Seligman Walmart to close doors by end of month
The Seligman Walmart is one of 154 stores that will be closed in a move to focus in a different direction.
January 20, 2016
Charlea Mills
Just a year after Seligman welcomed a Walmart Neighborhood Market, corporate announced that it will be closed permanently by the end of January. The store, which employees around 30 full-time and part-time employees, contributed nearly $100,000 in sales tax revenue to the city of Seligman.
The Seligman Neighborhood Market was part of a pilot program by the chain of stores called an Express Store that brought limited grocery stores to smaller communities. In a move to focus on their larger stores, corporate opted to close 154 different locations across the country, including another store in nearby Clever. According to Delia Garcia, a spokesperson for Walmart, the move was not about any particular store, but about the chain as a whole. She said, “After a thorough review, we determined we would exit the Express format entirely. It wasn’t about specific stores, but the pilot across the board.”
All of the employees currently employed with the Seligman store will be offered employment at other locations, according to information released by Walmart. Within 18 miles, Walmart has four stores: Cassville, Rogers, Ark., Bentonville, Ark., and Pea Ridge, Ark. Garcia said, “We have a very good track record with transferring those associates at a store that was closing.” If an employee chooses not to transfer to another store, they will be given 60 days pay and a severance package after that based on how long they were employed by Walmart.
With the store closing, many residents were worried about the availability of groceries. Since December, Norm’s Grocery on Main Street had signs up indicating that they were closing. However, since the announcement that the Walmart was closing, those signs have been taken down, and the store plans to stay in business.
Concerns were also raised about how the loss of the store would impact the city’s sales tax revenue and the 2016 budget. Brian Nichols, Seligman City Clerk, said that the loss shouldn’t be concerning. He said, “Yes, $100,000 is a big hit, but it’s not going to put us in the hole.” Nichols said the main concerns in the budget were a final large bond payment and payments on a police cruiser purchased next year, as well as the cruiser to be added to the Police Department this year. Between revenue and what was rolled over from last year, Nichols said that shouldn’t be an issue. He said, “We didn’t have any big plans for that money.”
Nichols said, “The aldermen did vote to purchase a new vehicle, but they have not authorized myself or the mayor to sign the lease, so we can still reevaluate that if we need to.”
He continued, “There don’t be any major changes to the 2016 budget. I’ve sat down and looked at things, and I’m not worried.”
The loss of revenue equates to $22,000 less for four departments: capital improvements, administration, streets and the Police Department. It also means $11,000 less for the parks department.
It is speculated that the store will close its doors for good on January 28. The associates employed there will continue to help shut down the store until around February 10 before taking new positions at other stores.
Charlea Mills
Just a year after Seligman welcomed a Walmart Neighborhood Market, corporate announced that it will be closed permanently by the end of January. The store, which employees around 30 full-time and part-time employees, contributed nearly $100,000 in sales tax revenue to the city of Seligman.
The Seligman Neighborhood Market was part of a pilot program by the chain of stores called an Express Store that brought limited grocery stores to smaller communities. In a move to focus on their larger stores, corporate opted to close 154 different locations across the country, including another store in nearby Clever. According to Delia Garcia, a spokesperson for Walmart, the move was not about any particular store, but about the chain as a whole. She said, “After a thorough review, we determined we would exit the Express format entirely. It wasn’t about specific stores, but the pilot across the board.”
All of the employees currently employed with the Seligman store will be offered employment at other locations, according to information released by Walmart. Within 18 miles, Walmart has four stores: Cassville, Rogers, Ark., Bentonville, Ark., and Pea Ridge, Ark. Garcia said, “We have a very good track record with transferring those associates at a store that was closing.” If an employee chooses not to transfer to another store, they will be given 60 days pay and a severance package after that based on how long they were employed by Walmart.
With the store closing, many residents were worried about the availability of groceries. Since December, Norm’s Grocery on Main Street had signs up indicating that they were closing. However, since the announcement that the Walmart was closing, those signs have been taken down, and the store plans to stay in business.
Concerns were also raised about how the loss of the store would impact the city’s sales tax revenue and the 2016 budget. Brian Nichols, Seligman City Clerk, said that the loss shouldn’t be concerning. He said, “Yes, $100,000 is a big hit, but it’s not going to put us in the hole.” Nichols said the main concerns in the budget were a final large bond payment and payments on a police cruiser purchased next year, as well as the cruiser to be added to the Police Department this year. Between revenue and what was rolled over from last year, Nichols said that shouldn’t be an issue. He said, “We didn’t have any big plans for that money.”
Nichols said, “The aldermen did vote to purchase a new vehicle, but they have not authorized myself or the mayor to sign the lease, so we can still reevaluate that if we need to.”
He continued, “There don’t be any major changes to the 2016 budget. I’ve sat down and looked at things, and I’m not worried.”
The loss of revenue equates to $22,000 less for four departments: capital improvements, administration, streets and the Police Department. It also means $11,000 less for the parks department.
It is speculated that the store will close its doors for good on January 28. The associates employed there will continue to help shut down the store until around February 10 before taking new positions at other stores.
