Sam's Club In Mount Olive Closes Abruptly

MOUNT OLVE, NJ — The Mount Olive Sam's Club closed its door for the last time Wednesday, Mount Olive Mayor Rob Greenbaum said on Facebook. The closures appear to affect locations nationwide.

"I was just informed that as of today, SAMS CLUB, Mount Olive is closed for good due to a business decision of the company," Greenbaum said. According to his post, the pharmacy will remain open through Jan 27.

When you call the store, a recording confirms it is permanently closed effective Jan. 11. The location has been removed from the company's website as well.

The closure took employees by surprise, with one telling the Daily Record they were informed of the closures during a 9 a.m. meeting on Thursday. Employees were told about the meeting late Wednesday night.

Sam's Club said in a tweet said the closures were to "better align our locations with our strategy." They confirmed that pharmacies in closed stores would stay open at least two weeks, and that they "will work with each state’s Board of Pharmacy to help guide this transition."

Calls to Sam's Club media representatives have not yet been returned.

Walmart spokesperson Phil Keene told the Daily Record the company was working to transfer the 140 Mount Olive employees to other Sam's Clubs or Walmarts in the area.

News of the closures comes on the same day Walmart, which owns Sam's Club, announced they were raising their minimum hourly rate to $11. All employees will receive 60 days of severance pay at the new $11 hourly rate.

Mount Olive was not the only New Jersey location to close without warning; Linden also closed effective Jan. 11. Locations across the country, including in Illinois and Texas, appear to have shut their doors for good Thursday morning.

Update, Jan. 12: Could Mount Olive Sam's Club Become An E-Commerce Center?

Resident's quickly took to the comments section of Greenbaum's post to lament the Mount Olive store's closing.

"That’s terrible. All the loss of jobs. Love so many of their products. More vacant space in [Mount Olive]," one resident wrote.

"That sucks. Loved going there with the kids. Sorry for all the people who are losing their jobs, the real estate owner, and the loss of tax revenue to our community," said another.

It was not immediately clear if members would be getting refunds for their memberships. According to their membership terms, they will "cancel your membership and provide a refund of the amount paid for your current year Membership fee" if a member is "unsatisfied." The company is asking Twitter users to direct message them regarding membership refunds.

The Mount Olive store was located in the ITC Crossings North Mall, which had recently seen its value drop. It was sold for $5.88 million in Oct. 2017, less than half of the value of a 2012 sale and about a quarter of the original value in 2007, the Mount Olive Chronicle reported.

The next closest Sam's Club locations to Mount Olive are in Secaucus and Edison, or in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Image via Google Maps