Sam’s Club is embarking on an ambitious expansion of its physical footprint, beginning with five new fulfillment and distribution centers opening this year — the first, in Georgia, in Q3 2023. The club retailer also plans to open more than 30 larger-format stores, most of which will include enhanced perimeter departments, bigger healthcare spaces and dedicated areas for curbside pickup, home delivery and ship-from-store orders.
The new stores will measure approximately 160,000 square feet, with most including a seafood/sushi island, full-service floral and walk-in dairy and fresh coolers; additionally, many will include fuel stations and liquor offerings. The healthcare spaces will be expanded to offer a patient waiting area, health services suites, private consultation rooms and dedicated hearing and optical centers.
“We’ve seen remarkable growth over the past few years with a record number of members, and we’re excited to bring the experience of Sam’s Club to even more markets as we expand our footprint,” said Kathryn McLay, CEO at Sam’s Club in a statement.
The new fulfillment centers will feature cutting-edge automation and robotics, and Sam’s Club also will retrofit a number of its existing supply chain facilities so they can provide enhanced physical and digital capabilities.
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These new initiatives continue the significant investment Sam’s Club has made in its physical footprint over the past several years, including redesigning the majority of the retailer’s 600 stores and adding of Scan & Go Checkout, Scan & Go Fuel, curbside pickup and other omnichannel offerings. The retailer also completed a chainwide rollout of inventory-scanning robots in October 2022.
“As we open new clubs in new locations, we’ll continue to innovate so that our members shop and save whether in person or online,” said McLay.
