I have heard a lot of negative hype about Walmart and do not really know where it is

stemming from. Most of what I hear is from unhappy folks who do not want to have a
Walmart in their cities.

So, if I were the new CEO at Walmart, I would find out what is being said out there. I
would try to clean up Walmart's act and if there were something that can be done about it,
I would start there. I would ensure that researches are done to see how opening new
stores would affect communities and smaller businesses in the area. Perhaps, widen the
product line and offer to work together with the neighboring businesses to better serve the
communities and make profit in the process. I would continue to ensure that quality
products are sold and made available to consumers at affordable prices. Next, I would
see about the employees to make sure that their grievances are heard and that they are
well paid and happy. Then, I would make sure that the lower management goes about
doing what they are supposed to be doing. I would then make sure that internal and
quality controls are running smoothly. Keep an eye that the profits keep going up, then, I
would try to give back to the communities by offering scholarships and the like.
Where to start?

OK, **poof **! I'm the CEO of WalMart. There are millions of people depending on
me for products and services, so I won't just start slashing away at things. The best thing
to do is to find out what people are thinking and feeling and visioning, so--and I think this
would be very hard to do, but it's how I’d want to approach it, I’d just put out all these
messages that I need to learn as much as I can, and to please be empowered to do your
jobs as you have been doing them, and then I’d go around and just meet people and ask
lots and lots of questions and talk with them and take notes and build concepts and ideas
about what WalMart is for these folks, and what the concept of the enterprise is, and what
are their values, beliefs, visions, dreams, struggles, goals, etc. Then after a season (2-4
months) I’d put together my plan utilizing the best of their ideas, values and goals, and
back-burnering anything I just couldn’t support.

Because of my processes of getting to know these people, I would know what some of
their important and fundamental values are, and I would tell them what I had learned
about their highest values. I would share my values, which I would hope would be a
match for their values: respect for all human beings, respect for the environment, honesty
and love. I would tell them that I’m not prepared to support any corporate activity that is
not in line with these values.

Then, I’d point out that WalMart makes some important positive contributions to the
world. Three good examples are: First, that WalMart has significantly contributed to
creating markets for the products of developing countries, and is responsible for a good
piece of the prosperity of, for example, China. Second, that WalMart is creating a world-
wide marketing network, and third, that WalMart has decided to “go green,” and reduce
it’s environmental impacts in many ways, and to sell organic produce. So, I wouldn’t
necessarily change these things, but I would encourage people to more deeply understand
the processes that are being put in place, and encourage people to undertake these tasks
with sincerity.

For example, although WalMart has made a commitment to market organic produce,
organic consumer groups are noting that some of the food WalMart sells as “organic” is
perhaps only marginally or not at all “organic” by accepted standards, and that also
WalMart and other corporate farming interests are working hard to get the legal
definitions of “organic” softened and weakened. Neither would be supported by my
WalMart policies.

Under my leadership, there is no question that those famous “always low” prices would
creep up over time. And I know some people would be angry, because right now they
can’t afford to feed their kids unless they have access to WalMart’s super-cheap food. So
we would have to work on these issues. I would start a lot of Reach Out campaigns to
families with accurate, easy-to-understand education about nutrition and food costs. Part
of the high cost of food is the predominance of highly processed foods, and I would work
to turn some concepts of diet around, and change the way I bought and marketed foods to
working families.
One reason that my prices would be creeping up is that I would start to pay higher wages
and provide decent health benefits. I would do Reach Out campaigns that would do
things like run TV ads apologizing to the taxpayers of those states, such as Oregon,
where WalMart employees are the single largest group of employed persons seeking
public health insurance. I would explain in simple, clear language that paying part of
your grocery bill through your tax dollar isn’t fair, because this shifts the responsibility
for health benefits from the corporate pocket to the public pocket without anybody voting
to do that.

I would encourage the value of diversity—true diversity—and make sure that policies for
employment and advancement were fair, reflective of the host communities, and utilized
the diverse views and talents of the many people who worked there.

I would never, ever, ever ask elderly, sick people with broken, bruised veins and tired
bodies to work for me. I would refer those employees to programs that would help them
attain a livelihood without having to stand on their feet for hours.

I would address the issues of the disappearing American Main Street. I would change the
structure of my stores so that instead of being unilaterally monolithic, I would rent retail
space to local entrepreneurs, with the goal of reinstituting a kind of Main Street economy
for local regions. This goal would work along with my goal of selling really organic
foods, for example. Local farmers could have a preexisting network of retail space to
utilize.

AND, finally (and I guess I’m probably leaving lots of stuff out, like their policies of
shipping stuff and packaging and other important things) I’d have a world-wide contest
with some really wonderful prize for the person or persons who could figure out how to
best utilize all those “dead” empty WalMart store shells that they leave when they’ve
ravaged the retail economy of an area. I wouldn’t just let them sit there. I’d find a good
use for them or tear them down.

All this I would do, or try to do, if I were the CEO of WalMart.
First of all this would never happen!!!!! First , I am a woman, two I am honest and have
values, three I would not ever ever take the spirit from people making them pointless,
endless humans standing at a cash register inputing information to make a company grow
to a endless compost pile of bullshit. While I sit in the best seats at the ball park and horse
racing boxes, Nascar tickets, Corporate jets, my children drive BMWs and I get this giant
bonus check every year etc. My people have no health insurance, retirement, reasonable
sick and vacation days and I pay minimum wage. Most of my employees in need of
further education and a sense of direction to empower them to be inspirational for others
I'd first undertake a company-wide assessment of ways to improve the company's impact
on environmental, social, worker and customer spheres. I'd implement changes that
would have the greatest overall benefit, and ensure the process was going smoothly. I'd
next launch a large rebranding campaign to bring focus to the values behind the price tag
value, creating a multi-tiered presentation to bring to light as much of the good the
company does as possible.
Well, in many ways I think this is a big question in my life...first of all I am an alternative
healthcare practioner and, if you can believe it, also in one of the top MBA programs in
the country. Quite frankly, I was surprised they gave me the opportunity to participate in
the discussion and I am very grateful that perhaps there is a chance for "green to grow" in
our current economy. For those of you who have businesses or want to improve business
at large, I would recommend a book called "The Diamond Cutter" by Geshe Michael
Roche. It offers a modern telling of old wisdom, how by embracing the idea of karmic
law someone can alter their personal and, therefore, the global experience of business. I
am doing my best to incorporate these ideas into what I am doing, and at times, I feel
very at odds with the current system of training. But, again, as I heard from someone else
yesterday..."a problem is simply an opportunity to grow a new way of thinking".

If anyone has additional suggestions for reading and/or practice on increasing

consciousness in business, I would be very happy if you were to share.
I can only say that I would treat my employees well--paying more than minimum wage
and including benefits. I have seen that a satisfied work force makes an organization
stronger.
My answers to these questions will most likely get me banned from Zaadz but I will post
anyway! After all you did ask right?

As the CEO of Wal-Mart, or anyone I would:

Pay my taxes.
Provide free health and dental coverage for my employees.
Provide an extremely decent pension plan (that other companies might envy)
Compensation would be in keeping with current industry standardsand above.
Add one week of paid vacation for every year of employment not to exceed three
months.

As far as products go, I like what we have now at the price we have it at.
I notice that I went into a Wal-mart the other day and I bought a cheese- slicer which
broke at first slice. It was a Wal-mart brand. I took it back to the store, got my refund
added some more money to it and bought a better brand at another store.
That was my choice and I made it.

Being pissed off at Wal-mart for selling cheap or inferior goods is going the wrong way!
Everyone gets to decide where they want to shop and what they want to buy.
Sam's Cola or Coke Cola?
The choice is yours.
If I were the CEO of Wal-mart I would take 50% of quarterly profits and continuously
invest them into an endowment for the nations most underfunded public schools. Each
year the endowment would pay out around 80% of the overall growth, ensuring that
money goes out towards supplies, programs and facilities for students as well as, and
more importantly raising teachers salaries. It is logical to assume that if teaching were a
better paying career it could potentially evolve into a competitive job market, in turn
requiring a higher degree of excellence of teachers.
As for the remaining 50% of Wal-marts annual profits they should be fed back into the
company. Basically, scaling back on where those funds currently go. Can't take away all
that extra money as I'm sure it is currently being spent very wisely and in similarily
productive and proactive ways.
I would put an edutainment and networking venue in each facility called Creativity Cafe,
to facilitate creativity, peace, abundance, change, understanding and healing in every
patron.

Every store would have a "CCafe Tourguide/mentor) to help people understand and
navigate these rapid days of change in society, thought, education, entertainment,
technology and spirituality by providing edutainments in a social/business networking
environment that would serve their needs. People and resouces would automatically be
found and you would be alerted the moment you walked in the door with a notice of who
and what PRESENT in the store (or not) could serve you.

They might as well "shop" for mind food to serve their soul as well as their belly's and
creature comforts. I can see a similar networking and edutainment venue within Whole
Foods, too! Perhaps even a better place to start since there is more attention to
consciousness, awareness and peace raising by those patrons.
I would keep it up, with an attitude of helping not hurting customers - Keep adding new
products that are in demand (natural and organic are outgrowing traditional brands),
removing products that people are moving away from (those with health risks). I like the
trends that I'm seeing (the sum of good news minus bad).

Look at the new Wal-Marts that are going up. Here in Kentucky, the unhealthiest state in
the union, in a neighborhood that can be considered no more than middle-class, the new
Wal-Mart looks like a Wild Oats, circa 1996. Natual wood paneling, earth colors,
mellow lighting, it's like a ritzy delicatessen. Sections for Slow Foods, a large percentage
of the produce is organic, free range meats are advertised, organic cotten clothes are
prominent. And who's shopping here? Some of the poorest citizens of the Hikes Point
area -- a whole cross-section of the populus, white-collar and blue, white tan brown and
other, all pushing the same carts through the aisles. Reality is some form of capitalist
propaganda, isn't it?

If you think this is the road to hell, as many liberals.. scratch that, I'm a liberal.. as many
elites are claiming, then please do the world a favor and finish having your neurotic
breakdown. Take all your red-faced friends with you.

In thirty years, yes there will still be Wal-Marts stocked with cheap shoes and donuts you
can squeeze out of a tube... I'm not a utopian... but the meats, milks, breads, vegetables,
and fruits that are consumed by the widest segment of society, along with the clothes and
home products they buy, will be far more earth and earthling friendly than products today
and 30 years ago -- thanks to the market forces that Wal-Mart both rides and stirs. And
everyone will be benefitting, not just you.

(Oh, and the small stores that you bemoan Wal-Mart destroying? Drive through middle-
class and small-town America... they're back, too... better positioned in the heart of
eclectic, wealthier neighborhoods.)

If you're anti-Wal-Mart, you're anti-poor people. Deny it all you want, that's what you
are. Stop trying to do them a favor from your own comfy perch. Get out there and start a
better business, then hire them. That's what Sam Walton did. It will continue to happen
-- and we'll all go forward together
The Corporation presented an interesting and seemingly accurate spin on large
corporations: most exhibit psychopathic behavior. While I don't want to harp on "what's
wrong", I would like to see the social, economic, and environmental issues addressed
with an ethically responsible approach. Fair wages for employees, supporting local
economies, green structures (can you see a garden on the roof-top that provides produce
or at least insulation for the building?).

I love that the prior responses to this question have been so playful. That kind of fun and
positive attitude surely supports the creativity needed to make any necessary change.
This topic feels overwhelming to me if I think about it too long, so the humor and
lightness helps. There are so many books, documentaries, and articles written by great
thinkers on how to make these drastic changes. Education is always a key element in any
type of grand movement
I would first of all, change the main business plan and strategy of undercutting the
competition by having the lowest prices. Although it can be beneficial to the consumer,
it actually destroys a lot of businesses in the process. And that isn't necessarily limited to
the suppliers and its competition but many other businesses and even the community.

Although they stress that they support the local community, they can't make up for the
amount of damage they do.

By always undercutting everybody, they in turn bring down themselves. If the suppliers
can't afford to stay afloat, who will supply them the products for sale? Eventually, Wal-
mart will bring themselves down.

So, the first thing I will do is change their strategy of always having the lowest prices
(well, they don't always have the lowest prices) but at least, the undercutting their
suppliers has to go. Vlassic pickles was one of those businesses that was majorly
affected by the Wal-mart undercutting. I don't think as CEO I could sleep well at night
knowing that I caused this type of thing to happen. Sure, we have to be competitive to
stay in business but I wouldn't allow this type of thing to happen under my watch.
First of all, I would conduct an internal study, and probably an external study, of all the
effects of what Wal-Mart has done for the global economy, both good and bad, and bring
together the big wigs of Wal-Mart and those most critical of Wal-Mart and, with the facts
at hand, look together to find a way to make improvements to the way Wal-Mart operates
and even consider hiring a couple of the dissenters, who would help make sure that the
changes actually happen and would be able to better point out future problems
Liquidate everything and start a revolution. Help start all those little buisnesses back up.
Turn all those empty buildings into beautiful homeless shelters. Is it possible to plant on
top of soil on top of concreate? Probably not a good idea for the environment. But, I
could go the other route; Turn all the products into quality, fair trade, less varietyed, non-
imported goods. And returned all the money back to the community and the employees.
Start a positive thought wave through one of the most dominant corporations. then take
over mcdonalds and start pumping love into the organic mcgriddles. One by one. Each
human in this country and others would start being positive... All because they can't step
out of the routine, the pattern, the distraction... But that's okay, its absolutely perfect and
beautiful and one
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With Hannah Montana and the newest American Idol in the
house, Wal-Mart's CEO touted the retailer's improved performance at the annual shareholder
meeting Friday, saying he expects new customers to stick around even after the recession is
over.

"Our customers will stay with us when this economy turns around. I promise you that," Mike
Duke told the thousands of attendees at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.

Friday's gathering marked the first shareholder meeting as CEO for Duke, who took over the
reins from former CEO Lee Scott on Feb. 1.

Wal-Mart once again trotted out some big starpower at the gathering. Besides "Hannah
Montana" star Miley Cyrus -- who will launch a new clothing line at the story -- and recent
"Idol" winner Kris Allen, actor Ben Stiller and former basketball star Michael Jordan were in
attendance.

Rally cry: The meeting began with executives' rally cry of "Who's time is it? It's Wal-Mart
time."

"Winning feels good, doesn't it? Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores,
asked

That's because while most of its peers are struggling to survive in a recession, Wal-Mart
(WMT, Fortune 500), the world's largest retailer with annual sales of more than $400 billion,
is one of few merchants that's actually boosted its market share.

Not only are Wal-Mart's sales at its stores open at least a year -- a measure known as same-
store sales -- increasing during the downturn, it's also registering an uptick in the number of
people shopping at its stores as more consumers across all income levels shop for its low-
priced products.

According to sales tracker Thomson Reuters, Wal-Mart's same-store sales have risen 3.4%
so far this year. By contrast, there's an average 4.6% decline in the firm's same-store sales
index for 30 large retail chains, including Target (TGT, Fortune 500), J.C. Penney (JCP,
Fortune 500) and Macy's (M, Fortune 500).

"Our results are loud and clear. We have improved our comparable sales again and again,"
Castro-Wright said. "For five consecutive quarters we have had better same-store sales
growth than the market."

That trend, however, has not yet helped boost Wal-Mart's shares. Wal-Mart's stock has shed
9.3% of its value so far this year and has lost about 12% of its value over the past 12
months.
Wal-Mart also announced a new program to repurchase $15 billion of its shares. The plan
replaces a two-year-old $15 billion repurchase plan that had bought $11.6 billion in stock.

New "normal" in shopping behavior: One concern, according to industry analysts, is

whether or not Wal-Mart will be able to hold on its new customers when the economy
rebounds.

Craig Johnson, president of retail consultant Customer Growth Partners, said two of Duke's
biggest challenges will be how to retain the "new Wal-Mart Moms" it has gained over the
past year and identifying its next major growth engine versus incremental growth
opportunities over the next decade.

Duke, who headed Wal-Mart's international operations before taking the reins as CEO,
indicated his company is ready for the challenge.

"We are not going back," he said. "I do believe that this economic crisis worldwide has
brought a fundamental shift in consumer behavior.

"There is a 'new normal,' in which people want to save money and are getting smarter about
saving money," he added. "People appreciate the values at Wal-Mart."

He also cautioned against becoming complacent. "This is not a time to slow down and take
comfort in our success," Duke said." We need to be obsessed with understanding customers
however they shop, whether it's on a mobile phone, a laptop, or in a local store."

"We have to conduct ourselves not as a giant but as a nimble and innovative competitor in
every market," he said. "So this is not a time to slow down."

Employee plans: In addition to comments about Wal-Mart's business performance, Castro-

Wright said the retailer was going to focus on improving competitive pay and benefits for its
workers.

As the nation's largest private-sector employer, the company employs 1.45 million workers in
the United States and more than 2 million workers globally in 16 countries.

On Thursday, the retailer said it plans to hire more than 22,000 new workers this year for its
domestic stores.

However, Wal-Mart continues to come under fire from its critics, including labor unions, for its
pay and benefits policies.

Castro-Wright said Wal-Mart will implement a "new diversity strategy" that puts more women
and people of color in leadership positions. Currently, about 40% of the company's regional
general managers and senior vice presidents are people of color and more than 20% are
women, he said.

"How can we build a 21st century workforce? We may not find all the answers, but we will
lead," he said.

The annual meeting concluded with shareholders re-electing all 15 of Wal-Mart's board of
directors. Six shareholder proposals, including one making executive compensation tied to
performance and another involving recognition of gender identity, were defeated.
 Name Occupation Birth Death Known for
Jay Allen Business ? Senior VP at Wal-Mart, 1995-2005
Rosalind G. Brewer Business c. 1962 Senior VP at Wal-Mart
Paul R. Carter Business c. 1940 CFO of Wal-Mart, 1988-95
Eduardo Castro- c. 1953
Business Vice Chairman of Wal-Mart
Wright
Jim Donald Business ? President and CEO of Starbucks

c. 1950 Vice Chairman of Wal-Mart

Michael T. Duke Business
International

c. 1949 CEO of Hudson's Bay Company, 1997-

William R. Fields Business
99
David D. Glass Business c. 1935 CEO of Wal-Mart, 1988-2000
Joseph S. Hardin, Jr. Business c. 1945 CEO of Kinko's, 1997-2001
Linda P. Hefner Business c. 1960 EVP at Wal-Mart
10-Aug-
Jeanne P. Jackson Business 1951 CEO of Banana Republic, 1995-2000

Lawrence V. Jackson Business c. 1953 Wal-Mart executive

? CEO of Wal-Mart International, 1993-

Bob L. Martin Business
99
John B. Menzer Business c. 1950 Vice Chairman of Wal-Mart, 2005-08
Thomas M. Schoewe Business c. 1953 CFO of Wal-Mart
H. Lee Scott Business 1949 CEO of Wal-Mart, 2000-09

c. 1938 President and COO of Wal-Mart, 1978-

Jack C. Shewmaker Business
84
Francesca M. Spinelli Business c. 1952 Senior VP at PetSmart
B. Kevin Turner Business c. 1965 COO of Microsoft

1945 Wal-Mart Chairman, world's 10th

Rob Walton Business
richest man
29-Mar- 5-Apr- America's richest man, founded Wal-
Sam Walton Business 1918 1992 Mart
"The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think
about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good-
quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy;
friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience."
- Sam Walton (1918-1992)
Walmart.com is a lot like your neighborhood Wal-Mart store. We feature a great selection of high-
quality merchandise, friendly service and, of course, Every Day Low Prices. We also have another
goal: to bring you the best shopping experience on the Internet.
Founded in January 2000, Walmart.com is a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Our headquarters is
on the San Francisco Peninsula near Silicon Valley, where we have access to the world's deepest
pool of Internet executive and technical talent.
But we think of ourselves, first and foremost, as a retailer. So our ties to Bentonville, Ark. — where
Sam Walton opened the first store that bore the Walton name and where Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is
still based — give us our foundation. Read the Wal-Mart story.
We Foster the Ideals of Our Parent Company
From modest beginnings in northwestern Arkansas, Wal-Mart has grown to become a worldwide
household name.
At the heart of Wal-Mart's growth is the unique culture that "Mr. Sam" built. His business philosophy
was based on the simple idea of making the customer No. 1. He believed that by serving the
customer's needs first, his business would also serve its associates, shareholders, communities and
other stakeholders. A goal at Walmart.com is to bring Mr. Sam's culture and philosophy to the
Internet.
With Bentonville's support, Walmart.com taps into many things that have made Wal-Mart a
universally known brand — like excellent supplier relationships, highly efficient systems, an
unswerving commitment to Sam Walton's "Always Low Prices" philosophy and unrivaled retailers
who strive to make the customer No. 1.
Another Mission
Another Walmart.com goal — providing easy access to more Wal-Mart — is evident in the more than
1,000,000 products available online and in the innovative businesses that Walmart.com continues to
develop, such as Music Downloads and 1-Hour Photos, which gives customers the convenience of
ordering products online and picking them up at a local Wal-Mart.
In short, Walmart.com is passionate about combining the best of two great worlds — technology
and world-class retailing — to give customers a wide assortment of their favorite products, Every
Day Low Prices, guaranteed satisfaction, friendly service, convenient hours (24 hours, 7 days a
week) and a great online shopping
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large,
discount department stores. It is the world's largest public corporation by revenue,
according to the 2008 Fortune Global 500.[4] Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, it was
incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972.
Wal-mart is the largest private employer in the U.S.[5] and also the largest grocery retailer
in the United States, with an estimated 20% of the retail grocery and consumables
business. It also owns and operates the North American company, Sam's Club.

Wal-Mart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the UK as Asda, and in Japan as Seiyu. It

has wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart's
investments outside North America have had mixed results: its operations in South
America and China are highly successful, while it was forced to pull out of Germany and
South Korea when ventures there were unsuccessful[citation needed].

Wal-Mart has been criticized by some community groups, women's rights groups,
grassroots organizations, and labor unions, specifically for its extensive foreign product
sourcing, low rates of employee health insurance enrollment, resistance to union
representation, alleged sexism, and management efforts to pressure employees to vote for
specific parties during national elections. Conversely, others point out that Wal-Mart's
rapid growth and logistical efficiency has enabled it to bring lower prices to consumers
and more jobs and new small businesses to the communities in which it operates.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
o 1.1 Incorporation and growth
o 1.2 Recent initiatives
• 2 Operating Divisions
o 2.1 Wal-Mart Stores U.S.
 2.1.1 Wal-Mart Discount Stores
 2.1.2 Wal-Mart Supercenter
 2.1.3 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market
 2.1.4 Marketside
o 2.2 Sam's Club
o 2.3 Wal-Mart International
o 2.4 Private label brands
• 3 Corporate affairs
o 3.1 Financial
o 3.2 Governance
o 3.3 Competition
o 3.4 Customer base
o 3.5 Economic impact
 o 3.6 Employee and labor relations
o 3.7 Diversity
• 4 See also
o 4.1 Advocacy groups
o 4.2 Television and film
o 4.3 Other
• 5 References

• 6 External links

History

Sam Walton's original Walton's Five and Dime store in Bentonville, Arkansas, now
serving as the Wal-Mart Visitor's Center
Main article: History of Wal-Mart

Sam Walton, a businessman from Arkansas, began his retail career when he started work
on June 3, 1940, at a J.C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa where he remained for 18
months. In 1945, he met Butler Brothers, a regional retailer that owned a chain of variety
stores called Ben Franklin and that offered him one in Newport, Arkansas.[6]

Walton was extremely successful in running the store in Newport, far exceeding
expectations.[7] However, when the lease came up for renewal, Walton could neither
come to agreement on the existing store's lease renewal nor find a new location in
Newport. Instead, he opened a new Ben Franklin franchise in Bentonville, Arkansas, but
called it "Walton's Five and Dime." There, he achieved higher sales volume by marking
up slightly less than most competitors.[8]

On July 2, 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store located at 719
Walnut Ave. in Rogers, Arkansas. The building is now occupied by a hardware store and
a pawn shop. Within five years, the company expanded to 24 stores across Arkansas and
reached $12.6 million in sales.[9] In 1968, it opened its first stores outside Arkansas, in
Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma.[10]

Incorporation and growth

The company was incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on October 31, 1969. In 1970, it
opened its home office and first distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas. It had 38
stores operating with 1,500 employees and sales of $44.2 million. It began trading stock
as a publicly held company on October 1, 1972, and was soon listed on the New York
Stock Exchange. The first stock split occurred in May 1971 at a market price of $47. By
this time, Wal-Mart was operating in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri,
and Oklahoma; it entered Tennessee in 1973 and Kentucky and Mississippi in 1974. As it
moved into Texas in 1975, there were 125 stores with 7,500 employees and total sales of
$340.3 million.[10]

Logo used from 1992-2008 (2001-2009 in Canada, 1992-2009 in Mexico, although

Mexico used the current logo in December 2008). It is still used in Mainland China and
Brazil.

In the 1980s, Wal-Mart continued to grow rapidly, and by its 25th anniversary in 1987
there were 1,198 stores with sales of $15.9 billion and 200,000 associates.[10] This year
also marked the completion of the company's satellite network, a $24 million investment
linking all operating units of the company with its Bentonville office via two-way voice
and data transmission and one-way video communication. At the time, it was the largest
private satellite network, allowing the corporate office to track inventory and sales and to
instantly communicate to stores.[11] In 1988, Sam Walton stepped down as CEO and was
replaced by David Glass.[12] Walton remained as Chairman of the Board, and the
company also rearranged other people in senior positions.

Inside a Walmart Supercenter in Mexico

In 1988, the first Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Washington, Missouri.[13] Thanks to its
superstores, it surpassed Toys "R" Us in toy sales in the late 1990s.[14] The company also
opened overseas stores, entering South America in 1995 with stores in Argentina and
Brazil; and Europe in 1999, buying Asda in the UK for $10 billion.[15]

In 1998, Wal-Mart introduced the "Neighborhood Market" concept with three stores in
Arkansas.[16] By 2005, estimates indicate that the company controlled about 20% of the
retail grocery and consumables business.[17]
In 2000, H. Lee Scott became President and CEO, and Wal-Mart's sales increased to
$165 billion.[18] In 2002, it was listed for the first time as America's largest corporation on
the Fortune 500 list, with revenues of $219.8 billion and profits of $6.7 billion. It has
remained there every year, except for 2006.[19][20]

In 2005, Wal-Mart had $312.4 billion in sales, more than 6,200 facilities around the
world—including 3,800 stores in the United States and 2,800 elsewhere, employing more
than 1.6 million "associates" worldwide. Its U.S. presence grew so rapidly that only small
pockets of the country remained further than 60 miles (100 km) from the nearest Wal-
Mart.[21]

As Wal-Mart grew rapidly into the world's largest corporation, many critics worried
about the effect of its stores on local communities, particularly small towns with many
"mom and pop" stores. There have been several studies on the economic impact of Wal-
Mart on small towns and local businesses, jobs, and taxpayers. In one, Kenneth Stone, a
Professor of Economics at Iowa State University, found that some small towns can lose
almost half of their retail trade within ten years of a Wal-Mart store opening.[22] However,
in another study, he compared the changes to what small town shops had faced in the past
— including the development of the railroads, the advent of the Sears Roebuck catalog,
as well as the arrival of shopping malls — and concluded that shop owners who adapt to
changes in the retail market can thrive after Wal-Mart arrives.[22] A later study in
collaboration with Mississippi State University showed that there are "both positive and
negative impacts on existing stores in the area where the new supercenter locates."[23]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, Wal-Mart was able to use its
logistical efficiency in organizing a rapid response to the disaster, donating $20 million in
cash, 1,500 truckloads of free merchandise, food for 100,000 meals, as well as the
promise of a job for every one of its displaced workers.[24] An independent study by
Steven Horwitz of St. Lawrence University found that Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and
Lowe's, made use of their local knowledge about supply chains, infrastructure, decision
makers and other resources to provide emergency supplies and reopen stores well before
FEMA began its response.[25] While the company was overall lauded for its quick
response – amidst the criticisms of the Federal Emergency Management Agency –
several critics were nonetheless quick to point out that there still remain issues with the
company's labor relations issues.[26]

Recent initiatives

In October 2005, Wal-Mart announced it would implement several environmental

measures to increase energy efficiency. The primary goals included spending $500
million a year to increase fuel efficiency in Wal-Mart’s truck fleet by 25% over three
years and double it within ten, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in seven years,
reduce energy use at stores by 30%, and cut solid waste from U.S. stores and Sam’s
Clubs by 25% in three years. CEO Lee Scott said that Wal-Mart's goal was to be a "good
steward for the environment" and ultimately use only renewable energy sources and
produce zero waste.[27] The company also designed three new experimental stores in
McKinney, Texas, Aurora, Colorado, and Las Vegas, Nevada. with wind turbines,
photovoltaic solar panels, biofuel-capable boilers, water-cooled refrigerators, and
xeriscape gardens.[28] Despite much criticism of its environmental record, Wal-Mart took
a few steps in what is viewed as a positive direction, which included becoming the
biggest seller of organic milk and the biggest buyer of organic cotton in the world, as
well as reducing packaging and energy costs.[29] Wal-Mart also spent nearly a year
working with outside consultants to discover the company's total environmental impact
and find where they could improve. They discovered, for example, that by eliminating
excess packaging on their toy line Kid Connection, they could not only save $2.4 million
a year in shipping costs but also 3,800 trees and a million barrels of oil.[29] Wal-Mart has
also recently created its own electric company in Texas, Texas Retail Energy, and plans
to supply its stores with cheap power purchased at wholesale prices. Through this new
venture, the company expects to save $15 million annually and also lays the groundwork
and infrastructure to sell electricity to Texas consumers in the future.[30]

In March 2006, Wal-Mart sought to appeal to a more affluent demographic. The

company launched a new Supercenter concept in Plano, Texas, intended to compete
against stores seen as more upscale and appealing, such as Target.[31][32] The new store has
wood floors, wider aisles, a sushi bar, a coffee/sandwich shop with free Wi-Fi Internet
access, and more expensive beers, wines, electronics, and other goods. The exterior has a
hunter green background behind the Wal-Mart letters, similar to Wal-Mart Neighborhood
Markets, instead of the blue previously used at its supercenters.

On September 12, 2007, Wal-Mart introduced new advertising with the slogan, "Save
Money Live Better," replacing the "Always Low Prices, Always" slogan, which it had used
for the previous 19 years. Global Insight, which conducted the research that supported the
ads, found that Wal-Mart's price level reduction resulted in savings for consumers of
$287 billion in 2006, which equated to $957 per person or $2,500 per household (up
7.3% from the 2004 savings estimate of $2,329).[33]

On June 30, 2008, Wal-Mart unveiled a new company logo, featuring the non-
hyphenated name "Walmart" followed by a stylized spark, as it is referred to on store
advertisements. The new logo received mixed reviews from some design critics, who
question whether the new logo is as bold as competitors such as the Target bullseye or as
instantly recognizable as the former company logo, which was used for 18 years.[34] The
new logo made its debut on the company's walmart.com website on July 1, 2008,
although the old logo still appears on the corporate site, walmartstores.com. The new
logo will eventually replace store logos at the company's US locations throughout the
year.[35] Wal-Mart international have not yet adopted the new logo.

At the same time that AIG was criticized for using government bailout funds to awards
executives $165 million, Wal-Mart announced an expansion of its annual bonus program
to employees.[36] On March 20, 2009, Wal-Mart announced that it is paying a combined
$933.6 million in bonuses to every full and part time hourly worker of the company. An
additional $788.8 million in profit sharing, 401(k) contributions, and hundreds of millions
of dollars in merchandise discounts and contributions to the employees' stock purchase
plan is also included in this plan. While the economy at large was in an ongoing
recession, the largest retailer in the U.S. reported solid financial figures for the most
recent fiscal year (ending January 31, 2009), with $401.2 billion in net sales, a gain of
7.2% from the prior year. Income from continuing operations increased 3% to $13.3
billion, and earnings per share rose 6% to $3.35.[37]

Operating Divisions
See also: List of assets owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Wal-Mart's operations are organized into three divisions: Wal-Mart Stores U.S., Sam's
Club, and Wal-Mart International.[38] The company does business in nine different retail
formats: supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandise stores, bodegas (small
markets), cash and carry stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, soft
discount stores and restaurants.[38]

Wal-Mart Stores U.S.

Wal-Mart Stores U.S. is Wal-Mart's largest division, accounting for 67.2% of net sales
for financial year 2006.[38] It consists of three retail formats that have become
commonplace in the United States: Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood
Markets. The retail department stores sell a variety of mostly non-grocery products,
though emphasis has now shifted towards supercenters, which include more grocery
items. This division also includes Wal-Mart's online retailer, walmart.com.

In September 2006, Wal-Mart announced a new pilot program to sell generic drugs at just
$4 per prescription. The pilot program was launched at stores in the Tampa, Florida area,
and expanded to all stores in Florida by January 2007. While the average price of
generics is $29 per prescription, compared to $102 for name-brand drugs, Wal-Mart
maintains that it is not selling at a loss, or providing as an act of charity – instead, they
are using the same mechanisms of mass distribution that it uses to bring lower prices to
other products.[39]

On February 6, 2007, the company launched a "beta" version of its new movie download
service, mediadownloads.walmart.com, which sells 3,000 films and television episodes
from all major studios and television networks.[40] This service was discontinued on
December 21, 2007.[41]

Wal-Mart Discount Stores

A typical Wal-Mart discount department store in Laredo, Texas

Wal-Mart Discount Stores are discount department stores with size varying from
51,000 square feet (4,738.1 m2) to 224,000 square feet (20,810.3 m2), with an average
store covering about 102,000 square feet (9,476.1 m2).[38] They carry general merchandise
and a selection of food. Many of these stores also have a garden center, a pharmacy, Tire
& Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait studio, a bank
branch, a cell phone store and a fast food outlet. Some also have gasoline stations.[42]

The first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962.

In 1990, Wal-Mart opened its first Bud's Discount City location in Bentonville. Bud's
operated as a closeout store, much like Big Lots. Many locations were opened to fulfill
leases in shopping centers as Wal-Mart stores left and moved into newly built
Supercenters. All of the Bud's Discount City stores closed or converted into Wal-Mart
Discount Stores by 1997.[9][43]

As of January 31, 2008, there were 971 Wal-Mart Discount Stores in the United States. In
2006, the busiest in the world was one in Rapid City, South Dakota.[44]

Wal-Mart Supercenter

Wal-Mart Supercenters are hypermarkets with size varying from 98,000 square feet
(9,104.5 m2) to 261,000 square feet (24,247.7 m2), with an average of about
197,000 square feet (18,301.9 m2).[38] These stock everything a Wal-Mart Discount Store
does, and also include a full-service supermarket, including meat and poultry, baked
goods, delicatessen, frozen foods, dairy products, garden produce, and fresh seafood.
Many Wal-Mart Supercenters also have a garden center, pet shop, pharmacy, Tire &
Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait studio, and
numerous alcove shops, such as cellular phone stores, hair and nail salons, video rental
stores, local bank branches, and fast food outlets (usually Subway; several Supercenter
and discount locations have also had McDonald's locations, usually with reduced menus,
beginning in the early 1990s). Some Dunkin' Donuts or Blimpie restaurants can be found
inside Walmart Supercenters. Some also sell gasoline distributed by Murphy Oil
Corporation (whose Wal-Mart stations are branded as "Murphy USA"), Sunoco, Inc.
("Optima"), or Tesoro Corporation ("Mirastar").[42]
The first Supercenter opened in 1988 in Washington, Missouri. A similar concept,
Hypermart USA, opened in Garland, Texas a year earlier. All of the Hypermart USA
stores were later closed or converted into Supercenters.

As of January 31, 2008, there were 2,447 Wal-Mart Supercenters in the United States.[44]
The nation's largest Supercenter, covering 260,000 square feet (24,000 m2) and two
floors, is located in Crossgates Commons in Albany, New York.[45]

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market

Main article: Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Winter Springs, Florida

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets are grocery stores that average about 42,000 square
feet (3,901.9 m2).[38] They offer a variety of products, which include full lines of
groceries, pharmaceuticals, health and beauty aids, photo developing services, and a
limited selection of general merchandise.

Neighborhood Markets are used to fill the gap between Discount Stores and
Supercenters.

The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998 in Bentonville, Arkansas. As of January

31, 2008, there were 132 of them in the United States.[44]

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market now has the same logo as Wal-Mart does. However, this
change took place a few months after the new logo was introduced on June 30, 2008

Marketside

Main article: Marketside

Marketside is a new chain of grocery stores opened in October 2008, the stores are said to
be less than half the size of a conventional supermarket, as stated in the backgrounder
found on Wal-Mart's official homepage. Each of their stores is open from 7 a.m. to 10
p.m.

Sam's Club
Main article: Sam's Club

A typical Sam's Club store in Maplewood, Missouri

Sam's Club is a chain of warehouse clubs which sell groceries and general merchandise,
often in large quantities. Sam's Club stores are "membership" stores and most customers
buy annual memberships. However, non-members can make purchases either by buying a
one-day membership or paying a surcharge based on the price of the purchase.[46] Some
locations also sell gasoline.[42] The first Sam's Club opened in 1983 in Midwest City,
Oklahoma [46] under the name "Sam's Wholesale Club".

Sam's has found a niche market in recent years as a supplier to small businesses. All
Sam's Club stores are open early hours exclusively for business members and their slogan
is "We're in Business for Small Business." In March 2009, the company announced that it
plans to enter the electronic medical records business by offering a software package to
physicians in small practices for $25,000. Wal-Mart is partnering with Dell and
eClinicalWorks.com in this new venture.[47]

According to Wal-Mart's 2007 Annual Report, Sam's Club's sales during 2007 were $42
billion, or 12.1% of Wal-Mart's total 2007 sales.[48] As of January 31, 2008, there were
591 Sam's Clubs in the United States.[44]

Wal-Mart International

Wal-Mart's UK subsidiary, Asda

ASDA's headqaurters, ASDA House in Leeds

Bompreço in Natal, Brazil.

A Wal-Mart/Walmex store in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

A typical Wal-Mart store in Moncton, New Brunswick

Wal-Mart's international operations currently comprise 2,980 stores in 14 countries

outside the United States.[49] According to Wal-Mart's 2006 Annual Report, the
International division accounted for about 20.1% of sales.[38] There are wholly owned
operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico (although PR is part of the US, the
company's operations there are managed through its international division[49]), and the
UK. With 1.8 million employees worldwide, the company is the largest private employer
in the US and Mexico, and one of the largest in Canada.[50]

Wal-Mart has operated in Canada since its acquisition of 122 stores comprising the
Woolco division of Woolworth Canada, Inc in 1994.[51] As of October 31, 2008, it
operates 310 locations, employing 77,500 Canadians, with a local home office in
Mississauga, Ontario.[52] Wal-Mart Canada's first three Supercentres (spelled as in
Canadian English) opened on November 8, 2006, in Hamilton, London, and Aurora,
Ontario. As of October 31, 2008, there are 39 Wal-Mart Supercentres in Canada,[44].

Sales in 2006 for Wal-Mart's UK subsidiary, Asda (which retains the name it had before
acquisition by Wal-Mart), accounted for 42.7% of sales of Wal-Mart's international
division. In contrast to Wal-Mart's US operations, ASDA was originally and still remains
primarily a grocery chain, but with a stronger focus on non-food items than most UK
supermarket chains other than Tesco. At the end of 2007, ASDA had 340 stores, some of
which are branded ASDA Wal-Mart Supercentres, as well as ASDA Supermarkets,
ASDA Living, George High Street and ASDA Essentials stores.[53]

In addition to its wholly owned international operations, Wal-Mart has joint ventures in
China and several majority-owned subsidiaries. Wal-Mart's majority-owned subsidiary in
Mexico is Walmex. In Japan, Wal-Mart owns about 53% of Seiyu.[54] Additionally, Wal-
Mart owns 51% of the Central American Retail Holding Company (CARHCO),
consisting of more than 360 supermarkets and other stores in Guatemala, El Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.[55]

In 2004, Wal-Mart bought the 116 stores in the Bompreço supermarket chain in
northeastern Brazil. In late 2005, it took control of the Brazilian operations of Sonae
Distribution Group through its new subsidiary, WMS Supermercados do Brasil, thus
acquiring control of the Nacional and Mercadorama supermarket chains, the leaders in
the Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná states, respectively. None of these was rebranded. As
of August 2006, Wal-Mart operates 71 Bompreço stores, 27 Hiper-Bompreço stores, 15
Balaio stores, and three Hiper-Magazines (all originally parts of Bompreço). It also runs
19 Wal-Mart Supercenters, 13 Sam's Club stores, and two Todo Dia stores. With the
acquisition of Bompreço and Sonae, Wal-Mart is currently the third largest supermarket
chain in Brazil, behind Carrefour and Pão de Açúcar.[56]

In June 2006, Wal-Mart was excluded from the investment portfolio of The Government
Pension Fund of Norway, which held stock values of about US$ 430 million in the
company, due to a social audit into alleged labor rights violations in the company's
operations in the US and worldwide.[57][58] Although Wal-Mart did not respond to
questions from the fund's auditors, the company later claimed the decision "don't appear
to be based on complete information".[59]

In July 2006, Wal-Mart announced its withdrawal from Germany due to sustained losses
in a highly competitive market. The stores were sold to the German company Metro
during Wal-Mart's fiscal third quarter.[54][60]

In November 2006, Wal-Mart announced a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises to open
retail stores in India. As foreign corporations are not allowed to directly enter the retail
sector in India, Wal-Mart will operate through franchises and handle the wholesale end.
[61]
The partnership will involve two joint ventures; Bharti will manage the front end
involving opening of retail outlets, while Wal-Mart will take care of the back end, such as
cold chains and logistics.

In 2008, Wal-Mart named German retailing veteran Stephan Fanderl as the president of
Wal-mart Emerging Markets-East in an effort to, "explore retail business opportunities in
Russia and neighboring markets." The market is estimated to be worth more than $140
billion per year in food sales alone.[62]

In January 2009, the company acquired a controlling interest in the largest grocer in
Chile, Distribucion y Servicio D&S SA.[63]

Private label brands

Main article: List of Wal-Mart brands

About 40% of products sold in Wal-Mart are private label store brands, or products
offered by Wal-Mart and produced through contracts with manufacturers. Wal-Mart
began offering private label brands in 1991 with the launch of Sam's Choice, a brand of
drinks produced by Cott Beverages exclusively for Wal-Mart. Sam's Choice quickly
became popular, and by 1993 was the third beverage brand in the United States.[64] Other
Wal-Mart brands include Great Value and Equate in the US and Canada, and Smart Price
in Britain. A 2006 study talked of "the magnitude of mind-share Wal-Mart appears to
hold in shoppers' minds when it comes to awareness of private label brands and
retailers."[65]

Corporate affairs
Wal-Mart's business model is based on selling a wide variety of general merchandise at
"always low prices."[38] The company refers to its employees as "associates". All Wal-
Mart stores in the US and Canada also have designated "greeters", who welcome
shoppers at the store entrance.[66]

In June, 2007. Wal-Mart announced it was retiring the blue vest its 1.5 million associates
wear, and replacing it with khakis and polos. The replacement was to help Wal-Mart
increase sales.

Unlike many other retailers, Wal-Mart does not charge a slotting fee to suppliers for their
products to appear in the store.[67] Instead, it focuses on selling more popular products and
often pressures store managers to drop unpopular products, as well as asking
manufacturers to supply more popular products.[67]

On September 14, 2006, the company announced that it would phase out its layaway
program, citing declining use and increased costs.[68] Layaway ceased to be offered on
November 19, 2006, and required merchandise pickup by December 8, 2006. Wal-Mart
now focuses on other payment options, such as increased use of six- and twelve-month,
zero-interest financing. The layaway location in most stores is now used for Wal-Mart's
Site-To-Store program, which was introduced in March 2007. This enables walmart.com
customers to buy goods online with a free shipping option, and have goods shipped to the
nearest store for pickup.[69]

Financial

In 2006, Wal-Mart was 67th most profitable corporation (profits divided by total
revenue), behind retailers Home Depot, Dell, and Target, and ahead of Costco and
Kroger.[70] For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart reported a net income
of $12 billion on $340 billion of sales revenue (3.5% profit margin).[71] For the fiscal year
ending January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart's international operations accounted for about 20.1%
of total sales.[38]

Governance

Wal-Mart is governed by a fifteen-member Board of Directors, which is elected annually

by shareholders. Robson Walton, the eldest son of founder Sam Walton, serves as
Chairman of the Board. Michael T. Duke serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and
Lee Scott, formerly CEO, serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board.
Other members of the board include Aída Álvarez, James Breyer, M. Michele Burns,
James Cash, Roger Corbett, Douglas Daft, David Glass, Gregory B. Penner, Allen
Questrom, Arne M. Sorenson, Jim Walton, Christopher J. Williams, and Linda S. Wolf.
[72]

Notable former members of the board include Hillary Clinton (1985–1992)[73] and Tom
Coughlin (2003–2004), the latter having served as Vice Chairman. Clinton left the board
before the 1992 U.S. Presidential Election, and Coughlin left in December 2005 after
pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars
from Wal-Mart.[74] On August 11, 2006, he was sentenced to 27 months of home
confinement, five years of probation, and ordered to pay $411,000 in restitution.[75]

Competition

In North America, Wal-Mart's primary competition includes department stores like

Kmart, Target, ShopKo and Meijer, Canada's Zellers, Winners, The Real Canadian
Superstore and Giant Tiger, and Mexico's Comercial Mexicana and Soriana. Competitors
of Wal-Mart's Sam's Club division are Costco, and the smaller BJ's Wholesale Club chain
operating mainly in the eastern US. Wal-Mart's move into the grocery business in the late
1990s also set it against major supermarket chains in both the United States and Canada.
Several smaller retailers, primarily dollar stores, such as Family Dollar and Dollar
General, have been able to find a small niche market and compete successfully against
Wal-Mart for home consumer sales.[76] In 2004, Wal-Mart responded by testing its own
dollar store concept, a subsection of some stores called "Pennies-n-Cents."[77]

Wal-Mart also had to face fierce competition in some foreign markets. For example, in
Germany it had captured just 2% of German food market following its entry into the
market in 1997 and remained "a secondary player" behind Aldi with a 19% share.[78] In
July 2006, Wal-Mart announced its withdrawal from Germany. Its stores were sold to
German company Metro.[60] Wal-Mart continues to do well in the UK, and its Asda
subsidiary is the second largest chain after Tesco.[79]

In May 2006, after entering the South Korean market in 1998, Wal-Mart withdrew and
sold all 16 of its South Korean outlets to Shinsegae, a local retailer, for $882 million.
Shinsegae re-branded the Wal-Marts as E-mart stores.[80]

Wal-Mart struggled to export its brand elsewhere as it rigidly tried to reproduce its model
overseas. In China, Wal-Mart hopes to succeed by adapting and doing things preferable
to Chinese citizens. For example, it found that Chinese consumers preferred to select
their own live fish and seafood; stores began displaying the meat uncovered and installed
fish tanks, leading to higher sales.[81]

In addition, under heavy pressure from the Chinese government, Wal-Mart accepted a
form of organized labor in China. Chinese labor unions do not negotiate contracts but
simply pay dues to the government, "to secure the social order." However, Chinese
consumers may be more open to Americana than shoppers in Europe.[82]

Customer base

Street sign for Wal★Mart Drive near Gordon, Pennsylvania

Each week, about 100 million customers, nearly one-third of the U.S. population, visit
Wal-Mart's U.S. stores.[83] Wal-Mart customers give low prices as the most important
reason for shopping there, reflecting the "Low prices, always" advertising slogan that
Wal-Mart used from 1962 until 2006.[84] The average US Wal-Mart customer's income is
below the national average, and analysts recently estimated that more than one-fifth of
them lack a bank account, twice the national rate.[85] A Wal-Mart financial report in 2006
also indicated that Wal-Mart customers are sensitive to higher utility costs and gas prices.
[86]
A poll indicated that after 2004 US Presidential Election 76% of voters who shopped
at Wal-Mart once a week voted for George W. Bush, while only 23% supported senator
John Kerry.[87] When measured against other similar retailers in the U.S., frequent Wal-
Mart shoppers were rated the most politically conservative.[88]

In 2006, Wal-Mart took steps to expand its US customer base, announcing a modification
in its US stores from a "one-size-fits-all" merchandising strategy to one designed to
"reflect each of six demographic groups – African-Americans, the affluent, empty-
nesters, Hispanics, suburbanites and rural residents."[89] Around six months later, it
unveiled a new slogan: "Saving people money so they can live better lives". This reflects
the three main groups into which Wal-Mart categorizes its 200 million customers: "brand
aspirationals" (people with low incomes who are obsessed with names like KitchenAid),
"price-sensitive affluents" (wealthier shoppers who love deals), and "value-price
shoppers" (people who like low prices and cannot afford much more).[84] Wal-Mart has
also made steps to appeal to more liberal customers, for example, by rejecting the
American Family Association's recommendations and carrying the DVD Brokeback
Mountain, a love story between two gay cowboys in Wyoming.[90]

Economic impact

Wal-Mart is one of the largest corporations in the world.[19] Studies have found both
positive and negative effects on local businesses, jobs and taxpayers.

Kenneth Stone, Professor of Economics at Iowa State University, in a paper published in

Farm Foundation in 1997, found that some small towns can lose almost half of their
retail trade within ten years of a Wal-Mart store opening.[22] However, he compared the
changes to previous competitors small town shops have faced in the past—from the
development of the railroads and the Sears Roebuck catalog to shopping malls. He
concludes that shop owners who adapt to the ever changing retail market can thrive after
Wal-Mart comes to their community.[22] A subsequent study in collaboration with
Mississippi State University indicated that there are "both positive and negative impacts
on existing stores in the area where the new supercenter locates."[23]

A June 2006 article published by the libertarian Ludwig von Mises Institute suggested
that Wal-Mart has a positive impact on small business.[91] It argued that while Wal-Mart's
low prices caused some existing businesses to close, the chain also created new
opportunities for other small business, and so "the process of creative destruction
unleashed by Wal-Mart has no statistically significant impact on the overall size of the
small business sector in the United States."[92]

A Loyola University Chicago study which suggested that impact a Wal-Mart store has on
a local business is correlated to its distance from that store. The leader of that study
admits that this factor is stronger in smaller towns and doesn't apply to more urban areas
saying "It'd be so tough to nail down what's up with Wal-Mart".[93]

For the concern of jobs, a study commissioned by Wal-Mart with consulting firm Global
Insight, found that its stores' presence saves working families more than US$2,500 per
year, while creating more than 210,000 jobs in the U.S.[94][95] Alternately the Economic
Policy Institute estimates that 196,000 jobs were lost between 2001-2006,[96] and 68% of
jobs lost were manufacturing jobs. Another study by Global Insight has found that Wal-
Mart's growth between 1985 and 2004 resulted in food-at-home prices that were 9.1%
lower and overall prices (as measured by the Consumer Price Index) that were 3.1%
lower than they would otherwise have been.[97]

Another study at the University of Missouri found that a new store increases net retail
employment in the county by 100 jobs in the short term, half of which disappear over five
years as other retail establishments close.[98]
Studies of Wal-Mart show consumers benefit from lower costs. A 2005 Washington Post
story reported that "Wal-Mart's discounting on food alone boosts the welfare of American
shoppers by at least $50 billion per year."[99] A study in 2005 at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology measured the effect on consumer welfare and found that the poorest segment
of the population benefits the most from the existence of discount retailers.[100] A 2004
paper by two professors at Pennsylvania State University found that U.S. counties with
Wal-Mart stores suffered increased poverty compared with counties without Wal-Marts.
[101]
They hypothesized, to explain their results: This could be due to the displacement of
workers from higher-paid jobs in the retailers customers no longer choose to patronize,
Wal-Mart providing less local charity than the replaced businesses, or a shrinking pool of
local leadership and reduced social capital due to a reduced number of local independent
businesses.[101] Dr Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the
Hidden Battle for the World Food System, said in a lecture at the University of
Melbourne on 18 September 2007, that a study in Nebraska looked at two different Wal-
Marts, the first of which had just arrived and “was in the process of driving everyone else
out of business but, to do that, they cut their prices to the bone, very, very low prices”. In
the other Wal-Mart, “they had successfully destroyed the local economy, there was a sort
of economic crater with Wal-Mart in the middle; and, in that community, the prices were
17 per cent higher”.[102]

Employee and labor relations

See also: Criticism of Wal-Mart

A protest in Utah against Wal-Mart

Labor unions, Christian organizations,[103][104] and environmental groups[105] have criticized

Wal-Mart for its policies and/or business practices. In particular, several labor unions
blame Wal-Mart workers' unwillingness to join their organizations on the company's anti-
union stance. Others disapprove of the corporation's extensive foreign product sourcing,
treatment of employees and product suppliers, environmental practices, and use of public
subsidies, and the impact of stores on the local economies of towns in which they
operate.[106][107][108]

In 2005, two labor unions launched campaigns portraying Wal-Mart negatively. These
included Wake Up Wal-Mart (United Food and Commercial Workers) and Wal-Mart
Watch (Service Employees International Union). By the end of 2005, Wal-Mart launched
Working Families for Wal-Mart, an operation managed by Wal-Mart to tell the
company's side of the story. Additional efforts to counter criticism included a PR
campaign in 2005, managed through its PR website walmartfacts.com,[109] as well as
several television commercials. The company retained the PR firm Edelman to respond to
negative media attention,[110] and started interacting directly with bloggers by sending
them news, suggesting topics for postings, and sometimes inviting them to visit its
corporate headquarters.[111]

In the past, Wal-mart has been accused of locking night-shift workers in at night,[112]
paying employees below minimum wage, and exposing employees to health hazards.[58]
Wal-Mart's own "Standards for Suppliers" reports document extensive problems of this
kind among the company's "directly-sourced" factories.[113] Full-time Wal-Mart
employees earn an average of $10.78 per hour, but critics point out that the starting pay
can be far lower — placing some employees with children below the poverty line — and
that payrates do not rise as quickly as with unionized companies.[114] Others decry low
levels of health coverage or overpriced health insurance, though the company reports that
it offers rates as low as $5 per month in some areas ($9 per month nationwide) and that
92% of its associates are insured (though not necessarily through Wal-Mart).[115] Other
grievances regard poor working conditions, unfavorable employer-employee
relationships, and anti-union policies. Many suggest that Wal-Mart's high annual
turnover-rate of ~70% shows that workers are dissatisfied and maltreated.[114]

In response, Jay Nordlinger of National Review argues that Wal-Mart is attacked simply
because it is a leader of the Fortune 500 list or the largest employer in America, and a
"free-market success story".[116] Penn & Teller devoted an episode of their show to an
analysis of Wal-Mart criticism as a social movement. They theorized that despite the
noble rhetoric, the real motivation of "Wal-Mart haters" was rooted in human
psychology. They suggested that hating Wal-Mart permits a person "to feel better about
themselves" for three main reasons: They "don't run a greedy international
conglomerate", they aren't Wal-Mart workers, widely considered "low-skilled, minimum
wage drones", and they aren't Wal-Mart customers thought of as "toothless, welfare-
getting hillbillies".[117] Wal-Mart stores are unionized in every country outside of North
America.[118]

Wal-Mart has opposed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would make it
easier for workers to unionize by removing the employer's right to demand a secret ballot
in union elections, and which would require mandatory arbitration of labor disputes. In
mid-2008, the company required store managers and department heads to attend meetings
at which opposition to the EFCA was used as a fulcrum for criticism of Democratic
candidates in the elections for the United States Senate and the House of Representatives,
as well as of the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama.
At these meetings, Wal-Mart human resources managers warned that Democratic
victories might result in passage of the EFCA and hence more unionization. At one
meeting, a Wal-Mart customer service supervisor from Missouri stated, "I am not telling
you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote
on whether you want a union.[119] A Wal-Mart spokesman, while acknowledging that the
meetings were taking place nationwide, said, "If anyone representing Wal-Mart gave the
impression we were telling associates how to vote, they were wrong and acting without
approval."[119] Several labor-rights groups including the AFL-CIO have asked the Federal
Election Commission to investigate whether Wal-Mart broke federal election rules by
advocating against Democratic candidate Barack Obama in meetings with employees.[120]

Diversity

Wal-Mart is currently facing a gender discrimination lawsuit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores,

Inc., which alleges that female employees were discriminated against in matters
regarding pay and promotions. If the class action is certified, it would be the largest such
lawsuit in history, covering 1.5 million women according to the plaintiffs.[121] A
December 2007 United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2–1 ruling[122]
affirming the class certification has been vacated by the court for en banc review.[123][124]
According to a consultant hired by plaintiffs in a sex discrimination lawsuit, in 2001,
Wal-Mart's EEOC filings showed that female employees made up 65% of Wal-Mart's
hourly paid workforce, but only 33% of its management.[125][126] Just 35% of its store
managers were women, whereas 57% were at comparable retailers.[126] Wal-Mart says
comparisons with other retailers are unfair, because it classifies employees differently; if
department managers were included in the totals, women would make up 60% of the
managerial ranks.[126] Others have criticized the lawsuit as without basis in the law and as
an abuse of the class action mechanism.[127][128][129] In 2007, Wal-Mart was named by the
National Association for Female Executives as one of the top 35 companies for Executive
Women.[130]

Wal-Mart's rating on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, a measure
of how companies treat LGBT employees and customers, has fluctuated widely during
the past decade, from a low of 14% (2002) to 65% (2006). They were praised for
expanding their antidiscrimination policy protecting gay and lesbian employees,[131] as
well as for a new definition of "family" that included same-sex partners.[132][133] However,
they have been criticized in other areas, such as not renewing its membership in the
National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which is reflected in their 2008 rating
of 40% (compared to Target at 80% and Kmart at 100%).[134]

In January 2006, Wal-Mart announced that "diversity efforts include new groups of
minority, female and gay employees that meet at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville
to advise the company on marketing and internal promotion. There are seven Business
Resource Groups: women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans,
Gays and Lesbians, and a disabled group."[135]

See also
Advocacy groups

• Wake Up Wal-Mart – a union-backed campaign group

• Wal-Mart Watch – a joint project of The Center for Community and Corporate
Ethics studying the impact of large corporations on society
• Working Families for Wal-Mart – an advocacy group run by Wal-Mart and the
Edelman public relations firm
Television and film

• Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price – a 2005 documentary film by director
Robert Greenwald
• Why Wal-Mart Works; and Why That Drives Some People C-R-A-Z-Y – a 2005
rebuttal to the Greenwald documentary
• Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes – a 2004 episode of Comedy Central's
South Park
Criticism of Wal-Mart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

A typical Wal-Mart Supercenter in Madison Heights, Virginia

Wal-Mart has been subject to criticism by various groups and individuals. Labor unions,
community groups, grassroots organizations, religious organizations, and environmental
groups protest against Wal-Mart, the company's policies and business practices, and Wal-
Mart customers.[1][2][3] Other areas of criticism include the corporation's foreign product
sourcing, treatment of product suppliers, environmental practices, the use of public
subsidies, and the company's security policies.[4] Wal-Mart denies doing anything wrong
and maintains that low prices are the result of efficiency.[5][6][7]

In 2005, labor unions created new organizations and websites to influence public opinion
against Wal-Mart, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (United Food and Commercial
Workers) and Wal-Mart Watch (Service Employees International Union). By the end of
2005, Wal-Mart had launched Working Families for Wal-Mart to counter criticisms made
by these groups. Additional efforts to counter criticism include launching a public
relations campaign in 2005 through its public relations website,[8] which included several
television commercials. The company retained the public relations firm Edelman to
interact with the press and respond to negative or biased media reports,[9] and has started
interacting directly with bloggers by sending them news, suggesting topics for postings,
and sometimes inviting them to visit Walmart's corporate headquarters.[10]

Some economists[who?] suggest that Wal-Mart is a success because it sells products that
people want to buy at low prices, satisfying customer's wants and needs. However, Wal-
Mart critics argue at the same time Wal-Mart's lower prices draw customers away from
other smaller businesses, hurting the community.[11][12]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Local communities
• 2 Allegations of predatory pricing and supplier issues
• 3 Employee and labor relations
o 3.1 Wages
o 3.2 Working conditions
 3.2.1 Child labor violations
 3.2.2 Use of illegal workers
o 3.3 Health insurance
o 3.4 Labor union opposition
• 4 Imports and globalization
o 4.1 Overseas labor concerns
• 5 Product selection
• 6 Taxes
• 7 See also
• 8 References

• 9 External links

[edit] Local communities

Wal-Mart opened its Teotihuacán Superstore near the Pyramid of the Moon (shown)
amid community protests.

When Wal-Mart plans new store locations, activists sometimes oppose the new store and
attempt to block its construction. Opponents to the new Wal-Mart cite concerns such as
traffic congestion, environment problems, public safety, absentee landlordism, bad public
relations, low wages and benefits, and predatory pricing.[13][14][15][16][17] Opposition
sometimes includes protest marches by competitors, activists, labor unions, and religious
groups.[18][19][20] In some instances, activists demonstrated opposition by causing property
damage to store buildings or by creating bomb scares.[21][22] Some city councils have
denied permits to developers if they plan to include a Wal-Mart in their project. Those
who defend Wal-Mart cite consumer choice, the overall benefits to the economy, and
object to bringing the issue into the political arena.[23]

A Wal-Mart Superstore opened in 2004 in Mexico, 1.9 miles away from the historic
Teotihuacán archaeological site and Pyramid of the Moon.[24] Although Wal-Mart's
proposal received protest and media attention, the location was supported by Mexico's
National Anthropology Institute, the United Nations, and the Paris-based International
Council on Monuments and Sites.[25] Local merchants, helped by environmental groups
and anti-globalization groups opposed the construction,[26] and poet Homero Aridjis
joined the protest characterizing the opening as "supremely symbolic" and "...like
planting the staff of globalization in the heart of ancient Mexico."[27]

Archaeologists oversaw construction and discovered a small clay and stone altar along
with some other artifacts where the store's parking lot is now located.[24]

In 1998, Wal-Mart proposed construction of a store off Charlotte Pike near Nashville,
Tennessee. The building site was home to both Native American burial grounds and a
Civil War battle site. Protests were mounted by Native Americans and Civil War interest
groups, but the Wal-Mart store was eventually constructed after moving graves and some
modifications of the site so as not to interfere with the battlefield.[28] Civil War relics were
also discovered at the site. The project developers donated land to permit access to the
Civil War historic site.[29] The Indian burials were removed and re-buried.[28]

[edit] Allegations of predatory pricing and supplier

issues
Wal-Mart has been accused of selling merchandise at such low costs that competitors
have tried to sue it for predatory pricing (intentionally selling a product at low cost in
order to drive competitors out of the market). In 1995, in the case of Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc. v. American Drugs, Inc., pharmacy retailer American Drugs accused Wal-Mart of
selling items at too low a cost for the purpose of injuring competitors and destroying
competition. The Supreme Court of Arkansas ruled in favor of Wal-Mart saying that its
pricing, including the use of loss leaders, was not predatory pricing.[15] In 2000, the
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection accused Wal-
Mart of selling butter, milk, laundry detergent, and other staple goods at low cost, with
the intention of forcing competitors out of business and gaining a monopoly in local
markets.[30] Crest Foods filed a similar lawsuit in Oklahoma, accusing Wal-Mart of
predatory pricing on several of its products, in an effort to drive Crest Foods's own
company-owned store in Edmond, Oklahoma out of business.[31] Both cases were settled
out of court with no fine and no admission of wrongdoing.

In 2003, Mexico's antitrust agency, the Federal Competition Commission, investigated

Wal-Mart for "monopolistic practices" prompted by charges that the retailer pressured
suppliers to sell goods below cost or at prices significantly less than those available to
other stores. Mexican authorities found no wrong-doing on the part of Wal-Mart.[32]
However, in 2003, Germany's High Court ruled that Wal-Mart's low cost pricing strategy
"undermined competition" and ordered Wal-Mart and two other supermarkets to raise
their prices. Wal-Mart won appeal of the ruling, then the German Supreme Court
overturned the appeal.[17] Wal-Mart has since sold its stores in Germany.

Wal-Mart has been accused of using monopsony power to force its suppliers into self-
defeating practices. For example, Barry C. Lynn, a senior fellow at the New America
Foundation (a think tank), argues that Wal-Mart's constant demand for lower prices
caused Kraft Foods to "shut down thirty-nine plants, to let go [of] 13,500 workers, and to
eliminate a quarter of its products."[33] Kraft was unable to compete with other suppliers
and claims the cost of production had gone up due to higher energy and raw material
costs. Lynn argues that in a free market, Kraft could have passed those costs on to its
distributors and ultimately consumers.[33]

For example, most Wal-Mart store pharmacies fill many generic prescriptions for $4 for a
month's supply. However, in California and ten other states, complaints from other
pharmacies has resulted in Wal-Mart being required to charge at least $9 for a month's
supply of certain drugs.[34]

[edit] Employee and labor relations

With close to two million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart has faced a torrent of lawsuits
and issues with regards to its workforce. These issues involve low wages, poor working
conditions, inadequate health care, as well as issues involving the company's strong anti-
union policies. Critics point to Wal-Mart's high turnover rate as evidence of an unhappy
workforce, although other factors may be involved. Approximately 70% of its employees
leave within the first year.[35] Despite the turnover rate the company still is able to affect
unemployment rates. This was found in a study by Oklahoma State University which
states, "Wal-Mart is found to have substantially lowered the relative unemployment rates
of blacks in those counties where it is present, but to have had only a limited impact on
relative incomes after the influences of other socio-economic variables were taken into
account"[36] While this study really found no significance in unemployment rates, it could
be argued that there is still an impact on job availability even though it is minor.

[edit] Wages

The activist group Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) said "in 2006
Wal-Mart reports that full time hourly associates received, on average, $10.11 an hour."
It further calculated that working 34 hours per week an employee earns $17,874 per year
and claimed that is about twenty percent less than the average retail worker. (The number
of hours the "average retail worker" worked was not specified) The report from LAANE
further opines that this pay is "over $10,000 less than what the average two-person family
needs."[37] Wal-Mart managers are judged, in part, based on their ability to control payroll
costs. Some say this puts extra pressure on higher-paid workers to be more productive.[38]
By contrast, Wal-Mart insists its wages are generally in line with the current local market
in retail labor[39], although direct comparisons are complicated because Wal-Mart
employs more part time workers, and the company's more extensive training, supervision,
and automation provides opportunity to workers with little or no experience or skills,
which may account for wage differences. Wal-Mart grants "full time" benefits to those
working as little as 34 hours per week, but does not limit workers to just 34 hours per
week. The company does control labor costs by such ways as discouraging overtime, and
by the use of "off the clock" labor. There have been numerous lawsuits against Wal-Mart
by former employees because of this problem. [40]

Other critics have noted that in 2001, the average wage for a Wal-Mart Sales Clerk was
$8.23 per hour, or $13,861 a year, while the federal poverty line for a family of three was
$14,630.[41] The company has hired low-skilled workers since its inception. Wal-Mart
founder Sam Walton once said, "I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We're
going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of
employment."[42]

In August 2006, Wal-Mart announced that it would roll out an average pay increase of
6% for all new hires at 1,200 U.S. Wal-Mart and Sam's Club locations, but the same time
would institute pay caps on veteran workers.[43] While Wal-Mart maintains that the
measures are necessary to stay competitive, critics believe that the salary caps are
primarily an effort to push higher-paid veteran workers out of the company.[43]

Because Wal-Mart employs part-time and relatively low paid workers, some workers
may partially qualify for state welfare programs. This has led critics to claim that Wal-
Mart increases the burden on taxpayer-funded services.[44][45] A 2002 survey by the state
of Georgia's subsidized healthcare system, PeachCare, found that Wal-Mart was the
largest private employer of parents of children enrolled in its program; one quarter of the
employees of Georgia Wal-Marts qualified to enroll their children in the federal
subsidized healthcare system Medicaid.[46] A 2004 study at the University of California,
Berkeley charges that Wal-Mart's low wages and benefits are insufficient, and although
decreasing the burden on the social safety net to some extent, California taxpayers still
pay $86 million a year to Walmart employees.[47][48]

[edit] Working conditions

Wal-Mart has also faced accusations involving poor working conditions of its employees.
For example, a 2005 class action lawsuit in Missouri asserted approximately 160,000 to
200,000 people who were forced to work off-the-clock, were denied overtime pay, or
were not allowed to take rest and lunch breaks.[49] In 2000, Wal-Mart paid $50 million to
settle a class-action suit that asserted that 69,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees
in Colorado had been forced to work off-the-clock.[49] The company has also faced
similar lawsuits in other states, including Pennsylvania,[50] Oregon and [51] Minnesota. [52]
Class-action suits were also filed in 1995 on behalf of full-time Wal-Mart pharmacists
whose base salaries and working hours were reduced as sales declined, resulting in the
pharmacists being treated like hourly employees.[53]
Wal-Mart also has a few ethical problems as well. It is said that the Wal-Mart employees
are gender discriminated when trying to be hired and treated in the work area. In Duke vs.
Wal-Mart inc., which was a discrimination case where 1.5 billion on behalf of more than
1.5 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart’s 3,400 stores across the
United States. (9th circuit 2007) Dr. William Bliebly who evaluated Wal-Mart’s
employment policies "against what social science research shows to be factors that create
and sustain bias and those that minimize bias” (Bliebly) and he finished by saying, the
men and women not being created equal in the workforce is what Wal-Mart is doing and
what they should essentially not be doing.

On October 16, 2006, approximately 200 workers on the morning shift at a Wal-Mart
Super Center in Hialeah Gardens, Florida walked out in protest against new store policies
and rallied outside the store, shouting "We want justice" and criticizing the company's
recent policies as "inhuman."[54] This marks the first time that Wal-Mart has faced a
worker-led revolt of such scale, according to both employees and the company.[54]
Reasons for the revolt included cutting full-time hours, a new attendance policy, and pay
caps that the company imposed in August 2006, compelling workers to be available to
work any shift (day, swing or night), and that shifts that would be assigned by computers
at corporate headquarters and not by local managers. Wal-Mart quickly held talks with
the workers, addressing their concerns.[54] Wal-Mart asserts that its policy permits
associates to air grievances without fear of retaliation.[55]

The 2004 report by U.S. representative George Miller alleged that in ten percent of Wal-
Mart's stores, nighttime employees were locked inside, holding them prisoner.[56] There
has been some concern that Wal-Mart's policy of locking its nighttime employees in the
building has been implicated in a longer response time to dealing with various employee
emergencies, or weather conditions such as hurricanes in Florida.[57] Wal-Mart said this
policy was to protect the workers, and the store's contents, in high-crime areas and
acknowledges that some employees were inconvenienced in some instances for up to an
hour as they had trouble locating a manager with the key. However, fire officials confirm
that at no time were fire exits locked or employees blocked from escape. Wal-Mart has
advised all stores to ensure the door keys are available on site at all times.[57] The issue
has become less of a problem with the increase in the number of twenty-four hour stores.

[edit] Child labor violations

In January 2004, the New York Times reported on an internal Wal-Mart audit conducted
in July 2000, which examined one week's time-clock records for roughly 25,000
employees.[58] According to the Times, the audit, "pointed to extensive violations of
child-labor laws and state regulations requiring time for breaks and meals," including
1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in
a day.[58] There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times.[58] Wal-Mart’s
vice president for communications responded that company auditors had determined that
the methodology used was flawed, and the company "did not respond to it in any way
internally."[58]
[edit] Use of illegal workers

Wal-Mart has been accused of allowing illegal immigrants to work in its stores. In one
case, federal investigators say Wal-Mart executives knew that contractors were using
illegal immigrants as they had been helping the federal government with an investigation
for the previous three years.[59] Some critics said that Wal-Mart directly hired illegal
immigrants, while Wal-Mart claims they were employed by contractors who won bids to
work for Wal-Mart.[60]

On October 23, 2003, federal agents raided 61 Wal-Mart stores in 21 U.S. states in a
crackdown known as "Operation Rollback," resulting in the arrests of 250 nightshift
janitors who were undocumented.[61] Following the arrests, a grand jury convened to
consider charging Wal-Mart executives with labor racketeering crimes for knowingly
allowing illegal immigrants to work at their stores.[61] The workers themselves were
employed by agencies Wal-Mart contracted with for cleaning services.[61] Wal-Mart
blamed the contractors, but federal investigators point to wiretapped conversations
showing that executives knew some workers did not have the right papers.[61] The
October 2003 raid was not the first time Wal-Mart was found using unauthorized
workers. Earlier raids in 1998 and 2001 resulted in the arrests of 100 workers without
documentation located at Wal-Mart stores around the country.[62]

In November 2005, 125 alleged undocumented immigrants were arrested while working
on construction of a new Wal-Mart distribution center in eastern Pennsylvania.[63]
According to Wal-Mart, the workers were employees of Wal-Mart's construction
subcontractor.

[edit] Health insurance

As of October 2005, Wal-Mart's health insurance covered 44% or approximately 572,000

of its 1.3 million U.S. workers.[64] In comparison, Wal-Mart rival and wholeseller Costco
insures approximately 96% of its eligible workers, although Costco has been criticized by
investors for its high labor costs.[65] Wal-Mart spends an average of $3,500 per employee
for health care, 27% less than the retail-industry average of $4,800.[66] When asked why
so many Wal-Mart workers choose to enroll in state health care plans instead of Wal-
Mart's own plan, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott acknowledged that some states' benefits may
be more generous than Wal-Mart's own plan: "In some of our states, the public program
may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low
premiums."[67] Critics of Wal-Mart argue in Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price that
employees are paid so little they cannot afford health insurance.

According to a September 2002 survey by the state of Georgia, one in four children of
Wal-Mart employees were enrolled in PeachCare for Kids, the state's health-insurance
program for uninsured children, compared to the state's second-biggest employer, Publix,
which had one child in the program for every 22 employees.[68] A December 2004
nationwide survey commissioned by Wal-Mart showed that the use of public-assistance
health-care programs by children of Wal-Mart workers was at a similar rate to other
retailers' employees, and at rates similar to the U.S. population as a whole.[69]

On October 26, 2005, a Wal-Mart internal memo sent to the firm's Board of Directors
advised trimming over $1 billion in health care expenses by 2011 through measures such
as attracting a younger, implicitly healthier work force by offering education benefits.[70]
The memo also suggested giving sedentary Wal-Mart staffers, such as cashiers, more
physically demanding tasks, such as "cart-gathering," and eliminating full-time positions
in favor of hiring part-time employees who would be ineligible for the more expensive
health insurance and several policy proposals which may violate the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990.[70] The memo also accused Wal-Mart's lower paid employees of
abusing emergency room visits, "possibly due to their prior experience with programs
such as Medicaid," whereas such visits may actually be due to the reduced ability of
uninsured or underinsured people to make timely appointments to see a regular physician.
[70]
Critics point to this internal memo as evidence that Wal-Mart purports to be generous
with its employee benefits, while in reality the company is working to cut such benefits
by reducing the number of full-time and long-term employees and discouraging
supposedly unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart.

On January 12, 2006, the Maryland legislature enacted a law requiring that all
corporations with more than 10,000 employees in the state spend at least eight percent of
their payroll on employee benefits, or pay into a state fund for the uninsured.[71] Wal-
Mart, with about 17,000 employees in Maryland, was the only known company to not
meet this requirement before the bill passed. On July 7, 2006, the Maryland law was
overturned in federal court by a U.S. District judge who held that a federal law, the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), pre-empted the Maryland law. In
his opinion, the judge said that the law would "hurt Wal-Mart by imposing the
administrative burden of tracking benefits in Maryland differently than in other states."[72]
Similar legislation in Winsconsin days latter was defeated in the state legistature..

On April 17, 2006, Wal-Mart announced it was making a health care plan available to
part-time workers after one year of service, instead of the prior two-year requirement.[73]
One criticism of the new plan is that it provides benefit only after a $1,000 deductible is
paid ($3,000 for a family). These deductibles may financially be out of reach for eligible
part-time workers. Wal-Mart estimates this change can add 150,000 workers to health
coverage plans, if all who are eligible take part. By January 2007, the number of workers
enrolled in the company's health care plans increased by 8%, which Wal-Mart attributed
to the introduction of less expensive insurance policies.[74] However, even with this
increase, less than half of Wal-Mart's employees, or 47.4%, received health insurance
through the company, with 10%, or 130,000, receiving no coverage at all.[74]

In October 2001, a class action sexual discrimination lawsuit, Mauldin v. Wal-Mart

Stores, Inc., was filed against Wal-Mart challenging the company's denial of health
insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives. The lawsuit was certified for class
action status, but later dropped by the plaintiffs in 2006 once Wal-Mart agreed to change
its health insurance policies.[75]
In March 2008, Wal-Mart sued a former Wal-Mart employee to recover the money it
spent for her health care after she was brain-damaged in a car accident. Wal-Mart sued
the former employee after she received a settlement from the accident, citing that
company policy forbids employees from receiving coverage if they also win a settlement
in a lawsuit. After a wave of bad publicity, Wal-Mart dropped its suit.[76]

New, full-time Wal-Mart associates must work at least six months before being eligible
to purchase the company's primary health insurance.

[edit] Labor union opposition

Wal-Mart has been criticized for its policies against labor unions. Critics blame workers'
reluctance to join the labor union on Wal-Mart anti-union tactics such as managerial
surveillance and pre-emptive closures of stores or departments who choose to unionize.[77]
Wal-Mart states that it is not anti-union but, "pro-associate," arguing that its employees
do not need to pay third parties to discuss problems with management as the company's
open-door policy enables employees to lodge complaints and submit suggestions all the
way up the corporate ladder.[78] In 1970, company's late founder Sam Walton resisted a
unionization push by the Retail Clerks International Union in two small Missouri towns
by hiring a professional union buster to educate workers on the negative aspects of
unions.[79] On the union buster's advice, Walton also took steps to show his workers on
how the company had their best interests in mind, encouraging them to air concerns with
managers and implementing a profit-sharing program.[79] A few years later, Wal-Mart
hired a consulting firm, Alpha Associates, to develop a union avoidance program.[79]

In 2000, meat cutters in Jacksonville, Texas voted to unionize and Wal-Mart

subsequently eliminated in-house meat-cutting jobs in favor of prepackaged meats on the
claims that it cut costs and was a preventive measure to lawsuits.[80] Wal-Mart claimed
that the nationwide closing of in-store meat packaging had been planned for many years
and was not related to the unionization.[80] In June 2003, a National Labor Relations
Board judge ordered Wal-Mart to restore the meat department to its prior structure,
complete with meat-cutting, and to recognize and bargain with the union over the effects
of any change to case-ready meat sales.[81]

Wal-Mart's anti-union policies also extend beyond the United States. The documentary
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, shows one successful unionization of a Wal-
Mart store in Jonquière, Quebec (Canada) in 2004, but Wal-Mart closed the store five
months later because the store had become unprofitable due to the costs of union
demands.[82][83] In September 2005, the Québec Labor Board ruled that the closing of a
Wal-Mart store amounted to a reprisal against unionized workers and has ordered
additional hearings on possible compensation for the employees, though it offered no
details.[84]

In March 2005, Wal-Mart executive Tom Coughlin was forced to resign from its Board
of Directors, facing charges of embezzlement.[85] Coughlin claimed that the money was
used for an anti-union project involving cash bribes paid to employees of the United Food
and Commercial Workers Union in exchange for a list of names of Wal-Mart employees
that had signed union cards.[85] He also claimed that the money was unofficially paid to
him, by Wal-Mart, as compensation for his anti-union efforts.[85] In August, 2006,
Coughlin pleaded guilty to stealing money, merchandise, and gift cards from Wal-Mart,
but avoided prison time due to his poor health. He was sentenced to five years probation
and required to pay a $50,000 fine and $411,000 in restitution to Wal-Mart and the
Internal Revenue Service. An U.S. attorney has stated that no evidence was found to back
up Coughlin's initial claims, and Wal-Mart continues to deny the existence of the anti-
union program, though Coughlin himself apparently restated those claims to reporters
after his sentencing.[86]

Wal-Mart has also had some run-ins with the German Ver.di labor union as well.[87]
These issues, combined with cultural differences and low performing stores, led Wal-
Mart to pull out of the German market entirely in 2006.[88]

In August 2006, Wal-Mart announced that it would allow workers at all of its Chinese
stores to become members of trade unions, and that the company would work with the
state-sanctioned All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) on representation for its
28,000 staff.[89][90]

[edit] Imports and globalization

As a large customer to most of its vendors, Wal-Mart openly uses its bargaining power to
bring lower prices to attract its customers. The company negotiates lower prices from
vendors. For certain basic products, Wal-Mart "has a clear policy" that prices go down
from year to year.[91] If a vendor does not keep prices competitive with other suppliers,
they risk having their brand removed from Wal-Mart's shelves in favor of a lower-priced
competitor.[92] Critics argue that this pressures vendors to shift manufacturing jobs to
China and other third world nations, where the cost of labor is less expensive.

In the mid-1990s, Wal-Mart had a "Buy American" campaign. But by 2005, about 60%
of Wal-Mart's merchandise was imported, compared to 6% in 1995.[92] In 2004, Wal-Mart
spent $18 billion on Chinese products alone, and if it were an individual economy, the
company would rank as China's eighth largest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia,
and Canada.[93] One group estimates that the growing US trade deficit with China, heavily
influenced by Wal-Mart imports, is estimated to have moved over 1.5 million jobs that
might otherwise be in America to China between 1989 and 2003.[94] According to the
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO),
"Wal-Mart is the single largest importer of foreign-produced goods in the United States",
their biggest trading partner is China, and their trade with China alone constitutes
approximately 10% of the total US trade deficit with China as of 2004.[95]

While the company certainly imports many products, it points out that it purchases goods
from more than 68,000 US vendors, spending $137.5 billion in 2004, and supporting
more than 3.5 million supplier jobs in the US.[96]
[edit] Overseas labor concerns

Wal-Mart has been criticized for not providing adequate supervision of its foreign
suppliers. It has also been criticized for using sweatshops and prison labor. For example,
in 1995, Chinese dissident Harry Wu charged that Wal-Mart was contracting prison labor
in Guangdong Province. However, Wal-Mart says it does not use prison labor.[97] There
have also been reports of teenagers in Bangladesh working in sweatshops 80 hours per
week at $0.14 per hour, for Wal-Mart supplier Beximco. The documentary film Wal-
Mart: The High Cost of Low Price shows images of factories that produce goods for Wal-
Mart that appear in poor condition, and factory workers subject to abuse and conditions
the documentary producers consider inhumane.

According to Wal-Mart and many self-described advocates of free trade, comparisons of

wage levels between vastly different countries is not a useful way to assess the fairness of
a trade policy. The company also points out that wages paid to overseas workers are
comparable to or exceed local prevailing wages. In that case, the company claims that the
overseas manufacturing jobs it creates are often an improvement in the quality of life for
its employees. They have also drawn attention to the fact that factory jobs with its
suppliers are often safer and healthier than local alternatives, which may include
prostitution, the drug trade or scavenging.

Wal-Mart currently uses monitoring which critics say is inadequate and "leaves outsiders
unable to verify" conditions. Since Wal-Mart will not release its audits or factory names,
outside organizations are left to simply take Wal-Mart's word.[98] Critics suggest an
agency such as Social Accountability International or the Fair Labor Association should
do the monitoring. In 2004, Wal-Mart began working with Business for Social
Responsibility, a San Francisco, California-based nonprofit organization, to reach out to
groups active in monitoring overseas plants.[99]

In June 2006, Wal-Mart was excluded from the investment portfolio of The Government
Pension Fund of Norway, which held stock values of about US$ 430 million in the
company, due to a social audit into alleged labor rights violations in Wal-Mart operations
in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Africa and Asia.[100] Although Wal-Mart did
not respond to questions from the fund's auditors, it later claimed the decision "don't
appear to be based on complete information".[101]

[edit] Product selection

Wal-Mart's product selection has been criticized by some groups in the past, primarily as
viewed as a promotion of a particular ideology or as a responses to its original rural,
religious target market. In 2003, Wal-Mart removed certain men's magazines from its
shelves, such as Maxim, FHM, and Stuff, citing customer complaints regarding their racy
content.[102] Later that year, it decided to partly obscure the covers of Cosmopolitan,
Marie Claire and Redbook on store shelves due to "customer concerns", and refused to
stock an issue of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit special because it took exception to one
photograph.[103]
Since 1991, Wal-Mart also has not carried music albums marked with the Recording
Industry Association of America's (RIAA's) Parental Advisory Label (contradictory to
the allowance of R-rated movies and video games rated Mature), although it carries
edited versions of such albums, with obscenities removed or overdubbed with less
offensive lyrics.[104] In one example in 2005, Wal-Mart rejected the original cover of
country singer Willie Nelson's reggae album, Countryman, which featured marijuana
leaves, in an apparent pro-marijuana statement. To satisfy Wal-Mart, the record label,
Lost Highway Records, issued the album with an alternate cover, without recalling the
original cover. Wal-Mart has never carried Marilyn Manson albums, solely because of
the controversy surrounding the group, but recently began selling Nine Inch Nails albums
after rejecting them for years.[105] In fact, some albums that do not carry "Parental
Advisory" stickers, but include profanities are not edited. Such albums include Pink
Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's
What I'm Not. However, Wal-Mart's policy on carrying albums with the Parental
Advisory Label seems to vary by country, as albums containing the label can be found in
Canadian Wal-Mart stores, for example.

In 1999, Wal-Mart announced that it would not stock emergency contraception pills in its
pharmacies, not citing any particular reasons except for a "business decision" that was
made earlier.[106] The move was criticized by family planning advocates, citing that
women in small towns where Wal-Mart pharmacies had little competition would have
greater difficulties in obtaining the drug.[106] The decision was challenged in 2006, as
three Massachusetts women filed suit against the company after they were unable to
purchase emergency contraception at their local Wal-Mart stores,[107] resulting in a ruling
that required Wal-Mart to stock the drug in all of its pharmacies in Massachusetts.[107]
Expecting that other states would soon do the same, Wal-Mart reversed its policy and
announced that it would begin to stock the drug nationwide,[107] while at the same time
maintaining its conscientious objection policy, allowing any Wal-Mart pharmacy
employee who does not feel comfortable dispensing a prescription to refer customers to
another pharmacy.[107]

Wal-Mart has also been criticized for selling some controversial products. For example,
in 2004 Wal-Mart carried the anti-Semitic forgery[108] The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
in its online catalogue and Wal-Mart's online product description suggested the text
might be genuine. The Jewish civil rights organization the Anti-Defamation League
wrote to the President of Wal-Mart on September 2008 noting the text, "has been the
major weapon in the arsenals of anti-Semites around the world," and called on Wal-Mart
to, "unequivocally state the nature of the book and to disassociate itself from any
endorsement of it."[109] Wal-Mart stopped selling the book shortly thereafter.

In October 2004, Wal-Mart cancelled its order for The Daily Show's America (The Book)
after discovering a page that depicts each US Supreme Court judge nude. A week later, it
returned copies of comedian George Carlin's When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?,
with a cover recreating The Last Supper with Jesus' seat empty and Carlin (an avowed
atheist) seated next to it. The company claimed that the copies were shipped to it by
mistake and a Wal-mart spokeswoman said she did not "believe this particular product
would appeal" to its customer base.[110]

In January 2006, Wal-Mart was criticized for the recommendation system on its website
which suggested that some black-related DVDs, such as Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
and documentaries on Baptist minister and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
were similar to the Planet of the Apes television series DVD box set. It quickly corrected
the page, saying that it was a software glitch, but ultimately blamed the matter on human
error.[111]

[edit] Taxes
Until the mid-1990s, Wal-Mart took out corporate-owned life insurance policies on its
employees including "low-level," employees such as janitors, cashiers, cart pushers, and
stockers. This type of insurance is usually purchased to cover a company against financial
loss when a high-ranking employee dies, and is usually known as "Key Man Insurance."
Critics derided Wal-Mart as buying what they called "Dead Peasants Insurance" or
"Janitor Insurance." [müzik indir][3] Critics, as well as the U.S. Internal Revenue
Service, charge that the company was trying to profit from the deaths of its employees,
and take advantage of the tax law which allowed it to deduct the premiums. The practice
was stopped in the mid-1990s when the federal government closed the tax deduction and
began to pursue Wal-Mart for back
BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- New Wal-Mart President and CEO Mike Duke, who succeeds Lee Scott as head of
the world's largest retailer, says he expects the company to accelerate and broaden efforts to achieve its
sweeping environmental goals.
Speaking at Wal-Mart's "2009 Sustainability Milestone Meeting," the last major transitional event for Duke
and Scott, the incoming CEO took the opportunity to address the company and say, "how very, very
committed I am to this topic of sustainability. I am very serious about it. This is not optional."
The company's efforts for greater environmental responsibility began in 2005, when Scott called for the Wal-
Mart to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, create zero waste and sell products that help sustain
the environment. Since then, the company has worked to improve its track record of environmental and
social responsibility in its business operations and is demanding that its suppliers do the same.
"My message to you today I hope will be really clear," Duke told the company at the meeting last week. "We
want to accelerate our efforts in sustainability. We want to broaden our efforts."
Duke said he expects growth in sustainability efforts geographically and functionally throughout Wal-Mart's
global operations and that the company's 2.2 million associates worldwide "recognize their personal,
individual responsibility in the area of sustainability."
Duke also said that employees' upward mobility and success in the company will depend on their success in
demonstrating commitment to the company's goals.
"No matter what your job is — even from our hourly associates to our frontline supervisors to our senior
leadership — sustainability is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership," Duke said. "You will see that the
leaders that get ahead in Wal-Mart will be the ones who demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. You
won't be able, in the future, to be viewed in the same way if you put this on the back burner."
Duke joined Wal-Mart in 1995 and had been vice chairman and leader of Wal-Mart International since 2005
before being named president and CEO. He played a key role in shaping the heightened expectations that
the company set for suppliers worldwide and announced in October.
In a guest column today, Environmental Defense Fund, which is working with Wal-Mart in its efforts to curb
greenhouse gas emissions, takes a look at the opportunities and challenges Duke faces in pursing his
company's environmental goals.
Despite the company's progress in some areas, it continues to be a target of criticism for groups that say the
retail giant should be doing more to advance its goals, including better treatment of workers.
A video of Duke remarks at Wal-Mart's sustainability meeting on January 26 is available for download here.
At the meeting, the company announced Wal-Mart Americas will require that the laundry and dish
detergents it sells are made with 70 percent fewer phosphates by 2011.
 Strengths.

• Wal-Mart is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money,
convenience and a wide range of products all in one store.
• Wal-Mart has grown substantially over recent years, and has experienced global
expansion (for example its purchase of the United Kingdom based retailer ASDA).
• The company has a core competence involving its use of information technology
to support its international logistics system. For example, it can see how individual
products are performing country-wide, store-by-store at a glance. IT also supports
Wal-Mart's efficient procurement.
• A focused strategy is in place for human resource management and development.
People are key to Wal-Mart's business and it invests time and money in training
people, and retaining a developing them.

Weaknesses.

• Wal-Mart is the World's largest grocery retailer and control of its empire, despite
its IT advantages, could leave it weak in some areas due to the huge span of control.
• Since Wal-Mart sell products across many sectors (such as clothing, food, or
stationary), it may not have the flexibility of some of its more focused competitors.
• The company is global, but has has a presence in relatively few countries
Worldwide.

Opportunities.

• To take over, merge with, or form strategic alliances with other global retailers,
focusing on specific markets such as Europe or the Greater China Region.
• The stores are currently only trade in a relatively small number of countries.
Therefore there are tremendous opportunities for future business in expanding
consumer markets, such as China and India.
• New locations and store types offer Wal-Mart opportunities to exploit market
development. They diversified from large super centres, to local and mall-based
sites.
• Opportunities exist for Wal-Mart to continue with its current strategy of large,
super centres.

Threats.

• Being number one means that you are the target of competition, locally and
globally.
• Being a global retailer means that you are exposed to political problems in the
countries that you operate in.
• The cost of producing many consumer products tends to have fallen because of
lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturing cost have fallen due to outsourcing to low-
cost regions of the World. This has lead to price competition, resulting in price
deflation in some ranges. Intense price competition is a threat.

'Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer, with $256.3 billion in sales in the
fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2004. The company employs 1.6 million associates
worldwide through more than 3,600 facilities in the United States and more than
1,570 units . . .more? Go to Wal-Mart Facts