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Introduction In 1962 Sam Walton and his brother opened the first Wal-Mart discount store in Rogers, state Arkansas. It used to be more like a big flat, warehouselike store that was selling everything from apparel to automotive supplies to small appliances at low prices. Yet, from these modest beginnings, the chain expanded very fast, and now it is the world’s biggest retailer. By 2003 Wal-Mart is generating over $244billion in annual sales from 4,200 stores, more than 1,300 of which are located outside the United States. Nowadays company employs 1million people in the United States and other 303,000 work in the international subsidiaries. Originally Wal-Mart store were located in the small towns where there was no competition. Large retailers such as Kmart and Sears dominated urban areas with 30-40% higher costs and therefore higher prices, when Wal-Mart grew up it entered this market with low prices winning market share and making their competitors cutting prices and even getting out of the business. There are three basic store formats operating in the company: the most well known are Wal-Mart stores selling basic consumer manufactured goods like household products, clothes, electronic and etc; Wal-Mart Supercenters, which are larger stores that selling the same merchandise as Wal-Mart stores and groceries additionally; Sam’s Clubs, the small discount stores that offer limited number of low-price products. Company’s specialty divisions include Wal-Mart optical, pharmacy, vacations, used fixture auctions and tire and lube express. Each year company sells one out of every four quarts of motor oil, one out of every five deodorants, and one out of every four replacement toilet seats in the United States. Every 7.4 seconds consumers buy Timex watch and a Barbie Doll every 2 seconds. Among the best-selling products are food, electronics, men’s garments, hardware, pharmacy, toys and intimate clothing. The company entered the grocery business only a few years ago with its supercenters, and more recently they had introduced the new chain of the smaller Neighborhood Market stores, now they are nation’s number two grocery retailer. Wal-Mart is insisting its 7,000 suppliers to provide it with more recycled products. In its stores, Wal-Mart runs videos to help educate customers, and the retailer has set up more than 900 recycling drop-offs bins in store parking lots around US.
Approximate Word count = 1457
Approximate Pages = 5.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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