Sam’s Club in Dover has survived a surprise closing of more than 60 stores.
Business insider reported that 63 of the membership stores are closing, some without warning. The closing is expected to affect thousands of employees.
Some employees came to work only to find a closed sign on the door, the news website reported.
Sam’s, named after the late founder of parent company Walmart, had more than 650 clubs. The company reportedly announced the closings to employees via email.
The closings blunted the impact of an announcement by parent company Walmart on raising wages to $11 an hour.
Walmart and other companies have been making announcements about increasing starting pay following passage of a reduction in corporate taxes.
Walmart has not expanded Sam’s footprint in Delaware beyond its long-time store in Dover while building supercenters south of the C&D Canal. The company announced earlier it plans to only open 15 Supercenters in the coming year in the U.S.
BJ’s Wholesale Club, by contrast, expanded its clubs to Millsboro, Elsmere, New Castle, Newark and Claymont.
Costco, the nation’s largest membership club, has one store in Christiana Sam’s ranks second to Costco in total sales.
