That's not the "model" (obviously, since it costs a lot of money to open a store and then have to close it because it underperformed).  But it does happen sometimes, and not just for Walmart.  Virtually every large national retailed has opened large stores that eventually closed due to underperformance.  Target... Safeway... Lowes... Home Depot... Macy's... and on and on.  Walmart just happens to have more stores than anyone else so they're an easy target, but we shouldn't pretend like they're the only one that ever builds a large store and then eventually has to close it.  That's silly.