Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. – Company Overview
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| Company | Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. |
| Headquarters | 702 S.W. 8th Street Bentonville, Arkansas 72716, USA |
| CEO | Douglas McMillon |
| CFO | Charles M. Holley, Jr. |
| Industry | Retail |
| Type | Public |
| Founder | Sam Walton |
| Founded | 1962 (Rogers, Arkansas) |
| NYSE stock symbol | WMT |
| Revenue | $485,651 million USD (2015) |
| Operating income | $27,147 million USD (2015) |
| Net earnings | $17,099 million USD (2015) |
| Employees | 2,200,000 (2015) |
| Website | http://www.walmart.com/ |
| Corporate website | http://corporate.walmart.com/ |
| IR contact number | 1-479-273-6463 |
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is a multinational retail company based in the US.
As of 2013, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is the largest retailer and second largest public corporation in the world, with over 2 million employees.
The company has over 11,000 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries, in addition to running e-commerce websites in 10 countries.
According to the company, approximately 245 million customers and members visit Wal-Mart Stores each week.
Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and the first Walmart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., was incorporated in 1969 and on October 1, 1970 the company began trading stock as a publicly held company on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1983 Wal-Mart Stores Inc., created Sam’s Club, a membership-only retail warehouse club, named after Sam Walton.
By 1990, Walmart was America’s number-one retailer. In 1991 the company made its first step towards going global by opening the first Sam’s Club store in Mexico City.
Three years later (in 1994) Walmart expanded into Canada. The company opened their first stores in China in 1996 and entered the United Kingdom with the acquisition of ASDA in 1999.
In 2000 the company created Walmart.com, allowing U.S. customers to purchase products from their online store.
The company’s retail stores operate under a number of different brand names. In the US and Canada the stores use the “Wal-Mart” brand, in the United Kingdom the stores use the “Asda” brand, in Japan they use the “Seiyu” brand, and in India their stores are branded as “Best Price”.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. – Business Operations
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is organized into three main business areas: Walmart Stores U.S., Sam’s Club, and Walmart International.
Walmart Stores US
This division is in charge of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., operations in the US. Stores include the Walmart Supercenter (around 182,000 square feet and employs about 300 associates), the slightly smaller Walmart Discount Store (around 106,000 square feet and employs about 200 associates), the Walmart Neighborhood Market (around 38,000 square feet and employs up to 95 associates), and the Walmart Express (15,000 square feet and offers basic groceries, general merchandise and even pharmacies).
Sam’s Club
Sam’s Club was created in 1983 to meet a growing demand of people who needed to buy products in bulk. The average Sam’s Club store is 134,000 square feet and offers bulk groceries and general merchandise.
Walmart International
Africa: Wal-Mart acquired a majority stake in Massmart Holdings Ltd. in 2011. The company operates in 12 sub-Saharan countries under the following brands: Game, DionWired, Makro, Kangela, Builders Warehouse, Builders Express, Builders Trade Depot, CBW, and Jumbo Cash and Carry.
Argentina: Wal-Mart entered the Argentinian market in 1995, its headquarters are located in Buenos Aires. Stores include Changomas, Changomas Express, Walmart and Walmart Supermercado.
Brazil: Wal-Mart began operations in Brazil in 1995, its headquarters are in Sao Paulo. Brands include: BIG, Bompreço, Hiper Bompreço, Magazine, Maxxi, Mercadorama, Nacional, Sam’s Club, Supermercado Todo Dia, TodoDia, Walmart and Walmart Posto.
Canada: Wal-Mart entered the Canadian market in 1994, its headquarters are in Ontario. The store formats are Walmart Supercentres and Walmart discount stores.
Chile: Wal-Mart acquired a majority stake of Distribución y Servicio D&S S.A. (the largest food retailer in Chile) in 2009. Stores include hypermarkets, supermarkets and Ekono convenience stores.
China: Wal-Mart entered the Chinese market in 1996 with the opening of a supercenter and Sam’s Club in Shenzhen. Stores in the country are stores under the banners of Smart Choice, Trust-Mart, Walmart, Walmart Neighborhood Market and Sam’s Club.
India: Wal-Mart opened its first Best Price Modern Wholesale in 2009. Best Price sells bulk food and consumables and other supplies that small business operations need to operate.
Japan: Seiyu, which is one of Japan’s largest supermarket chains, is a full Walmart subsidiary.
Mexico and Central America: The first Wal-Mart store outside the US was opened in Mexico and the company operates stores in the country under the brand names: Walmart, Superama, Suburbia, VIPS, Sam’s Club and Bodega Aurrerá. Walmart de México acquired Walmart Centroamérica in 2009, expanding its presence to six countries and becoming Walmart de México y Centroamérica.
United Kingdom: In 1999 Wal-Mart acquired Asda. Since its acquisition, Asda has grown to become one of the UK’s largest supermarkets.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. – Financial Results
| Key figures (in millions of USD except) | 2015* | 2014* |
| Net sales | $482,229 | $473,076 |
| Revenue | $485,651 | $476,294 |
| Operating income | $27,147 | $26,872 |
| Net income | $17,099 | $16,695 |
| Total assets | $203,706 | $204,751 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year | $7,281 | $7,781 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of year | $9,135 | $7,281 |
*For the years ended January 31, 2015 and 2014
Source: “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. – 2015 Form 10-K”
News about Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported by our Market Business News team
August 26, 2015: Walmart to stop selling assault rifles in the US