Walmart is closing its Coon Rapids store at the end of August, the second north metro store the megaretailer has closed in recent years.
“This is an older format and doesn’t offer a full grocery department, which is something most customers want and what all our nearby Supercenters offer,” a spokesperson for the Arkansas company said Tuesday.
Walmart considered “customer needs, financial performance and the proximity of other nearby stores,” in weighing closure, the spokesperson said.
The store’s 180 employees will be able to transfer to other locations, the company said, and pharmacy customers will have their prescriptions transferred when the store closes on Aug. 29.
The Coon Rapids store in the northwest corner of the city on Riverdale Drive is within 10 miles of six other Walmarts, including those in Brooklyn Park, Blaine and Andover, which are all getting upgrades this year. There are also several Target stores in the area.
The Brooklyn Center Walmart closed in 2023. An Asian grocery store, Empire Foods, is now in its space.
Walmart’s online sales account for nearly 20% of its business, and the retailer has especially benefited from the rise of grocery delivery apps.
The company still invests in its 4,600 U.S. brick-and-mortar stores, however, and has spent nearly $200 million on store upgrades across Minnesota over the past five years.
