Wal-Mart is an American group specialized in the Large distribution founded by Sam Walton and now chaired by S Robson Walton.

In 2006, with sales rising to 351,1 billion dollars and 11,2 billion dollars benefit, (that is to say roughly the budget of the France), Wal-Mart took again the place of first world company in term of turnover. Moreover with 1,9 million employees working in more: 6100 supermarkets and hypermarkets (but also in the subsidiary companies), the group can assert the title of larger company of the world. It is the first employer deprived with the the United States with 1,2 million employees, called “associated” but also that with the Mexico under the Walmex ensign. Wal-Mart is the first distributer general practitioner of the United States with: 3500 stores and 20% of estimated market share and the first distributer of toys with 45% of estimated market share, having exceeded Toys " R" Custom at the end of the Years 1990.

Founded under this name in 1962, it quickly developed in Arkansas, then dominated all the the United States to start to internationalize itself starting from 1991. In Europe, the stores are present in Great Britain under sign ASDA and were present in Germany (1997-2006). Wal-Mart attacks from now on the Asian market: installed in China since 1996, the group employs in 2006 in this country about thirty thousands of workers. It is also present at the Japan under the Seiyu ensign. In 2005,20 million customers attended the Wal-Mart stores on average each day.

History

Beginnings in Arkansas

The history of Wal-Mart can go up until the years 1940 when Sam Walton began his career in the retail sale. After being interviewed by recruiters right before to be graduate University of Missouri to Columbia, Sam accepted the offer of work of JCPenney. He starts has to work in a store J.C. Penney with Of the Monks, Iowa on June 3rd, 1940, with wages of 75$ per month. During this work, Sam could meet James Cash Pennet, the founder of this store chain, during a visit. It remains at JCPenney during eight month.

In September 1945, Sam Walton bought in George Scharlott the frankness and the lease of a Ben Franklin with Newport in Arkansas. This store belonged to a chain directed by the Butler Brothers, a regional retailer. After three years in the company, Walton increased the annual sales from 80,000$ to 225,000$ in 1948. In spite of that, the leader, P.K. Holmes, decided on not to renew the lease and Walton was forced to move before the end of the year 1950. Walton was prepared to buy a five-and-dime of Jim Dodson to Siloam Springs, in Arkansas, but both were not agreement on the purchase price of a difference of 5,000$. May 9th, 1950, Walton bought a store of Luther E.Harrison to Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened Walton' S 5 & 10 . Still later, the village of Ozark Moutain with its 2,900 inhabitants will become the Head office of the tentacular company which will become Wal-Mart.

Walton always sought the best possible agreements with his suppliers, and it realized that it could increase his sales while granting to his customers to have access to his own economies, in the place to make them pay expensive than they should. In 1962, it had already nine Walton' S blinds . Inspired by successes of the chains of distribution, Walton opened the first store of his own chain of distribution to Rogers, in Arkansas this year there. Person in charge of the purchases and the maintenance of signage, the assistant of Sam, Bob Bogle, proposed the name " Wal-Mart" for the new chain. In 1967, the company grows and ends up having 24 stores disseminated in Arkansas, and reached 12,6 million dollars of sales. In 1968, the company opened its first store apart from Arkansas, with Sikeston, in the Missouri and with Claremore, in Oklahoma. Sam preferred to settle in small villages, rather than in major cities, and had 78 stores in 1974. A data processing department inter-store was creates to improve the communication and the orders, and three years later, the sales have more than triplet, passing from 167,5 million to 479 million dollars. The number of stores doubled to him to reach 153 stores. The chain continues to grow bigger tentaculairement in the following decades.

Creation and expansion of the company

The company was founded on October 31st, 1969 under the name Wal-Mart Stores, Inc , and in 1970 it opened its seat with Bentonville, Arkansas, like its first distribution center. The company then had 38 stores disseminated in Arkansas and employaut 1,500 people for 44,2 million dollars of sales. The company became public in 1972 E was reproduced the same year on the New York Stock Exchange. At this moment, Wal-Mart operated in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma and arrive in the Tennessee in 1973, the Kentucky and the the Mississippi in 1974, When the company opened with the Texas in 1975, it had 125 stores and 7,500 employees, for a total of sale of 340,3 million dollars.

Wal-Mart continued to grow bigger quickly during the years 1980, and at the time of its twenty-fifth birthday in 1987, the company counted 1,198 stores and of the sales reaching the 15,9 billion dollars for 200,000 employees. This year was also remembered by the achievement of the network of satellite intern of the company (an investment quantified to 24 million dollars), making it possible to bind all the units of operations of the company with the Office of Bentonville by exchanges of voice, data, and a video Communication (then only in one direction). At the time, it was the private wide-area network of satellite, and it made it possible the company to index the Inventaire, the sales, and to communicate instantaneously with the various stores. The following year, Sam Walton left his place of chairman to David Glass. However, Walton remained in the company under the title of " Chairman off the Corporate Board off Directors" , and the company also restructured the managers " seniors" , and gave promotions to executives allowing them to acquire a greater responsibility.

Also in 1988, the first Wal-Mart Supercenter opened with Washington, Missouri. Wal-Mary extended its concept of " superstore" during the years 1990, and little time after, the company exceeded Toys " R" Custom for the sale of toys. Wal-Mart started to open remote stores, and entered in South America in 1995 with stores in Argentine and with the Brésil, and repurchased ASDA in the United Kingdom for 10 billion dollars in 1999.

The years 1990

Years 1990 were one period of growth without precedent and of various innovations in the business management. In 1990, the incomes of the company quadrupled to reach 32 billion more than the previous years. and Wal-Mart repurchased The McLane Company, then sold with Berkshire Hathaway in 2003 In 1991, the company moved with the Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. This same year, Wal-Mart launched out to international, by opening its first store with Mexico City. The company repurchased also Western Merchandisers, Inc. with Amarillo, the Texas. In 1991 the mark " was also launched; Sam' S American Choice". Sam Walton withdrew on April 5th, 1992, little time after the president George H.W. Bush presented it for the presidential Médaille of freedom. His/her oldest son, S. Robson Walton succeeded to him as Chairman of the board. April 7th, 1992. This year, Wal-Mart was present in 45 States with in more the Idaho, the Montana, and the Oregon, in addition to Puerto Rico. In 1993, the division international of Wal-Mart promoted Bobby Martin as president. The company finishes its official expansion with the entry in Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Washington. The Wal-Mart stores reached the sum of 1 billion dollars of sale in one week, in December 1993.

Wal-Mart bought 91 PACE Membership Warehouse with Kmart and 122 stores Woolco with the Canada in 1994. Always in 1994, Wal-Mart opened 3 clubs with Hong-Kong, reaching a total of 123 stores in Canada and 96 in Mexico. Later in the year, the program called " Code Adam" was launched for the missing children. The project was called like that because of the history of Adam Walsh, a 6 year old child disappeared in a store in Florida and found died in 1981. All the other chain of distribution adopted similar programs since.

In 1995, Wal-Mart had 1,995 Discount Blinds, 239 Supercenters, 433 Sam' S club and 276 International Blinds, cumulating sales of 93,6 milliars of dollars and employing 675,000 people. Wal-Mart entered the fiftieth states American, the Vermont, this year and continued its expansion internationalle with the market of South America: three units in Argentina and five with the Brazil. The company launched out on the Chinese market in 1996 with a Joint-venture. In 1997, did Wal-Mart replace Woolworth on the Dow Jones Industrial Average? The company atteigna for the first time the symbolic mark of the 100 milliars of dollars of sales over the year, since it finissa the year 97 with 118,1 billion. This same year, Wal-Mart bought 21 Wertkauf stores in Germany, and launched their center of OneSource nutrition. In 1998, Wal-Mart created a new concept with 3 stores in Arkansas: Neighborhood Market ( trade of proximity ). They mainly make it possible to buy food, and are conceived in the otpique one to attract the consumer thanks to facilities of garage and a time-saver on the queues.

Wal-Mart launched also Wal-Mart Television Network, a vast network of publicity inside the stores making it possible to the consumer to know about promotions in progress, in the concerts to come, the Bande-annonce S for launchings of DVD. In February 2005, a study estimated that this network was looked by 130 people per month, with on average 7 minutes of visionnage to each time a person comes in a Wal-Mart store.

Wal-Mart also positioned in South Korea in 1998 by an agreement of Joint venture. The company left the Korean market in July 2006 after having lost million dollars in the wild competition which opposed it to the large local distributers. In 1999, Wal-Mart employed 1,140,000 associated , making to company the largest world private employer. Benefitting from results always mirobolants, the company repurchased ASDA Group plc, a distributer managing 229 stores with the the United Kingdom.

From 2000 to our days

In 2000, when H. Lee Scott was named President and chairman of the company, the sales further increased to reach the total of 165 billion dollars. In 2002 Wal-Mart made its entry in the list Fortune 500 which counts more the world large companies, with a Turnover of 219,8 billion dollars for 6,7 of profits. Then, the company was classified first every year as from 2002 (except in 2006).

In 2004, acquisition of the chain of supermarkets Amigo with Puerto Rico for 17 billion dollars. The Wal-Mart employees of the store of Jonquière to Quebec syndicalisent themselves and become the first employees of Wal-Mart syndicated in North America. Five months later, Wal-Mart announces the closing of this store, on order of the board of directors.

In 2005, Wal-Mart had 6,200 stores throughout the world, including 3,800 Juste for the United States, and employed more than 1,6 " million; of associés". In fact, the evolution in the United States was so fast that there remain now nothing any more but some rare places where he is not there Wal-Mart with less 90km. Always this year there, in the objective to become more respectful environment, the company creates two new experimental stores, one in McKinney with the Texas and the other in Aurora with the Colorado, having wind , photovoltaic panels. .etc. Wal-Mart opens the http://www.walmartfacts.com site in a movement of public relations to answer criticisms. The group was in particular condemned by justice in Germany for its prohibition to its employees of flirter and the installation of a “hotline” where they could denounce each other the ones the others.

June 26th 2006, Wal-Mart annocé that the company was going to withdraw German market completely. The 85 stores existing are resold with Metro Group, following weak performances.

September 12th, 2007, after 19 years without change, Wal-Mart launches new a Slogan " Save Money Live Better ( To preserve its money, to better live ) in the place of very famous the Always Low Prices, Always ( Always of the low prices, always ). The company commissioned Global Insight to have statistics on the new countryside. According to this report/ratio, the reduction of the prices undertook by Wal-Mart makes it possible to the American families to save 287 billion dollars is 2500$ per hearth. (in rise of 7.3% since 2004).

Organization of the company

The company is centered on three principal networks of distribution. Wal-Mart Blinds Division U.S., Sam' S Club, and International Wal-Mart. The company functions with nine different sizes of stores: supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandize blinds, bodegas (small shopkeeper), cash and curry blinds, membership warehouse clubs, apparel blinds, software discount blinds and restaurants.

Wal-Mart Discount Blinds

Wal-Mart Discount Blinds is a store chain of a size varying of 9,200 M ² with 20,800 M ², with an average surface of 9,400 M ².

Neighborhood Markets has a surface of approximately 3,900 m2, i.e. the quarter of the size of Superenters in the United States. However, in many countries, stores of this size are already classified like Supermarché or even like " hypermarket compact". They employent from 80 to 100 people and offer on average 28,000 objects.

Sam' S Club

International Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart, a gigantic company

Finance

Administration

Wal-Mart in the world

• the United States
• Puerto Rico
• Canada
• Mexico
• Great Britain
• China
• Argentinian Brazil
• Japan

Project

• Algeria

• Colombia
• India
• Dominican Republic
• Senegal

Compete with

The French group of Carrefour distribution (created in 1957) asserts more: 7000 stores in 29 countries (adding up a sales turnover of almost 100 billion euros). This group cannot completely be regarded as competitor of Wal-Mart. Indeed, a presence almost exclusively American has whereas Carrefour is manifestly absent from this country.

Right of the workers

The slogan of the Multinationale slightly changed since its beginnings busy of “Always the low price - Always”, which referred to the best price, with “Always low prices - Always” which refers to the low prices rather in general. The methods which made its success are sources of criticisms today. Because the low prices are obtained by an optimal minimization of the costs (on the products and labor). The group is thus known for the very low wages of its employees (called by Wal-Mart “associated”) and for its very anti-trade-union positions.

During 40 years of existence, no store of the group counted of trade union representation except for a group of butchers to the the United States which succeeded in syndicating but their department was then replaced by the prepackaged meat.

In 2006, following an arm wrestling with the Chinese government at the time of the opening of a store, Wal-Mart for the first time was obliged to accept a trade union representation of State within her 60 stores. The first reversal of the multinational on this subject: the employees of the supermarket of Jonquière, with the Quebec, formed the first Wal-Mart store completely syndicated in North America, in spite of the enormous pressures exerted by the direction on its personnel to avoid this unionization. But the response was not made wait and, beginning 2005, the group announces its closing by affirming that the store is in a precarious financial position , whereas this store was one of most profitable in Canada. The same year, in January 2005 the branch of St-Hyacinthe, always with the Quebec, receives its trade-union accreditation. Wal-Mart launched out then in long and difficult negotiation. A third trade-union accreditation was also obtained by the mechanics of a Wal-Mart store to Gatineau, once again with the Quebec. These three attempts at unionization were the fact of the plain Travailleurs of the food and the trade (TUAC) member of FTQ.

Wal-Mart, in its anti-trade-union strategy also disputes 2 other trade-union accreditations obtained by stores of the town of Hull and Gatineau always to the Quebec. In the Canadian province of Saskatchewan the firm also disputes by judicial proceedings the unionization of three of its stores. But Wal-Mart built a department store near Weyburn.

The anti-trade-union policy of the firm, according to several analysts, caused its loss in Germany, where the consumers were sulky the alleys of Wal-Mart.

A film, Wal-Mart, the high cost off low price, produced in the United States, denounces the business practices and social this company.

When Wal-Mart prepared to open its first warehouse in the states-unienne big city of Chicago, the city decided to set up a local by-law aiming at ensuring the human treatment of the employees of large warehouses, including the granting of an health insurance and a reasonable pay to live in the city. The payment, being based on the policy of Costco which had just opened its inaugural warehouse in the city, caused protests of non-seulement Wal-Mart, but also Sears, Target, Bloomingdale' S, and Home Deposit. When the other large stores threatened to leave the town of Chicago to settle in the Banlieues, the city was to give up its projects of improvement of the lives of the workers in favor of the trade.

May 1st, 2007, Human Rights Watch published a report on the repression of the rights of paid and the Syndicalisme in the company. The directors are trained for and held to fight any trade-union establishment or any industrial action including legal, which, because of the American laws offering of very weak protections to the employees, conduit so that the employees were unable to carry out class action suits to take advantage of their right, as regards wages, of work hours or fight against sexual discrimination.

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