Walmart's World

My initial introduction to WALMART was in Bentonville, Arkansas where my son was working on assignment several years ago. After a business day, we stopped at a Walmart store...from where he purchased a watch for me (made in China)! Then we wandered over to the grocery section. This was a surprise: although we had a Walmart store where I live in Burlington, I'd not entered their doors...believing it was a department store. It was a pleasantry to discover that it stocked a huge grocery section. Then, I decided to pay a visit, when I returned home, to Burlington's Walmart.

The owner of this enterprise was Sam Walton

whose family resides in Bentonville (interesting to read his business climb to history!)

Burlington now has two stores...these being only a mini-dot on the Walmart-World-Map!

Many thanks to Tom for submitting the following history-line

This is How Big Walmart Is!

You don't have to be from U.S. to know of Walmart...the largest retail chain in the world. It is owned by the Walton family (possibly the richest family in the world). It has been around since 1962 and has since grown to unbelievable proportions. Over the years, they have opened stores all over U.S., Canada and Mexico. And it doesn't stop there. The Walton family and the Walmart Corporation own many other retail chains in 28 different countries including: China, Germany, India, Brazil and U.K.

So What Makes This Such a Big Deal? Well the fact of the matter is that Walmart is so big, it's disturbing. When you hear about the size and the numbers that are attributed to Walmart, it's hard not to think about things like 'monopoly' and 'exploitation'. I'm willing to bet that neither you nor your loved ones who shop there, know all of this:

• Globally, Walmart says it employs 2.3 million people and it's very likely it employs even more than that. That huge number of people is more than America's active military personnel (1.43 million) and almost the size of the Chinese army (2.29 million).
• There are around 4,672 Walmart stores in the United States, more than double the number of stores in other food retail chains. There are even more Walmart International locations...over 6,363 as of 2017. More than 90% of its international stores operate under other names such as Asda, Bodega, Aurrera, Seyiu, Best Price, Trust-Mart Hypermarket and Todo Dia.
• The net profit of Walmart, after taxes and paying preferred dividends, was around $13.64 billion in 2017. And that's only profit, not sales!
• Out of the 10 richest Americans, four are members of the Walton family. They're worth more than $30 billion each, just six members of the family combined would hold more wealth than the bottom 40% of the American people.
• Walmart's CEO, Douglas McMillon, is presumed to be paid 1,034 times more than the average Walmart worker. That is by far one of the biggest top-to-bottom differences in America.
• Walmart says it's visited by almost 140 million shoppers a week in their U.S. Stores. That's the equivalent of about 44% of the American population.
• Since Walmart is one of the biggest U.S. gun retailers, it's no shock that it's a frequent scene for shooting incidents. On average, there are 70 shooting incidents a year at Walmarts across America.
• The Walmart Corporation and Foundation has donated $1.4 billion in cash and in-kind contributions around the world last year, which makes it one of the most charitable companies in absolute terms. And yet, this is less than 0.1% of the net worth of the Walton Family Foundation and rumoured to actually be a legal loophole to avoid taxes.

Additional Walmart Facts:

Canadian Mailing Address

Wal-Mart Canada Corp.

1940 Argentia Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5N IPN

Walmart Shopping Online...Grocery Pick-UP

Ad Match: We'll match the advertised price of any competitor

Walmart Rewards Master Card

Recent Advertised Promotion: When you Buy select items from Walmart

you help Food Banks Canada feed families in need.

Give a little love to your local community.

Did You Know?

(The following information I read several months ago)

Walmart Container Ship crosses from China to U.S. in just 5 days.

The “Emma Maersk” part of a Danish shipping line was shown in a photo.

What a ship!!! No wonder 'Made in China' is displacing North American

made goods big time!

These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get their imported goods from China.

These monster ships each hold an incredible 15,000 containers and have a 207 foot deck beam! The full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a U.S. Aircraft Carrier, which has a crew of 5,000. With its 207 foot beam, it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals.

It is strictly transpacific with cruise speed of 31 knots.

The goods arrive four days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots)
on a China-to-California run.

91% of Wal-Mart products are made in China.

So, this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods.

The ship was built in five sections which are floated together, then welded.

The command bridge is higher than a 10-storey building and has 11 cargo crane rigs that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours!

Cargo capacity ~ 15,000 Teu (20 cubic feet)

First trip ~ September 8, 2006.

Construction cost ~ U.S. $145,000,000 + Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom which reduces water resistance and saving 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.

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Writer's comment: The foregoing facts absolutely 'blew my mind'!!!

(They have not been verified or substantiated by the writer of this article.)

Merle Baird-Kerr...compiled May 6, 2017

Comments welcome: mbairdkerr@cogeco.ca or inezkate@mail.com