Wal-Mart Canada closing 6 Sam's Club locations

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N: Quote) Canadian division said on Thursday it will close its Sam's Club locations in Ontario to focus instead on opening more Wal-Mart supercenters.

The retailer said the decision will result in the closure of six Sam's Club locations, but it is currently in discussions with a major U.S. retailer to purchase Wal-Mart's interest in five of the locations.

"Despite our best efforts and the commendable work of our Sam's Club associates, our six Clubs have not met our expectations," said David Cheesewright, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart Canada, in a statement.

Wal-Mart Canada intends to open 26 new supercenters in Canada this year, bringing the number of Canadian supercenters to 82 and Wal-Mart Canada's overall store count to 316 by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Nicole Maestri; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)