Walmart is closing an underperforming Everett store that some neighboring businesses say has been plagued by theft.
“We’ve seen people come out with TVs, big boxes of who knows what, a vacuum cleaner once,” said Hannah Barnett, who works at the Bud Hut marijuana store across State Highway 99 from the Walmart, which the company says that he will close April 21st.
Walmart said in a statement Friday that the store at 11400 Highway 99 will be closing after the retailer found it “didn’t perform as well as we had hoped.” The retailer said the store’s 198 employees can relocate to other Walmart locations, including a Supercenter at 1605 SE Everett Mall Way and five other stores in Snohomish County. Walmart has 65 locations in Washington.
But several businesses close to the closing store said shoplifting has become a serious problem, including at Walmart.
“From what I’ve heard from Walmart employees, that’s why I’m closing,” said Dennis Matheson, owner of nearby Chuck’s Chevron Services Center. “You know, if you go over there [to Walmart] and the socks are under lock and key, that’s very obvious.” Theft is a problem.
Over at Imrans Market, store clerk Jabeen Qureshi said that Walmart workers who came by “always told us about the problems there.”
A Walmart spokesman did not comment on reports of shoplifting.
The Highway 99 Walmart opened in 2006 and is one of 15 Walmarts in 11 states reportedly scheduled to close in 2023, according to Business Insider.
The big-box retailer regularly reviews the performance of its nearly 5,000 US locations, “and unfortunately some are not meeting our financial expectations,” the company said Friday. Last April, Walmart closed its Factoria location.
Walmart said “there is not a single reason” for a store to be closed and that decisions are based on “current and projected financial performance, location, population, customer needs and the proximity of other nearby stores.”
But senior company officials have also acknowledged that shoplifting is a growing problem for Walmart nationally and could result in closures if left unchecked.
“Theft is a problem. It’s higher than in the past,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC in December. Asked about reports that some police departments and prosecutors have relaxed enforcement of theft laws, McMillon said, “Unless this is corrected over time, prices will go up and/or stores will close.”
Everett Police Department said they were not aware of any “higher rate of shoplifting” at the Highway 99 store compared to other local retailers, department spokesman Ora Hamel said. “Shoplifting is probably a problem everywhere, but we know that no higher incidence has been reported there than in others [retailers].”
Crime and safety issues have been cited in other local closures.
In July, Starbucks closed its store near Highway 99 Walmart and five stores in Seattle due to the number of crime-related complaints filed at each location.
Theft and other property crimes in Everett increased 17% in 2022 from 2019 but decreased 17% from 2016, according to estimates that Police Chief Dan Templeman presented to the Everett City Council in August.
Theft and theft increased 10% in 2022 from 2019 and 5% from 2016, according to data from the Seattle Police Department.
Walmart owns the Everett property but hasn’t outlined plans for it, according to The Herald.
Walmart hopes to minimize any disruption from the closure. The company said pharmacy staff will help move customers’ prescriptions to other stores, emphasizing efforts to retain all store employees, which it said were not to blame for the closure.
“This decision in no way reflects their hard work and customer service,” the company said.
This story has been updated with additional store closures reported by Business Insider.