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Wal-Mart

Running header: Wal-Mart Stores in 2003

Wal-Mart Stores in 2003

Abstract

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer. Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in 1962 in Arkansas. Now, the company employs more than 1.3 million associates worldwide through more than 3,200 locations in the United States and more than 1,000 units in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, China, Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom. There are more than 100 million customers per week that visit Wal-Mart stores worldwide.


Wal-Mart Stores in 2003
"Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer. Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in 1962 in Arkansas. Now, the company employs more than 1.3 million associates worldwide through more than 3,200 locations in the United States and more than 1,000 units in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, China, Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom. There are more than 100 million customers per week that visit Wal-Mart stores worldwide."(Ghemawat, 2004)
"Wal-Mart's mission is to follow Sam Walton's 3 basic beliefs. These beliefs are what the store was built off of. Wal-Mart has always stayed true to the beliefs that Walton established in 1962. The beliefs consist of respecting the individual, service to the customers, and always strive for excellence. Sam Walton had a strategy to keep his company strong throughout the years. He followed the three basic beliefs while also following his 10 factors that make his business the best. The 10 factors range from motivating your partners to controlling your expenses better than your competition. Sam Walton was a man who stayed true to what he thought had a business so great and he never went against his word." ( Ghemawat, 2004)
Sam Walton developed this strategy by placing a premium on imitation and

adaptation. He cruised not only his stores, but also competitors', tape measure and

recorder in hand, and had crashed at least...