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Big Box Chain Retailers
WAL-MART STORES
Headquarters
702 SW 8th Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716
Officers
President and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.: Mike Duke
President and CEO, Walmart U.S.: Bill Simon
President and CEO, Walmart International: Doug McMillon
Fiscal 2013 Sales: $274.49 billion (for Wal-Mart Stores)
Fiscal 2013 Profit: $16.99 billion*
* Profit includes Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club.
Advertising Spend
Total advertising costs for the company — which includes Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club — was $2.3 billion in its 2013 fiscal year, slightly down from $2.5 billion the previous year.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) is a discount retail corporation that, as of March 31, 2013, operated 4,033 stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and 6,165 stores in 26 countries. Walmart also owns and operates Sam’s Club, a U.S.-based retail membership warehouse club company (see page 64). The majority of Walmart’s net sales — approximately 60 percent — come from its U.S. stores, while its international stores accounted for around 28 percent and its Sam’s Club division accounted for 12 percent.
While Walmart U.S. operates a mix of discount stores, supercenters, supermarkets and small-format stores in the country, supercenters — stores with an average size of 182,000 square feet — constitute around 75 percent of their national operation. These U.S. stores sell a huge variety of merchandise in what the company outlines as its six main categories — grocery, entertainment, health, wellness, apparel and home.
Walmart’s international segment consists of its wholly owned subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and the U.K. and majority-owned subsidiaries in Chile, Mexico, Botswana, Ghana, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Walmart also has joint retail ventures in China and India.
In his letter to the company’s shareholders ,Wal-Mart CEO Duke noted the company’s future growth centered on five key strategies — “developing our people, driving the productivity loop, winning in global ecommerce, reinvigorating our customer-focused culture and leading on social and environmental issues.”
While jewelry accounted for less than 7 percent of Wal-Mart’s sales in 2013, most Wal-Mart stores offer a selection of precious metal and diamond and gemstone jewelry items, including rings, necklaces, earrings, a full selection of watches, bracelets, pendants and chains, as well as engraved and personalized jewelry and watches.
The majority of these items hit price points below $100. However, while Wal-Mart stores offer jewelry within its advertised affordable price points, Wal-Mart’s retail website sells jewelry items that can range up to more than $7,000.
Wal-Mart also has a strong focus on bridal jewelry, offering a selection of engagement and wedding bands in platinum, gold and silver, and engagement rings ranging from $58 to under $1,000. Some bridal brands offered by the retailer include the Forever Bride Collection, with rings starting at $58 with diamonds of up to .125 carat in size, the Always & Forever Platinaire Collection, with rings starting at $98 with diamonds of up to .125 carat in size, and the Keepsake Collection, with rings starting at $168 with diamonds up to .625 carat in size.
Some, though not all, of Wal-Mart’s jewelry items are certified by the International Gemological Institute (IGI) and come with either a certificate of authenticity, an evaluation report, an appraisal summary or a seal of inspection for pendants and rings. Furthermore, any Keepsake branded diamond from Wal-Mart comes with a Keepsake certificate of authenticity. Wal-Mart also has a proprietary jewelry brand called Love, Earth that offers a selection of gold and silver earrings, necklaces and bracelets that allows consumers to trace where any specific jewelry piece was mined and manufactured. Article from the Rapaport Magazine - June 2013. To subscribe click here.
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