Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. {{nyse|WMT}}, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, is the largest retailer and the largest company in the world based on revenue. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2005, Wal-Mart reported net income of US $10.3 billion on US $285 billion of sales revenue (3.6% profit margin). If Wal-Mart were its own economy, it would rank 33rd in the world, with a GDP between those of Ukraine and Colombia. It is the largest private employer in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It holds an 8.9 percent retail store market share— $8.90 out of every $100 spent in U.S. retail stores is spent at Wal-Mart.

Business

Wal-Mart operates discount retail department stores selling a broad range of non-grocery products. Wal-Mart also operates "Supercenters" which offer a full line of grocery items. Wal-Mart also operates Sam's Club—a "warehouse clubs" similar to Costco that sells discounted bulk merchandise to dues-paying members.

Related Topics:
Sam's Club - Costco

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As of January 2005, Wal-Mart employed 1.3 million people in the United States. Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters are located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Apart from retail locations, it operates 99 Distribution Centers and Transportation Offices in the United States. Internationally, Wal-Mart employs over 410,000 people (excluding Japan) for a company-wide total of 1.7 million employees. Wal-Mart also operates the largest real estate company in the United States, with an entire division devoted to building new stores, selling old stores, and developing shopping centers around its stores.

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In addition to its wholly-owned international operations, Wal-Mart owns a 42% stake in The Seiyu Co., Ltd. in Japan, with a proposed US$597 million to increase its stake to 50%. This purchase is subject to the shareholders vote in December 2005.

Related Topics:
The Seiyu Co., Ltd. - Japan

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In the past, Wal-Mart operated dot Discount Drugs, Bud's Discount City, Hypermart*USA, OneSource Nutrition Centers, and Save-Co Home Improvement stores. In 1990 Wal-Mart acquired The McLane Company, a foodservice distributor. In 2003 McLane Company was sold to Berkshire Hathaway.

Related Topics:
Hypermart*USA - Berkshire Hathaway

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Wal-Mart stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT.

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Retail operations

Wal-Mart operates 5 major retail formats under 3 retail divisions:

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• Wal-Mart Stores USA
• Wal-Mart Discount Stores — Average 100,000 square feet (9,290 m²) and include a selection of general merchandise, including apparel, electronics, health and beauty aids, toys, sporting goods, and household products.
• Wal-Mart Supercenter — Average 187,000 square feet (17,400 m²) and combine a standard Wal-Mart Discount Store with a full-line supermarket. (commonly known as big box stores)
• Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market — Average 43,000 square feet (4,000 m²) and include grocery, pharmacy, and limited general merchandise products.
• Walmart.com — Online shopping site that offers merchandise different from that in stores. The walmart.com site also offers digital music downloads with digital rights management (DRM) and online photo processing.
• SAM'S CLUB — a membership-only wholesale warehouse club focused mainly on serving small business owners. Clubs average 128,000 square feet (11,891 m²).
• Wal-Mart International — operates various formats internationally, including (but not limited to) SAM'S CLUB, Discount Stores, Supercenters, Supermarkets, and restaurants.

Store counts & revenue

Current store counts and revenue for Fiscal Year Ending January 31, 2005 (revenue amounts in U.S. Dollars):

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• Company Total: 5,246 stores (excludes Seiyu operations) (US$285.2 billion)
• Wal-Mart Stores USA (3,337 stores, excluding Puerto Rico) (US$201.4 billion)
• Discount Stores: 1,353
• Supercenters: 1,713
• Neighborhood Markets: 85
• SAM'S CLUB (United States): 551 Clubs (US$37.1 billion total)
• International: 1,587 (US$56.3 billion total)
• Argentina: 11
• Brazil: 149
• Canada: 262
• China: 43
• Germany: 91
• South Korea: 16
• Mexico: 679
• Puerto Rico (United States insular area): 54
• United Kingdom (ASDA): 282

ASDA in the United Kingdom is the largest of the international businesses by sales.

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Competition

Wal-Mart's chief competitors in the discount retail space nationally include the Sears Holdings Corporation (Kmart) and the Target Corporation, along with many smaller regional chains such as Meijer in the midwest. Wal-Mart's move into grocery has also positioned it against major grocery chains such as Kroger, Publix, and local grocery chains. In the Sam's Club warehouse business, Wal-Mart's chief competitor is Costco, which is slightly larger than Sam's in terms of sales, as well as the smaller BJ's Wholesale Club chain operating mainly on the East Coast.

Related Topics:
Sears Holdings Corporation - Target Corporation - Meijer - Kroger - Publix - Warehouse - Costco - BJ's Wholesale Club - East Coast

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Wal-Mart TV Network

The Wal-Mart TV Network is an in-store network showing commercials for products sold in the stores, concert clips and music videos for recording artists products sold in the stores, trailers for upcoming movie releases, and news. According to a New York Times story, it is seen by 130 million people a month, making it the fifth largest network in America, behind NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox.

Related Topics:
New York Times - NBC - CBS - ABC - Fox

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Contributions

In 2004, cash donations to non-profit organizations by Wal-Mart, its employees, and its customers made through Wal-Mart, the Wal-Mart Foundation and the Sam's Club Foundation totaled more than $170 million (approximately 0.06% of Wal-Mart's gross revenue and 1.6% of net income. The typical Supercenter channels $30,000 to $50,000 a year to local causes and events, some of which may include self-promotion, such as ads in brochures and playbills. More than 90 percent of cash donations from Wal-Mart Stores and the Wal-Mart & SAM'S CLUB Foundation target local communities.

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In Response to Hurricane Katrina

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Wal-Mart donated $1 million each to the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross and $15 million to the Bush-Clinton Hurricane Katrina Fund for a total of $17 million during the first week, making the company the largest single corporate contributor to the effort. Wal-Mart's donation equals .005% of its revenue. http://industrialrelations.typepad.com/unionsfirmsmarkets/2005/09/katrina_walmart.html In addition, Wal-Mart had truckloads of supplies en route to the affected areas on Wednesday, before FEMA had organized a demonstrated response. Wal-Mart has also donated an estimated $3 million in merchandise to Mississippi, Louisiana, and to shelters in Texas. Wal-Mart has also provided over $1.5 million in emergency aid to displaced associates. Also, separately the Walton family through their foundation donated $8 million to the Bush-Clinton fund, $4 million to the Salvation Army, $2 million to America's Second Harvest, and $1 million to the Foundation for the Mid-South. Wal-Mart also setup an emergency contact website accessible online and at every store in the country. Wal-Mart offered employees displaced by the storm positions at any Wal-Mart store, Sam's Club, or Distribution Center in the country.

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Renewable energy experiments

Among more than 3,300 U.S. stores, the corporation has designed one, scheduled to open in 2005 in McKinney, Texas, featuring a wind turbine, photovoltaic solar panels, and a biofuel-capable boiler. The building includes many other energy and cost-saving technologies.

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The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, while acknowledging that http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_slug.php?slugid=308 "the features incorporated into Wal-Mart's new "green" store ... create very modest improvements in energy consumption and stormwater runoff," says that it does not change "Wal-Mart's basic business model, which is extremely polluting." The ILSR contends that Wal-Mart's practices increase driving, and that it has a poor record of locating stores on environmentally sensitive sites, especially wetlands.

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