Wal-Mart
From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project
Template:SprotectTemplate:Infobox Company
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Template:Nyse) is a public corporation based in the United States, the world's largest retailer and second-largest corporation.[2] It was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. These placings are based on revenue as of 2006.[2] For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart reported net income of $11.2 billion on $316 billion of sales revenue (3.5% profit margin).[3] As of February 8, 2007, revenue was $36.3 billion higher than the previous year's results.[4] It is the largest private employer in the United States (US) and Mexico.[5]Wal-Mart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States, with an estimated 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business,[6] and the largest toy seller in the United States, with an estimated 45% of the retail toy business, having surpassed Toys "R" Us in the late 1990s.[7]
Internationally, Wal-Mart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom (UK) (and, from 2007, in the Republic of IrelandTemplate:Fact) as ASDA and in Japan as The Seiyu Co., Ltd.. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart's international operations accounted for approximately 20.1% of total sales.[8] Wholly owned operations are located in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the UK. Wal-Mart's investments outside North America have produced mixed results. In 2006, Wal-Mart sold its retail operations in South Korea and Germany.[9]
Wal-Mart has been criticized for its policies and business practices by community groups, grassroots organizations, labor unions,[10] religious organizations,[11][12] and environmental groups. Specific concerns include the corporation's extensive foreign product sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, environmental practices, the use of public subsidies, and the economic impact of stores on the communities where they operate.[13][14][15]
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History
Sam Walton's retailing career began when he accepted a job offer at a JCPenney store in Des Moines, Iowa on June 3, 1940 where he remained for 18 months. In 1945, he met with Butler Brothers, a regional retailer that owned a chain of variety stores called Ben Franklin. Butler Brothers offered him a Ben Franklin store in Newport, Arkansas.
Walton could not come to agreement on his lease renewal and could not find a new location in Newport; so he located a new variety store in Bentonville, Arkansas which he would open as another Ben Franklin franchise, but called "Walton's Five and Dime." Walton achieved higher sales volume by selling products with slightly smaller markups than most competitors. [16]
In 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store, Wal-Mart Discount City, in Rogers, Arkansas.[17] Within five years the company expanded to 24 stores across the state of Arkansas and reached $12.6 million in sales. In 1968, it opened its first stores outside Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma.
The company was incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on October 31, 1969, and in 1970 opened its home office in Bentonville, Arkansas, and its first distribution center. There were now 38 stores operating with 1,500 employees and sales of $44.2 million. The company began trading stock at this time as a publicly held company on October 1, 1972, and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange shortly thereafter. 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, and 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.
Wal-Mart grew rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s.
Subsidiaries
Template:See alsoWal-Mart's operations are comprised primarily in three retailing subsidiaries: Wal-Mart Stores Division U.S., Sam's Club, and Wal-Mart International.[8] Wal-Mart does business under 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.[8]
Wal-Mart Stores Division U.S.
Wal-Mart Stores Division U.S. is Wal-Mart's largest business subsidiary, accounting for 67.2% of fiscal 2006 net sales.[8] This segment consists of three traditional retail formats: discount stores, supercenters, and neighborhood markets, all of which are located in the United States, as well as Wal-Mart's online retailer, walmart.com.
Wal-Mart Stores operates retail department stores selling a range of non-grocery products, though emphasis is now focused on the supercenters, which include more grocery items.
Wal-Mart Discount Stores
Wal-Mart Discount Stores is a chain of discount department stores that range in size from 30,000 square feet (3,000 m²) to 224,000 square feet (21,000 m²) with an average size of approximately 102,000 square feet (9,500 m²).[8] They carry some general merchandise products and a selection of food items. Many of these stores also feature a garden center, a pharmacy, Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait studio, and a fast food outlet.
The first Wal-Mart store opened in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, and has since been remodeled and expanded, becoming a 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter. A similar Wal-Mart concept, Discount City, opened in Rogers a year earlier, but all of these stores were later closed or converted into Discount Stores.
As of December 31, 2006, there were 1,092 Wal-Mart Discount Stores in the United States. The busiest Wal-Mart in the world is in Southaven, Mississippi.[18]
Wal-Mart Supercenter
Wal-Mart Supercenter is a chain of hypermarkets that range in size from 99,000 square feet (9,000 m²) to 261,000 square feet (24,000 m²) with an average size of approximately 187,000 square feet (17,000 m²).[8] They carry everything a Wal-Mart Discount Store does, as well as a full-line supermarket (including meat and poultry, baked goods, delicatessen, frozen foods, dairy products, garden produce and fresh seafood). Many Wal-Mart Supercenters also feature a garden center, a pet shop, a pharmacy, a Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait studio, and numerous alcove shops such as a cellular phone store, hair and nail salons, a video rental store, a family fun center, a branch of a local bank, and possibly a fast food outlet. Some locations also sell gasoline, either through Murphy Oil Corporation, whose Wal-Mart stations are branded as "Murphy USA", Sunoco, Inc. as "Optima", or Tesoro Corporation, who uses the "Mirastar" banner on theirs.
The first Supercenter opened in 1988 in Washington, Missouri; a similar Wal-Mart concept, Hypermart USA, opened in Garland, Texas a year earlier, but all of those stores were later closed or converted into Supercenters.
As of December 31, 2006, there were 2,195 Wal-Mart Supercenters in the United States.[18]
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market is a chain of grocery stores that average about 42,000 square feet (3,900 m²).[8] They offer a variety of products (including a full-line of groceries, pharmaceuticals, health and beauty aids, photo developing services, and a limited selection of general merchandise).
The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998 in Bentonville, Arkansas.
As of December 31, 2006, there were 110 Neighborhood Markets in the United States.[18]
Sam's Club
Wal-Mart operates Sam's Club, a chain of warehouse clubs that sells groceries and general merchandise, often in large quantities or volume. Sam's Club stores are only open to customers who subscribe to a paid, annual membership. Some locations also sell gasoline. The first Sam's Club opened in 1983 in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
According to Wal-Mart's 2006 Annual Report, Sam's Club accounted for approximately 12.7% of fiscal 2006 sales. 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.
As of December 31, 2006, there were 576 Sam's Clubs in the United States.[18]
Wal-Mart International
The operations of Wal-Mart International comprise 2,700 stores in 14 countries outside the United States.[19] According to Wal-Mart's 2006 Annual Report, International accounted for approximately 20.1% of fiscal 2006 sales.[8] Wholly owned operations are located in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom (UK).
Wal-Mart has operated in Canada since their acquisition of the Woolco division of Woolworth Canada, Inc.[20] Today, they operate 278 locations employing 70,000 Canadians, with a local home office in Mississauga, Ontario. On November 8, 2006, Wal-Mart Canada's first three Supercentres opened in Ancaster, London, and Stouffville, Ontario. As of January 31, 2007, there were six Wal-Mart Supercenters in Canada.[18] As of November 30, 2006, there were six Sam's Clubs Canada (all in Ontario: London, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Cambridge, Pickering, and Toronto).[18] In December 2006, conversion of a Wal-Mart Discount Store into a Wal-Mart Supercentre has begun in Lethbridge, Alberta, making it the 7th in Canada and the first in Western Canada.
Sales in the fiscal year 2006 for Wal-Mart's UK subsidiary, ASDA, were 42.7% of the International segment sales. In contrast to Wal-Mart's US operations, ASDA was originally and remains primarily a grocery chain, but it has a stronger focus on non-foods than most UK supermarket chains (a notable exception is Tesco, UK's largest grocery & Non-food retailer). At the end of fiscal year 2006, there were 236 ASDA stores, 10 George stores, 5 ASDA Living and 43 ASDA small stores.
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 approximately 53% of The Seiyu Co., Ltd.[9] Additionally, Wal-Mart owns 51% of the Central American Retail Holding Company (CARHCO) formed from more than 360 supermarkets and other store formats, operating in 5 Central American countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.[21]
In 2004, Wal-Mart bought the Bompreço supermarket chain, comprised of 116 stores. Bompreço is the major supermarket chain in Northeastern Brazil. In late 2005, Wal-Mart 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 Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná states. None of those operations were rebranded. As of August 2006, Wal-Mart operates 71 Bompreço stores, 27 Hiper-Bompreço stores, 15 Balaio stores and 3 Hiper-Magazines (all originally part of Bompreço). It also runs 19 Wal-Mart Supercenters, 13 Sam's Club stores and 2 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.
In July 2006, Wal-Mart announced its withdrawal of operations from Germany because of sustained losses. The stores were sold to the German company METRO AG.[22] The sale was completed in Wal-Mart's fiscal third quarter.[9]
In November 2006, Wal-Mart announced a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises to open "hundreds" of retail stores in India. Since foreign corporations are not allowed to enter the retail sector in India directly, Wal-Mart is expected to operate through franchises and handle the wholesale end of the venture. [23]
The partnership will involve two joint ventures. While Bharti would be managing the front-end that involves opening retail outlets, Wal-Mart would take care of the back-end such as cold chains and logistics.
Corporate affairs
Wal-Mart's business model is based on selling a wide variety of general merchandise and marketing, at "always low prices."[8] The company refers to its employees as "associates." All Wal-Mart stores in the US and Canada also have designated "greeters", whose general role is to welcome shoppers at the store entrance, and play a role in loss prevention.[24]
Unlike many other retailers, Wal-Mart does not charge a slotting fee to suppliers for their products to appear on the store.[25] Alternatively, they focus on selling more popular products, and often pressure store managers to drop unpopular products in favor of more popular ones, as well as manufacturers to supply more popular products.[25]
On September 14, 2006, the company announced that it would be phasing out its layaway program, citing declining use and increased costs.[26] Layaway was offered until November 19, 2006, with merchandise pickup by December 8, 2006. They plan to focus on alternative payment options, such as increased use of 6 and 12 month zero interest financing.
Governance
Wal-Mart is governed by a thirteen-member Board of Directors, which is elected annually by shareholders. S. Robson Walton, the eldest son of founder Sam Walton, serves as Chairman of the Board, and H. Lee Scott, the Chief Executive Officer, serves on the board as well. Other members of the board include Aida M. Alvarez, James W. Breyer, M. Michele Burns, James I. Cash, Jr., Douglas N. Daft, David D. Glass, Roland A. Hernandez, Jack C. Shewmaker, Jim C. Walton, Christopher J. Williams, and Linda S. Wolf.
Notable former members of the board include Hillary Clinton (1985-1992)[27] and Tom Coughlin (2003-2004), who also served as Vice Chairman. Clinton left the board prior to the 1992 U.S. Presidential Election, and Coughlin left the board in December, 2005 after pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wal-Mart.[28] 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.[29]
Competition
In the United States, Wal-Mart's chief competitors in low-end general merchandise include Sears Holdings Corporation's Kmart chain and Target. Many smaller regional chains, such as Meijer in the midwest, are also competitors. Wal-Mart's move into the grocery business has also positioned it against major grocery chains such as H-E-B, Kroger, Albertson's, Publix, Giant Eagle, Safeway, Winn-Dixie, Ahold, Wegmans, P & C, Price Chopper and many other regional chains and independents. A niche has been carved out of Wal-Mart's dominance in the US by several retail corporations.[30] By focusing on a small number of low-cost products, dollar store retailers such as Family Dollar and Dollar General have successfully competed head-to-head with Wal-Mart for home consumer sales. In 2004, Wal-Mart responded by testing their own dollar store concept, a subsection of some stores known as "Pennies-n-Cents."[31]
In Canada, Wal-Mart competes with the Hudson Bay Company's low-cost department store Zellers, which is the second largest chain of discount department stores in Canada after Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart also competes with Canadian department stores Sears Canada, Winners, Giant Tiger, and various other regional chains. For grocery in Canada, Wal-Mart competes with Safeway, Sobeys, Loblaw Companies which operates under various names such as Loblaws, No Frills, Zehrs Markets, Real Canadian Superstore, Fortinos, and various other Canadian grocery store chains.
Wal-Mart has struggled in other foreign markets. For example, in Germany, it had captured just 2% of German food sales following its entry into the market in 1997 and had remained "a secondary player" compared to competitor Aldi which boasts 19% share of the German market.[32]In July 2006, Wal-Mart announced its withdrawal of operations from Germany because of sustained losses. Its stores are to be sold to German company METRO AG[22] In China, Wal-Mart is "a small fish" as its strategy of "everyday low prices" has not been successful against "Chinese mom-and-pop shops that are used to cutthroat pricing."[33] In May 2006, Wal-Mart withdrew from the South Korean market when it agreed to sell all 16 of its South Korean outlets to Shinsegae, a local retailer, for $882 million who are as of late 2006 re-branding the country's Wal-Marts as E-mart. Wal-Mart had originally entered the South Korea market in 1998.[34] In the UK, Wal-Mart's ASDA subsidiary is the second largest chain after Tesco.[35] Specifically, ASDA is a distant second to Tesco in the UK grocery market, and as of 2006 the gap is widening, based on market share figures published by TNS Superpanel.
Customer base
Wal-Mart customers place low prices as the most important reason for shopping at Wal-Mart. Financial results in 2006 have indicated Wal-Mart customers are sensitive to higher utility costs and gas prices.[36]
It has been reported that 80% of US residents shop at Wal-Mart at least once a year.[37] Each week, 100 million customers visit Wal-Mart's US stores - "more than one-third of the US population."[38]
Frequent Wal-Mart customers show some demographic trends. In the US, Wal-Mart customer's average incomes are below the national average. Analysts have estimated that more than one-fifth of Wal-Mart's US customers have no bank accounts, twice the national rate.[39]
Polling data reported by John Zogby suggests there is a correlation between how often consumers shop at Wal-Mart and how conservative they are. In the 2004 US Presidential election 76% of voters who shopped at Wal-Mart once a week voted for George W. Bush while only 23% voted for John Kerry. By contrast 80% of voters who never shopped there voted for Kerry with 18% voting for Bush. African American and Hispanic voters who shop there are described as "significantly more conservative" than their non Wal-Mart shopping peers. When measured against other similar retailers in the US, frequent Wal-Mart shoppers were rated the most politically conservative.[40] This also roughly correlates with the geographic distribution of Wal-Mart stores: most of them are in rural areas, whose residents tend to be more conservative than suburban residents.
Wal-Mart has recently made steps to expand its US customer base. On September 7, 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart was modifying its US stores from a one-size-fits-all merchandising strategy to a custom-fitting merchandise assortment designed to "reflect each of six demographic groups -- African-Americans, the affluent, empty-nesters, Hispanics, suburbanites and rural residents."[41]An example of the company's efforts to <