Clyde Richards, Tiara Darden,

Jennifer Mawyer, Kelvin Luna, Trevor Tall

FIRE 311
Professor Marco
September 16, 2013





Corporate Profiles
Group 19










Costco

Costco is a membership warehouse club with hundreds of locations worldwide providing
exclusive member services, specialty departments, and a vast selection of merchandise founded
by James Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman. Its first location was opened in 1976 in San Diego by
Sol and Robert Price as the company began under the title Price Club. The first specific Costco
warehouse location was in Seattle, while it grew to become the first company to reach $3 billion
sales in less than six years. In 1993, Costco and Price Club merged to become the unified
PriceCostco with 206 locations generating $16 billion in annual sales. However, the name
Costco Wholesale was resumed in 1997.

Today, the corporation has expanded worldwide and upheld the philosophy of keeping
costs down and passing the savings on to their members. Its product and service selection has
expanded to a range of produce, home appliances, computer software, jewelry, and furniture.
Many warehouses additionally feature pharmacies, gas stations, hearing aid centers, Costco
Photo Center, and Costco Optical which is ranked as the fourth-largest optical company in the
US. The corporation has grown to a total of 632 domestic and international locations with
headquarters in Issaquah, Washington, and total sales in recent fiscal years have exceeded $64
billion. As of July 2012, Costco leads as the second largest retailer in the United States, seventh
largest retailer in the world, and largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States.
In the fiscal year 2012, its net income was $1.709 billion.

We chose Costco for its strong monetary value in its assets over its liabilities. In 2012,
Costco assets were valued at $13.526 million, while its liabilities were valued $12.260 million
that same year.



Wal-Mart

Owner Sam Walton founded and opened the first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962.
He created Wal-Mart with the intent of benefiting the consumer through selling products at low
prices in order to have a high volume of sales which would give the corporation a lower-
profit margin. The company became an official corporation on October 31, 1969.

Wal-Mart, Inc. is a global retail corporation with a mission to help people around the
world save money and also help them live better. It holds rankings as the largest retailer in the
world as well as the second largest public corporation. Wal-Mart features three different types of
retail formats in discount stores, superstores, and Wal-Mart markets specializing in selling
products such as clothing, groceries, electronics, furniture. Most store locations additionally offer
customers a store pharmacy, optical center, fast food outlet, and garden center. There are over
245 million customers that visit one of the 10,900 stores that are located globally. With sales of
approximately $466 billion during the fiscal year of 2013, Wal-Mart employs more than over 2
million people today.

We chose to evaluate Wal-Mart as the corporation has continued to maintain its
profitability by opening new stores throughout the US and more importantly increasing their
revenue by expanding stores internationally. It is a family-owned business that has evolved to
become one of the worlds most valuable company.





Target

Our mission is to make Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by
delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences by
consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less. brand promise. Target currently has 1,788
stores in the United states, 68 stores in Canada, and 37 distribution centers. Targets guest are
described as a median age of 40, household income of approximate $64K, approximately 343%
have children at home, and about 57% have completed college. The first Target opened in 1962
in Minneapolis suburb of Roseville, Minn. Their focus then was on convenient shopping at
competitive discount prices.

Targets success is focused on a few key values: design for all, great guest service, more
for your money, fun and rewarding place to work, and giving back to the community. Target
believes that a great design should be fun, energetic, surprising and smart while still being
affordable. Guest should have an enjoyable and exciting experience. Customers will enjoy price
matching and an additional 5% savings when they use their REDcard. Giving back to the
community has always been a cornerstone to the company. Target has always donated a percent
of their income, a commitment that continues regardless of economic climate.

Targets current assets for the 2013 fiscal year is 16.388 million while liabilities and
stockholder investment stand tall at 48.163 million. Although liabilities for the year are higher
than their current assets, their redeeming quality is that they have a dividend yield of 2.70%,
higher than Costco and Wal-Mart.