January 30, 2023
Sam’s Club plans to open a new warehouse club in Florida next year. It will be the chain’s first new club to open since 2017.
The second-largest warehouse club chain in the U.S. said last week that it intends to add 30 new clubs “over the next few years” as it seeks to build on the “historic comparable sales growth” that has continued since the start of the pandemic.
Kathryn McLay, Sam’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We’ve experienced significant growth over the past few years, reaching record membership numbers, and we’re excited to bring the experience of Sam’s Club to the More markets.” A statement“As we open new clubs in new locations, we will continue to innovate so our members can shop and save money whether in person or online.”
Sam’s may not have opened new clubs in recent years, but it has invested in existing locations to make them more popular. Most of the chain’s 600 clubs have been remodeled to be brighter and more accessible. The help desk has been upgraded to better serve customers, and members appreciate Sam’s Scan & Go checkout technology and its Scan & Go Fuel and Scan & Ship apps.
The new 160,000-square-foot club will be roughly 20,000 square feet larger than the chain’s current warehouse and will include a “significant expansion of the full-service delivery footprint, providing dedicated space for curbside pickup, home delivery, and shipping orders from the club .”
Sam has been “playing” curbside pickup Before the pandemic, ma’am. McLay said in 2021, but the decision to expedite the implementation was made soon after the COVID-19 lockdown measures were implemented. Sam rolled out the service nationwide in seven weeks. The club charges standard members $4 to pick up. This service is free for Plus members.
Most new clubs will include a seafood/sushi island, full-service floral and walk-in dairy and fresh coolers. Sam’s is adding more space to healthcare services to accommodate larger patient waiting areas, medical service suites, private consultation rooms, and dedicated audiology and optics centers.
The retailer also plans to open five new distribution centers this year as part of a multiyear transformation of its supply chain. The facilities will be equipped with state-of-the-art automation and robotics.
Discussion question: Is Sam’s Club on the right track with plans to open new clubs and fulfillment and distribution centers? What’s your assessment of the chain at this point in time?
“Is Sam’s Club on the right track with plans to open new clubs and distribution centers?”
