What Is Wal-mart?

2006 - Annual Report

Net Sales $312,427
Cost of Sales $240,391
Net Income $ 11,231
Operating, selling, general and administrative expenses 56,733
Inventories 32,191
Property, equipment and capital lease assets, net 79,290



View a complete list of annual reports on the link below:
http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=453&contId=5700


Walmart has currently established 2700 stores in 14 countries internationally (and still growing).
Countries with Walmart:

• Mexico (774 Units)
• Puerto Rico (54)
• Canada (263)
• Argentina (11)
• Brazil (295)
• China (56)
• South Korea (16)
• United Kingdom (315)
• Costa Rica (124)
• El Salvador (57)
• Guatemala (120)
• Honduras (32)
• Nicaragua (30)
• Japan (15)
• India (0)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#Wal-Mart_International

The Good Side of Walmart

In 2004, Wal-Mart, the largest retail chain in the world was also the world's largest company with a turnover of $256.3 billion. Each year, roughly 80% of American households made at least one purchase at Wal-Mart. Starting off in a small way, under the leadership of the legendary Sam Walton, Wal-Mart had emerged as a global player with operations in North America, Asia, Europe and South America. Wal-Mart symbolized operational excellence and cost leadership. According to rough estimates, US customers had saved $20 billion through shopping at Wal-Mart in 2002 alone . Some economists even argued that the 'Wal-Mart effect' had reduced inflation and improved productivity in the US economy year after year!

The Wal-Mart formula emphasized on selling good quality, yet modestly priced merchandise in a clean, no frills setting that offered one-stop family shopping. Wal-Mart believed in an 'every day' low price philosophy. This pricing policy cut advertising costs and reduced overheads. It also created an image of dependability and fair play in the minds of customers. Wal-Mart had also leveraged its business model to extend its market leadership to new categories. After entering the food business in the mid-1990s, by the early 2000s Wal-Mart had become the largest grocery retailer in the US. In 2002, the retail chain had an estimated market share of 32% in disposable diapers, 30% in hair care, 26% in toothpaste, 20% in pet food, 13% in home textiles, 15% in CDs, Videos and DVDs and 15% in magazines. Wal-Mart was also emerging as a major force in retailing books.

The success of Wal-Mart's business model was reflected in the company's operational and financial performance. In 1955, when Fortune began to publish its list of top 500 companies, Wal-Mart did not even exist. By 2002, it had moved to the top of the list. From May 1997 to May 2002, the stock jumped by an estimated 400%. Wal-Mart had close to 1.2 million employees. In mid-2003, it had about 4750 stores worldwide. During the period 1992-2002, Wal-Mart's sales had grown at a rate of 17%.

http://www.icmr.icfai.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Strategy3/BSTA112.htm

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Is Walmart Bad for the Economy? - by Faisal Laljee

Walmart is accused of unjust labor practices - this includes giving their workers minimum wage and not providing health insurance. My take on this - minimum wages are set by the federal and state governments. There are many companies, both small and large, that give only minimum wage to their employees. Now on the positive side, Walmart saves an average of over $2000 per year for those who shop there regularly. These shoppers who save so much, include the same demographic that works at Walmart. As for health care, Walmart is disadvantaged only by the fact that it is the largest retailer in the world. If that were not the case, this would not be an issue. Aside from Starbucks, no large employer I know of gives health insurance to part time employees, and this is due to the high cost of health care, which in turn is due to the high cost of insurance that doctors/hospitals must purchase to fend off lawsuits, which in turn .... I could go on and on. There are CEO's that make millions, yet are often caught golfing in the afternoon - and thats fine by me - but then I ask those who accuse Walmart of unfair labor practices, why they don't ask United Health or Aetna to cut down their executive salaries by 75%? They can then afford to cut down insurance premiums, which would then bring down the cost of healthcare.

Walmart is also accused of harming smaller "mom and pop" businesses through pricing power. Yes - I believe it is called free market capitalism. People accused Microsoft of pricing power through monopoly too. Has anyone ever really done a detailed analysis of how much Walmart has hurt these small businesses and compared it against how much money it has saved shoppers? I bet the latter number is heavier. Most small shops that offer good products and service at reasonable prices should be able to survive the Walmart threat.

It is said that Walmart brings down property values in surrounding areas by its sheer presence. That is ridiculous. Whats next? Should we shut down the Salvation Army drop offices because they attract low income shoppers? Should we also discriminate against Denny's and IHop's? On the flip side, golf courses and high rises drive up the price of surrounding properties, making those areas unaffordable for middle America. Why not lobby against those too?

Walmart is hiring illegal immigrants. Again, its sheer size gets in the way of Walmart. Every car wash I know of in Southern California, and believe me there are plenty of them, hire illegal immigrants. I think we need to be fair here. Most American's complain about minimum wages being too low, so really the only people willing to work for such low wages are illegal immigrants. On one hand we complain about low wages, but we also complain about those who are willing to work for these low wages.

The affect of Walmart on our economy is significant. From employing hundreds of thousands of people to saving customers a lot of money to ensuring that competitors like Target (TGT) and KMart (SHLD) keep their prices in check (thereby inadvertently also saving money for those who don't shop Walmart), this giant retailer needs to focus on its core business to make money for its shareholders and to save money for their customers rather than fight off controversy. I say let them do their job. Perhaps they might have provided their employees with health insurance if they didn't have to dish out the legal fees for these battles.

http://stocksadvice.blogspot.com/2006/12/is-walmart-bad-for-economy.html