MISSISSAUGA, Ontario—Walmart Canada has reached agreements to acquire one distribution centre, 12 store leases and one owned property formerly held by Target Canada, for an aggregate of approximately C$165m. The transactions are still subject to court approval.
The DC “is an excellent modern facility that is strategically located along Highway 401 in the Cornwall Business Park,” said Mark Boileau, Manager of Cornwall Economic Development. “This acquisition should prove to be an asset to Walmart Canada’s continued growth in Canada.”
It was built and owned by Target, and operated for them by Eleven Points Logistics (a Genco company). (See previous MM&D reporting on this DC here.) The 1.4 million square-foot DC has over 200 dock level doors and sits on 169 acres of land. Racking in the facility measures over nine metres (30ft) high. The building is large enough that one could lay the CN Tower inside the building and not touch the east or west walls.
It started operations for Target in June 2013.
Walmart expects to invest a further approximately C$185m to renovate the 13 stores and distribution centre bringing Walmart’s total investment to approximately C$350m. Work on all locations is expected to start within the next few months subject to all necessary approvals. Grand opening dates and specific details for each location will be confirmed over the coming months.
“Walmart is committed to the Canadian market, and this agreement helps us accelerate our growth plans,” said Dirk Van den Berghe, President and CEO of Walmart Canada.
Walmart plans to hire approximately 3,400 new associates in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec and these projects are expected to generate approximately 1,500 trade and construction jobs. One thousand new jobs will be in the DC.
The acquisition of these 13 retail locations, one distribution centre and the investment commitment of approximately C$350m are in addition to the 29 Supercentre projects announced on February 11 of this year. The previous announcement covered an investment of C$340m for supercentres, expansion of the existing distribution network and e-commerce projects, bringing Walmart’s total investment to approximately C$690m.
Walmart Canada currently operates 395 stores nationwide, consisting of 282 supercentres and 113 discount stores serving more than 1.2 million customers each day.
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