About Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a U.S. public corporation, founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and first incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York
Stock Exchange in 1972. It is the largest retailer in the world and the second largest corporation in the world based on revenue as of 2006. For the fiscal year
ending January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart reported net income of $11.2 billion on $316 billion of sales revenue (3.5% profit margin). It is the largest private employer in
the United States, Mexico and Canada.
In the United States, Wal-Mart holds an 8.9 percent retail store market share, with $8.90 out of every $100 spent in U.S. retail stores being spent at Wal-Mart. It
is also the largest grocery retailer in the U.S., with an estimated 20 percent of the retail grocery and consumables business, and is also the largest toy seller in
the U.S., with an estimated 22 percent of the retail toy business, having surpassed Toys 'R' Us in the late 1990s.
Internationally, Wal-Mart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as ASDA and in Japan as The Seiyu Co., Ltd.. In 2006, Wal-Mart's international
operations accounted for approximately 20.1% of total sales. Wholly-owned operations are located in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Puerto Rico, and
the United Kingdom.
There is a movement critical of Wal-Mart, which includes community groups, grassroots organizations, trade unions, and environmental groups. Specific criticisms
concern Wal-Mart's extensive foreign product sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, environmental carelessness, use of public subsidies, and store
impacts on local communities and businesses.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart