Wal-Mart Story

Sam Walton ventured into the world of self-service in 1950 with the Walton's store in Arkansas, United States, as a principle driving the mentality that the customer is always right. In 1962 Wal-Mart created a strategy based on low prices and a major expansion, the company helped boost U.S. productivity, lower inflation and bolster the purchasing power of millions of people. Wal-Mart accelerated the trend of manufacturing products in Asia and eliminated thousands of small retailers. In 1972 he opened the New York Stock Exchange.


Although it was not until the '90s that Wal-Mart expanded its presence strongly in the rest of the world, with stores in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, United Kingdom, Canada, Costa Rica, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala , Nicaragua, Japan and China, which has achieved a brand image object of admiration and role model among the other competitors in the industry. Wal-Mart continued to grow and gain more and more, in 1997 the company reported more than $ 100 billion in annual sales: $ 105,000,000,000.


In 2006, he had to withdraw from Germany and South Korea for failing to adapt to the tastes of these markets more sophisticated and achieve economies of scale.
Like all corporations, it is often accused of pursuing and decidedly social neglect, however Wal-Mart in 1998 exceeded U.S. $ 100 million annually in charitable contributions, much more than even some governments invest in social protection.

Today, Wal-Mart is working to lead an effort by all global retailers to create common standards, social and environmental. The company also will require all suppliers to comply with environmental, social and quality. These requirements will be incorporated in contracts with the respective utility companies.