Fewer Supercenters

Wal-Mart (Bentonville, Ark.) announced it will open 190 to 200 supercenters this year, rather than the 265 to 270 stores it had previously planned. And for the next three years after that, Wal-Mart says it will open only 170 supercenters a year – well below its average pace in recent years of opening a store a day.

The company disclosed the scaled-back plans at its annual meeting on June 1. Rather than relying heavily on new Wal-Marts, executives say they are now focused on squeezing sales and profits out of older ones.

Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart’s cfo, said the slowdown reflects the retailer’s commitment to providing better returns. He told shareholders: “The message you are hearing today is that we have found a real nice balance between appropriate return and the growth of your great company.”

Schoewe called the reductions a “moderation” and noted that Wal-Mart would still add 20 million square feet of new store space this year. “We are committed to growth,” he said.

Wal-Mart is still the largest retailer by far in the United States. It sits atop the current Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the U.S., with 2006 sales of $345 billion.