec, given that Walmart announced a $6.5 billion investment to open new stores in the province and employs 12,000 people across 70 Quebec stores.
“Before, they may have been the only low-price retailer in a particular area. Now, there’s growing competition, and then it’s really a financial equation and a market share game. God knows, these American companies are unbelievably focused on those things,” Brabant said in an interview.
Throughout Quebec, there is “clearly” a growing strategic focus for grocery chains to invest in and expand discount stores, Brabant said, such as Loblaw Companies Ltd.’ Maxi and Metro Inc.’s Super C.
Across from the Walmart at the Dorval shopping mall is a Maxi, a chain that has aggressively expanded in recent years and has grown increasingly popular in Quebec amid what Brabant calls an “affordability crisis.”
Brabant added there seems to be a “strong appreciation among Quebec consumers” of Canadian banners and Quebec banners, especially Maxi.
Walmart was viewed for decades as a “community killer,” Brabant said, but he believes this perception has changed in recent years given its prevalence “in communities all over North America.”
Dayan Yanez, 41, a Dorval resident and mother of five, said the disappearance of Walmart just minutes away from her home is “really sad for our community.”
“I always thought it was a big privilege for us to have everything nearby, and suddenly, today, we wake up and Walmart is gone,” she said outside the Dorval Walmart, standing with three of her young children.
She said there aren’t many other options nearby for affordable school supplies and clothes, and the closure will result in her driving to a Walmart further away to meet her family’s needs.
Customer Carol Wilson, who grew up nearby and was visiting on her way to the airport, said the Walmart was the “anchor store” of Les Jardins Dorval shopping mall.
“There’s nothing left in the shopping centre,” she said, pointing to the recent closure of the Hudson’s Bay location that shared a parking lot with the Dorval Walmart.
Manuel Lopez, 25, said the closure of Walmart Dorval is “going to be hard.”
“We’ll need to drive around to Pointe-Claire or maybe Kirkland to get extra stuff. And it’s a little bit annoying, because right now a lot of stuff right here is closing,” he said in an interview.
The company, which has been operating in Quebec since 1994, assured that customers in Dorval will “continue to be well-served by our nearby stores, including Pointe-Claire, Kirkland, LaSalle, Jean Talon and Saint-Laurent, and through Walmart.ca.” It also promises to offer all Dorval employees to continue working at nearby Walmart locations after the closure.
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