*COMPANY & INDUSTRY OVERVIEW*:
Wal-Mart discount stores
Wal-Mart supercenters & Neighborhood markets
Marketside
Walmart.com
Wal-Mart is the world’s largest public corporation in the retail industry by revenue and ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2009 Most Admired Companies survey. It was incorporated) in Delaware on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Wal-Mart is the largest private employer and the largest grocery retailer in the United States. It also owns and operates the Sam's Club retail warehouses in North America.
Wal-Mart is a strong retail force and ranked as the world's #1 retailer, with 8,222 stores worldwide, as of October 31, 2009. About 55% of its stores are in the US, but Wal-Mart continues expanding internationally. It is the #1 retailer in Canada and Mexico and it has operations in Asia, Europe, and South America.
PRIMARY PRODUCTS:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., like most large retail and grocery chains, offers store brands, commonly referred to as house brands or generic brands, which are low-priced alternatives to name brand products. Wal-Mart has numerous store brands, each catering to a different consumer need or desire. Almost all products offered under Wal-Mart brands are private label products, and can be found in almost every category at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart retails consumer goods of all categories including grocery, healthcare, electronics, home improvement, apparel, fashion jewelry, and automotive. These are further divided into sub categories and that makes Wal-Mart the biggest retailer of consumer products all over the world.
About 40% of products sold in Wal-Mart are private label store brands, or products offered by Wal-Mart and produced through contracts with manufacturers. Wal-Mart began offering private label brands in 1991 with the launch of Sam's Choice, a brand of drinks produced by Cott Beverages exclusively for Wal-Mart. Sam's Choice...