Which Walmart stores closed permanently in 2025 and what were the stated reasons for each closure?
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Executive summary
Walmart’s 2025 store-closure picture is fragmented: one specific shutdown — the Coon Rapids, Minn. supercenter on Aug. 29, 2025 — is reported and attributed by Walmart to poor financial performance and an “older format,” while broader claims that 11 or more Walmart stores were being closed in 2025 are contradicted by Walmart spokespeople and derive from secondary or unverified lists [1] [2] [3] [4]. Reporting that tries to present a full nationwide roster of 2025 permanent closures relies heavily on aggregators and a debunked viral list; Walmart’s corporate guidance and spokespeople dispute many of those claims [3] [5].
1. The one clearly reported permanent closure: Coon Rapids, Minn.
Multiple outlets identify a Walmart in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, as a confirmed permanent closure with a closing date of Aug. 29, 2025, and quote a company spokesperson saying the store was an “older format” and underperformed financially — the explicit, store‑level explanation given by Walmart in that coverage [1] [2].
2. The contested “11 stores” narrative and its sourcing problems
Several consumer outlets and aggregators published lists asserting that Walmart would close 11 stores in 2025 and attributed those moves to low performance, declining sales, and strategic footprint optimization; however, Fast Company reports that Walmart told its reporters “there are no current plans to close any stores in 2025,” saying the viral list originated with a US Mirror piece and was erroneous [6] [4] [3]. That contradiction means the “11 stores” figure cannot be treated as company‑confirmed without additional, direct Walmart documentation [3].
3. Commonly cited corporate reasons — what sources attribute to closures
Across the reporting that describes closures, the recurring stated rationales are consistent: underperformance/poor financial results, high operating costs in particular locations, and a strategic reallocation toward renovated stores, Neighborhood Markets, gas and convenience concepts, and e‑commerce/fulfillment investments — language reflects industry analysis and company strategy descriptions rather than a single, unified list of store‑by‑store reasons [4] [7] [8] [9].
4. Walmart’s official posture and the role of silent, localized closures
Walmart maintains a real‑time store‑status and disaster/closure page for operational shutdowns tied to weather and emergencies — a channel companies use for immediate, localized closures — but that page does not substantiate a company‑wide program of permanent 2025 shutdowns beyond store‑specific statements like Coon Rapids [5]. Journalists also note that many retailers close locations quietly to avoid local backlash, which complicates compiling an authoritative public list unless Walmart issues a consolidated list [10].
5. Disinformation, viral rumors, and what they obscured
A parallel wave of social media virality claimed mass Walmart closures tied to SNAP cuts and alleged looting on specific dates; those claims were debunked — Walmart told fact‑checkers it had no such plan, and local reporting found no company action closing stores for those reasons — illustrating how rumor traffic can inflate perceived closure counts and motives beyond what corporate spokespeople and primary reporting confirm [11].
6. Synthesis and limits of the record
The verifiable record in the provided reporting supports a narrow conclusion: at least one permanent Walmart closure in 2025 (Coon Rapids) with reasons given by Walmart (older format, poor financial performance), while broader claims of 11 or more 2025 permanent store closures are disputed by Walmart and trace back to unverified lists and secondary aggregators; many outlets nonetheless characterize Walmart’s strategy as pruning underperforming stores and refocusing capital into renovations, new formats and e‑commerce fulfillment, but those are strategic themes rather than itemized, company‑verified closure lists [1] [2] [3] [4] [8]. This accounting reflects the limitations of public reporting: without a single, company‑issued list validated by Walmart, comprehensive claims of which stores closed permanently in 2025 and precise, store‑by‑store stated reasons remain incompletely documented in the sources provided [3] [5].