| Revision as of 16:22, 10 May 2002 view source24.27.56.30 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:39, 16 June 2002 view source Bryan Derksen (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users95,333 editsm -/TalkNext edit → | ||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
| has been sanctioned by several courts for failing to respond properly to | has been sanctioned by several courts for failing to respond properly to | ||
| plantiff discovery motions. | plantiff discovery motions. | ||
| legal | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 23:39, 16 June 2002
Wal-mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer. In the fiscal year ending January 31, 2001 Wal-mart had $191 billion dollars in sales. It employees over 1 million people worldwide and operates 4,500 retail units in 10 countries. Wal-mart operates in the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, China, Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart, opened the first Wal-mart store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962.
Wal-mart stores are large in area, usually constructed as part of shopping malls in low-density suburban centres. The stores contain a broad range of products, from clothes through consumer electronics, outdoor equipment, toys, hardware, and books, as well as many other lines. Wal-mart is now the #2 grocery chain in the nation, behind Kroger's. The products it sells are usually basic, mass-market equipment rather than premium products stocked at specialist stores.
The key to Wal-mart's success is the economies of scale it brings to manufacturing and logistics, buying massive quantities of items from its suppliers and with a very efficient stock control system to make logistics costs lower than its competitors, which includes the Kmart Corporation.
The legal department of Wal-Mart has a reputation among personal injury lawyers for extremely aggressive legal tactics, and the corporation has been sanctioned by several courts for failing to respond properly to plantiff discovery motions.