(Reuters) - Walmart Canada said on Thursday it is investing about C$6.5 billion ($4.51 billion) to build new stores and expand its supply chain, marking its biggest ever investment since opening its first store nearly 30 years ago.
U.S. retail giant Walmart's Canadian branch, which plans to expand its footprint, added it would be building dozens of new stores starting with five new supercenters in Ontario and Alberta by 2027.
The retailer also plans to invest in modernizing its distribution centers.
"Across the country, we're making strategic investments in our online and in-store offerings to be more relevant to more customers than ever before," said Joe Schrauder, Walmart Canada's chief operations officer.
Walmart Canada currently has over 400 stores and more than 100,000 workers in the country.
The move follows Walmart's decision to open 150 new stores in the United States.
The company joins a list of other retailers, including Target, which have been making efforts to add new locations to gain more market share, following the increasing popularity of free and curbside delivery services.
Walmart Canada also said it would be selling its fleet business to Canada Cartage, a provider of fleet services. The terms of this deal were not disclosed.
The company also raised wages for its hourly retail and frontline associates in Canada last year.
($1 = 1.4417 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru and Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
