沃尔玛简介

1.Introduction

2. History

3. Incorporation and growth

4. Recent initiatives

4.1. Healthy foods initiative

5. Operating divisions

5.1. Walmart Stores U.S.

5.1.1. Walmart Discount Stores

5.1.2. Walmart Supercenter

5.1.3. Neighborhood Market by Walmart

5.1.4. Supermercado de Walmart

5.1.5. Marketside

5.2. Sam's Club

5.3. Walmart International

5.3.1. North America

5.3.1.1. Canada

5.3.1.2. Mexico

5.3.2. Central and South America

5.3.2.1. Brazil

5.3.2.2. Chile

5.3.3. Europe

5.3.3.1. Norway

5.3.3.2. Russia

5.3.3.3. United Kingdom

5.3.4. Asia

5.3.4.1 .India

5.3.5. Africa

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Wal-Mart,

headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, is the largest grocery retailer in the United States. In 2009, it generated 51% of its US$258 billion sales in the U.S. from grocery business. It also owns and operates the Sam's Club retail warehouses in North America.

Walmart has 8,500 stores in 15 countries, under 55 different names. The company operates under its own name in the United States, including the 50 states. It also operates under its own name in Puerto Rico.

2.History

Sam Walton, a businessman from Arkansas, began his retail career when he started work on June 3, 1940, at a J. C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa where he remained for 18 months.

On July 2, 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City store located at 719 Walnut Ave. in Rogers, Arkansas. The building is now occupied by a hardware store and an antique mall. Within five years, the company expanded to 24 stores across Arkansas and reached $12.6 million in sales. In 1968, it opened its first stores outside Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma.

3.Incorporation and growth

The company was incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on October 31, 1969. In 1970, it opened its home office and first distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas. It had 38 stores operating with 1,500 employees and sales of $44.2 million. It began trading stock as a publicly held company on October 1, 1970, and was soon listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In the 1980s, Walmart continued to grow rapidly, and by its 25th anniversary in 1987 there were 1,198 stores with sales of $15.9 billion and 200,000 associates. This year also marked the completion of the company's satellite network. At the time, it was the largest private satellite network, allowing the corporate office to track inventory and sales and to instantly communicate to stores.

In 1988, the first Walmart Supercenter opened in Washington, Missouri.The company also opened overseas stores, entering South America in 1995 with stores in Argentina and Brazil; and Europe in 1999, buying Asda in the UK for $10 billion.[

In 1998, Walmart introduced the "Neighborhood Market" concept with three stores in Arkansas. In 2002, it was listed for the first time as America's largest corporation on the Fortune 500 list.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, Walmart was able to use its logistical efficiency in organizing a rapid response to the disaster, donating $20 million in cash, 1,500 truckloads of free merchandise, food for 100,000 meals, as well as the promise of a job for every one of its displaced workers.

4.Recent initiatives

In October 2005, Walmart announced it would implement several environmental measures to increase energy efficiency. The primary goals included spending $500 million a year to increase fuel efficiency in Walmart's truck fleet by 25% over three years and double it within ten, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in seven years, reduce energy use at stores by 30%, and cut solid waste from U.S. stores and Sam's Clubs by 25% in three years. The company also designed three new experimental stores with wind turbines, photovoltaic solar panels, biofuel-capable