Background
Wal Mart Department Store Co., Ltd. was founded in Arkansas in 1962 by Sam Walton, a legendary figure in the American retail industry. Wal Mart has become the largest private employer in the United States and the largest retail chain in the world. Wal Mart has opened more than 10,000 stores in 27 countries, 69 brands, more than 2.2 million employees worldwide, and 200 million customers visit Wal Mart every week.
In 1991, Wal Mart's annual sales exceeded 40 billion US dollars, becoming one of the world's largest retail enterprises. According to the ranking list of service industries in the United States released by Fortune magazine in May 1994, Wal Mart's sales in 1993 reached 67.34 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.8 billion over the previous year, surpassing Sears, who ranked first in 1992, and ranking first in the retail industry in the United States. In 1995, Wal Mart's sales continued to grow, and created a world record in the retail industry, achieving an annual sales of 93.6 billion dollars, ranking fourth in Fortune magazine's 95 largest enterprises in the United States. In fact, Wal Mart's annual sales volume is equivalent to the sum of all department stores in the United States, and it still maintains a strong momentum of development. So far, Wal Mart has 2133 Wal Mart stores, 469 Sam's Club stores and 248 Wal Mart shopping malls, which are distributed in 14 countries including the United States, China, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It has developed so rapidly in just a few decades, which has to be said to be a miracle of the retail industry.
In 2011, Wal Mart and Wal Mart Foundation had a total of 319 million dollars in charitable donations and more than 480 million dollars in materials. In 2014, Wal Mart ranked first again in the Fortune Global 500 with a sales volume of $476.294 billion, which pushed many oil companies. Wal Mart ranked first for three consecutive years. In 2015, its operating revenue reached $482.1 billion, down 0.7% year on year.
Company Purpose
Wal Mart put forward the tenet of "helping customers save every penny", and realized the promise of the cheapest price. The company has always adhered to the principle of "service is better than others, and employees are different" to provide customers with new enjoyment of super first-class services. Entering Wal Mart, customers can feel the considerate service at home. Thirdly, Wal Mart has promoted the new concept of "one-stop" shopping. Customers can buy all the goods they need in the shortest time and at the fastest speed. It is this fast and convenient shopping method that attracts modern consumers.
In addition, although Wal Mart has repeatedly reduced its spending on advertising in order to reduce costs, it is generous in donating money to various public welfare undertakings. What you pay, you get. Wal Mart's long-term investment in public welfare activities and the unique creativity of the activity itself have greatly improved the brand awareness and successfully shaped the brand's outstanding image in the minds of consumers.