Sam’s Club plans to remodel all stores, open 15 locations per year
Sam’s Club is ramping up its expansion along with its investments in existing stores.
The Walmart-owned, membership warehouse club retailer plans to remodel all of its approximately 600 locations across the country as a "strategic growth investment," Sam’s Club CEO Chris Nicholas said at Walmart’s annual investor day. Nicholas said the company is confident in the capital returns it will see in sales and membership income.
Sam's Club also is accelerating its expansion plans. The company in January 2023 said it planned to open more than 30 new clubs across the United States during the next several years. But it now expects to build a pipeline to 15 new clubs every year after that for the foreseeable future, expanding its physical reach.
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In October 2024, Sam’s Club opened a digital-first store format in Grapevine, Texas. The store, which will be the model both for remodels and new clubs going forward, has no traditional checkout counters or self-checkouts. Instead, customers use the retailer’s app-based Scan & Go tool, which allows them to use their mobile devices to scan items as they shop, complete payment and skip the checkout line entirely.
Nicholas said that Sam's Club is looking double membership over the next eight-10 years. Current membership is at an all-time high, with membership income up 22% over the last two years. GenZ and millennial members make up more than half of new members.
In an interview with CNBC, Nicholas expressed confidence that demand for Sam’s Club will remain, even if the economic backdrop worsens.
“In times of plenty, we do well. But in tough times, we do really well,” he said.
Sam’s isn’t the only warehouse club retailer ramping up its growth. In March, BJ’s Wholesale Club revealed plans to add 25 to 30 clubs during the next two fiscal years. The openings will include its entry into Texas, with several locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area starting in early 2026.
This story originally appeared on sister publication Chain Store Age.
