Walmart Stores
6 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. — 2009
Amit J. Shah and Michael L. Monahanat
Frostburg State University
WMT
www.walmart.com
In May 2009, Wal-Mart began revamping the electronics departments in its 3,500 U.S. stores to make them much more interactive and roomier. The company wants all the business that
Circuit City’s failure left and also wants Best Buy and Amazon’s business. Wal-Mart now carries more sophisticated electronics products such as Research in Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry smart phones, Palm Inc.’s Pre smart phone, and Blu-ray disc players. In June 2009, Wal-Mart began selling Dell Inc.’s new Studio One 19 touch-screen computers.
In July 2009, Wal-Mart broke ranks with most other large corporations by announcing support for legislation that would require employers to provide health insurance to employees, a centerpiece of President Obama’s effort to provide near-universal coverage to Americans. As the largest private employer in the United States, Wal-Mart desires to level the playing field with its rival firms because it already provides health insurance to all its employees. The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce has actively fought against such legislation for several years.
During the recession of 2008–2009, Wal-Mart was the Dow’s top performer.
Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart’s sales rose from $374.3 billion in fiscal year 2008 to $401.2 billion in 2009 while net income rose from $12.7 billion to $13.4 billion.
For more than a decade, Wal-Mart has been growing by leaps and bounds and rolling over large competitors such as Kmart as well as thousands of small businesses. Financial statements are shown in Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2. (Note:Wal-Mart’s fiscal year ends January 31.)
In 1995, Wal-Mart ended a five-year battle with local leaders of Bennington,
Vermont, and opened its first store in that state, thereby laying claim to having stores in all
50 states (see Exhibit 3). The Bennington store was Wal-Mart’s 2,158th store. To get
Amit J. Shah and Michael L. Monahanat
Frostburg State University
WMT
www.walmart.com
In May 2009, Wal-Mart began revamping the electronics departments in its 3,500 U.S. stores to make them much more interactive and roomier. The company wants all the business that
Circuit City’s failure left and also wants Best Buy and Amazon’s business. Wal-Mart now carries more sophisticated electronics products such as Research in Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry smart phones, Palm Inc.’s Pre smart phone, and Blu-ray disc players. In June 2009, Wal-Mart began selling Dell Inc.’s new Studio One 19 touch-screen computers.
In July 2009, Wal-Mart broke ranks with most other large corporations by announcing support for legislation that would require employers to provide health insurance to employees, a centerpiece of President Obama’s effort to provide near-universal coverage to Americans. As the largest private employer in the United States, Wal-Mart desires to level the playing field with its rival firms because it already provides health insurance to all its employees. The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce has actively fought against such legislation for several years.
During the recession of 2008–2009, Wal-Mart was the Dow’s top performer.
Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart’s sales rose from $374.3 billion in fiscal year 2008 to $401.2 billion in 2009 while net income rose from $12.7 billion to $13.4 billion.
For more than a decade, Wal-Mart has been growing by leaps and bounds and rolling over large competitors such as Kmart as well as thousands of small businesses. Financial statements are shown in Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2. (Note:Wal-Mart’s fiscal year ends January 31.)
In 1995, Wal-Mart ended a five-year battle with local leaders of Bennington,
Vermont, and opened its first store in that state, thereby laying claim to having stores in all
50 states (see Exhibit 3). The Bennington store was Wal-Mart’s 2,158th store. To get