Special Report: Walmart 60th Anniversary

Special Report

Walmart 60th Anniversary

As a new year brings fresh perspectives, a milestone anniversary presents the opportunity to look back at the successful journey taken. This year, Walmart celebrates 60 years in the industry, a stunning achievement as the company has maintained an industry-leading presence as a powerhouse grocer and superstore chain with several banners.

History:

Walmart started as a small discount retailer in Rogers, AR and was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. Within five years, Walton had expanded his operations to 24 locations. The company officially became Wal-Mart Stores in 1969.

In 1970, the company became publicly traded, and a year later the first distribution center and home office opened in Bentonville, AR. The company quickly made strides to become a superstore when the company opened its first pharmacy in 1978. By 1980, Walmart had expanded to 276 stores and employed 21,000 associates.

Embracing its rapid expansion, the company opened its first banner store, Sam’s Club, in 1983 in Midwest City, OK. Within the same year, Walmart replaced its cash registers with computerized point-of-sale systems in order to help consumers shop and check out more efficiently. It wasn’t until 1988 that the first Walmart Superstore opened in Washington, MO, which was the industry’s first hint that Walmart was evolving into a one-stop-shop for consumers that prioritized convenience.

Also in 1988, David Glass was named CEO, and in 1991, Walmart went global through joining forces with Cifra, a Mexican retail chain, which helped Walmart open the first Sam’s Club internationally in Mexico City. In 1992, Rob Walton was appointed chairman of the board and the company grew to 371,000 employees and 1,928 stores and clubs.

Walmart established its presence in Canada through the purchase of 122 Woolco stores in 1994, and three years later, the company opened its first location in China. One year later, Walmart introduced its consumers to The Neighborhood Market with three locations in Arkansas.

H. Lee Scott Jr. succeeded David Glass as CEO in 2000, and within the same year, the company created an e-commerce presence that provided shoppers the opportunity to shop online. Staying ahead of industry trends, Walmart launched its Site to Store service in 2007, which allowed consumers to purchase items online and pick up instores—further evolving and growing its e-commerce presence.

In 2009, Mike Duke was named CEO, and a year later the company opened its first location in India. In 2011, Walmart entered the South African market by acquiring 51 percent of Massmart Holdings Limited. In 2012, the company celebrated 50 years of service and in 2014, Doug McMillon succeeded Duke as CEO, and later becomes the current President and CEO. A year later, Greg Foran became President and CEO of Walmart. In 2015, Rob Walton retired as chairman of the board of directors but continues to serve as a director, and Greg Penner succeeded Walton. John Furner was appointed Sam’s Club’s President and CEO in 2017, and in 2018, Walmart modified the spelling of its name from Wal-Mart to Walmart.

Judith McKenna became President and CEO of Walmart International in 2018 and in the same year the company acquired Flipkart in India and Eloquii, Bare Necessities and Art.com. John Furner was named President and CEO of Walmart in 2019 and the company opened its First Walmart Health Center.

Currently, the company has approximately 10,500 stores and clubs under 48 banners in 24 different countries.

Sam’s Club:

Walmart has had a variety of banners over the years, many are international chains, but one of Walmart’s largest and well-known banners is Sam’s Club. Sam Walton opened the banner in 1983 in an effort to help smaller businesses save money on buying products in bulk. Sam’s Club has evolved from one location to approximately 600 in the US, 200 international locations and online.

Sam’s Club is a membership-based warehouse club and offers members quality products in bulk and at a discounted price. The company has grown over the years, and has put emphasis on only supplying and carrying high-quality, premium brands. Sam’s Club eventually was able to launch its own private label, Member’s Mark. The brand’s products include home décor, clothing, food and snacking options and health and wellness items to name a few. Similar to Walmart, Sam’s Club has remained ahead of trends and is working on rolling out its Inventory Scan, which is considered the largest and fastest technology deployment by Brain Corp, an artificial intelligence company. The Inventory Scan will be installed to the 600 autonomous floor scrubbers Sam’s Club already has in place and will be able to scan and capture data while it moves around each storefront. The AI is expected to provide various insights such as verification of pricing, product stock levels and localization.

Online Developments:

Walmart launched online shopping in 2000, but it wasn’t until 2007 that consumers had the option to shop online and pickup in-stores. In 2013, the company piloted its online grocery curbside pickup services and by 2017, Walmart had launched it 1,000th curbside pickup location. Online grocery pickup gives consumers the option to shop from more than 40,000 items.

Walmart also launched Walmart Marketplace, which allows people to sell their products online and grow their business.

According to the company website, “offers customers an expanded assortment while also giving small businesses access to the surging traffic on Walmart. com. Shopify powers a dynamic portfolio of third-party sellers who are interested in growing their business through new, trusted channels. This integration will allow approved Shopify sellers to seamlessly list their items on Walmart. com, which gives Walmart customers a

r Cont'd on Pg. 4

37,000,000,000,000

REASONS TO CHOOSE OMEGA-3s FIRST

Choosing the right brand is essential.

Over 37 trillion cells in the body rely on omega-3s to function optimally. Nordic Naturals revolutionized the omega-3 industry with new standards for fish oil freshness, purity, potency, and results. That’s why our Ultimate Omega is #1 in the U.S.†

For more information, contact us at fdminfo@nordicnaturals.com or call 800-662-2544.

r From Pg. 2

Over the course of six decades, shoppers’ health priorities and shopping styles and preferences have evolved in rhythm with advances in technology. / All photos courtesy of Walmart.

broader assortment.”

Walmart Marketplace is one of the largest omni-channel retailers that help millions of consumers not only list their own items on Walmart’s website, but also add their catalogs, manage orders and coordinate shipments.

In 2016, Walmart acquired Jet.com, which was hailed the largest e-commerce acquisition in history. The acquisition furthered Walmart’s e-commerce platform, helping to accelerate growth and provide a smoother, more unique shopping experience for consumers. Walmart has subsequently worked to bring e-commerce merchandising in-house to Bentonville, AR in a more streamlined omni-channel approach.

Leadership:

Doug McMillon is the current President and CEO of Walmart. According to the company, McMillon has focused on simplifying life for busy families while earning consumer and associate trust. While McMillon has been President, Walmart has invested in associate salaries, benefits and education while creating a plan to partake in helping climate change. He was named President and CEO in 2014, but from 2009 to 2014, McMillon was President and CEO of Walmart International. From 2005 to 2009, he was President and CEO of Sam’s Club, making him very familiar with every aspect of the company.

John Furner is the President and CEO of Walmart US and oversees more than 1.5 million associates while remaining responsible for the strategic direction and performance of the company’s 4,700 US locations. Before entering this role, Furner was the President and CEO of Sam’s Club, but actually started out as an hourly associate in 1993 at Walmart.

Judith McKenna is the current President and CEO of Walmart International. In her role, McKenna oversees the company’s footprint outside of the US. McKenna manages 550,000 associates within 23 countries. She focused on expanding the company’s e-commerce and omni-channel offerings. Before entering this role, McKenna was the evp and COO for Walmart US where she guided the launch of online grocery in the US.

Future:

Being an innovator and staying ahead of the trends and demands, Walmart has announced it signed an agreement with Plenty Unlimited to invest in Plenty, an indoor vertical farming company. The investment is part of what the company is referring to as a “broader strategic partnership to utilize Plenty’s indoor vertical farming technology platform to deliver fresh produce to Walmart retail stores.”

Walmart’s 60th anniversary further demonstrates the company has always been a ‘trend setter’ by staying ahead of the demands and expectations of its consumers. Since its inception, Walmart has proven its leadership through its online grocery developments, same-day delivery and pickup services, and many other conveniences and adaptions that some grocers might have struggled with during 2020. Walmart has been on top of these innovations and conveniences for a while and continues to stay ahead of the evolving market.

New Year’s

Essentials