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Revision as of 21:10, 31 January 2002 by Chuck Smith (talk | contribs) (wikified)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)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. Talk