Wal-Mart's international business borrows from US Wal-Mart borrows lessons from US stores to further expand its growing international business
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Friday, June 6, 2008
ROGERS, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is using lessons from its U.S. operations such as multiple store formats and environmental sustainability to help grow its international business, whose sales increased almost 18 percent to $90.6 billion last year.
At a media gathering Thursday in advance of the company's shareholders' meeting, Hector Nunez, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Brazil, said the company operates nine different store brands in five different formats in that country, from Maxxi Alacado cash-and-carry stores to Hiper Bompreco "hypermarkets," large stores that combine groceries and general merchandise. "We're focusing on low-income consumers," Nunez said. The division is also making strides in environmental sustainability, operating two stores in Brazil that have no environmental impact because of their ability to recycle waste. Same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year, in Wal-Mart Brazil's division were up 9.2 percent in its fiscal first quarter. Craig Herkert, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's America's division, said Wal-Mart Canada is the largest user of renewable energy in that country. The Canada division operates 31 Supercenters, 268 discount stores and six Sam's Club warehouse stores. "We are taking the best practices and sharing them," Herkert said. Ignacio Perez, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Central America, which operates 460 stores in the region, said the company is working with local farmers to help them become Wal-Mart's suppliers. "We are sharing market information and giving them technological support," Perez said. In Japan, which Wal-Mart entered in 2002 and has found slow-going, Vicente Trius, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Asia, said the company is focusing on its message of everyday low prices, which customers are demanding in a country known for expensive goods and services. Trius also noted that Wal-Mart's Japan division is also focusing on freshness in foods, something that Japanese consumers put at a premium.
Report: Wal-Mart Reputation Continues To Slide Retailer Spokesman Says Sales Better Measure Than Survey LAST UPDATED MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2008 By Kimberly Morrison THE MORNING NEWS
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2007 continued to slip down a list of corporate reputation rankings, according to a survey.
The Bentonville-based retailer ranked No. 44 on the Harris Interactive report, which ranks the reputations of the country's 60 "most visible" companies based on consumer perception surveys.
It was the third consecutive year Wal-Mart's score on the list declined.
Wal-Mart's slipped score was the also the third largest rating change, trailing behind Bank of America and Halliburton Co., which saw more significant declines in reputation scores.
Wal-Mart has similarly dropped down Fortune Magazine's list of America's most admired companies.
Wal-Mart in 2003 and 2004 was America's No. 1 most admired company on Fortune Magazine's list, but fell to No. 12 in 2005. The retailer in 2007 dropped to No. 19.
Wal-Mart isn't too concerned with reports on its reputation.
"At a time when the public and Wal-Mart customers specifically are being pressed financially to make ends meet, we think the ultimate measure of reputation is sales," said Greg Rossiter, a Wal-Mart spokesman. "Our sales over the last several months demonstrate pretty clearly that the public trusts Wal-Mart to help them save money to live better."
The retailer has in recent years set out to be a better corporate citizen by incorporating health care and environmental sustainability initiatives into its business. But it may take time for the public to shift their perceptions of the retailer, said Sam Waltz, the director of Sam Waltz & Associates and a specialist in corporate reputational management.
"When there's acute reputational damage that becomes chronic reputational damage, it becomes a very difficult thing to regain positive attributes," Waltz said.
"In other words, it can take some time to get public credit for the good work Wal-Mart is doing now. It could take months and years because there's people who look at them with a political paradigm and just do not want to give them credit."
Nearly half of the American public surveyed said that companies need to address global social issues such as poverty, hunger and disease. Yet treatment of employees, including labor practices and human rights, continued to be a the most important measurement in evaluating a company, according to the report.
Harris Interactive, a Rochester, New York-based market research company, surveyed more than 20,000 people and asked them to rate on a point scale a company's reputation on 20 attributes like vision and leadership, emotional appeal, financial performance and social responsibility.
Each survey participant is asked to rate one randomly selected company from the 60 included and each is given the option to rate a second company.
ROTTERDAM Town agrees to deal on value of store Wal-Mart to be assessed at $7.7M BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Town Board members have ratified a tax settlement with the Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust that will fix the assessment of the company’s Altamont Avenue property at $7.7 million through 2010. Board members on Wednesday unanimously supported the agreement, which will drop the property’s assessed value by $2.8 million for three years starting in 2008. The company’s 2007 assessment of $10.5 million will remain the same and it will not get a refund, according to the settlement. The agreement also provides for a 22.6 percent reduction in the property’s value in 2006. The reduction will afford the company a $15,000 refund from the town, but without interest. Rotterdam Supervisor Steve Tommasone lauded the agreement as a way for the town to avoid litigation over Wal-Mart’s assessment for the next three years. He said the agreement offers the least expensive way for the town to resolve the company’s lawsuit, which was scheduled to go to trial in state Supreme Court in August. “I think it was well negotiated on behalf of the town,” he said of the agreement Thursday. “They came to a good agreement to give to the board.” It was unclear Thursday whether the Mohonasen Central School District has accepted the agreement or will need to refund money to Wal-Mart. Attempts to contact school officials Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful. Calls placed to a company spokeswoman for Wal-Mart were not returned Thursday. Wal-Mart’s appraiser had valued the land at $7.5 million during both 2006 and 2007. In contrast, appraisers for Mohonasen and the town assessed the parcel at $8.9 million in 2006 and $9.3 million in 2007. “It’s generally speaking a win for the town,” Tommasone said. “It gives us a prospective arrangement so that we know for the next few years we’re not going to be back at the table with this company.” The settlement is the third resolution the town has reached this year regarding its large commercial property owners. Last month, the town and Schalmont Central School District officials approved a settlement with Macerich Co., parent company of the Rotterdam Square mall, which gave the property a $7.5 million assessment reduction but not a refund from either entity. In February, the Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency helped broker a payment-in-lieu-oftaxes agreement with the SI Group that ended four years of litigation with the town over its property assessments. The town, county and school district will waive an estimated $1.5 million in tax revenue through the 15-year duration of the agreement.
The agreement also provides for a 22.6 percent reduction in the property’s value in 2006. The reduction will afford the company a $15,000 refund from the town, but without interest
I'm not sure I understand why they would get freakin' interest-----we dont get interest from our income/property taxes owed us......nah, the government likes to call them stimulus checks----only to get refunded back to walmart or anyother conglomerate...... >
SHOW US THE MONEY TRAIL
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The familiar logo of the world’s largest retailer is getting a makeover. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Sunday the company will begin replacing logos on the front of its U.S. stores with a new design beginning this fall. Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner said the change would reflect changes customers already have seen in some store signs and advertisements. Gardner said he had no other information about the change. However, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that the new look would include eliminating the hyphen in the company’s name, now shown as a star at its more than 3,600 U.S. stores. The new logo would show company’s name in white letters on an orange background, followed by a small starburst, the Journal reported, based on an artist’s rendering filed with planning officials in Memphis, Tenn.
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge has ruled against Wal-Mart in a classaction lawsuit, saying the discount retailer violated state labor laws more than 2 million times, including cutting worker break time and “willfully” allowing employees to work off the clock. Dakota County Judge Robert King Jr. on Monday ordered Wal-Mart to pay $6.5 million in compensatory damages, but Wal-Mart could end up paying more than $2 billion after a jury in October considers civil penalties and punitive damages. “We believe that this award not only helps the individual clients, but it also sends a message to Wal-Mart that it has to pay for its mistakes,” said Justin Perl, an attorney representing the former Wal-Mart employees named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Wal-Mart Switches To Local Fruit, Veggies Retail Giant Says It Is Now Biggest Buyer Of Local Produce In U.S.
(AP) Wal-Mart stores in Arizona now stock Grand Canyon sweet onions while aisles in New York display state-grown eggplant, as the world's largest retailer says it has become the United States' largest buyer of locally grown fruits and vegetables.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to purchase and sell $400 million worth of produce grown by local farmers within its state stores this year, an effort the company says will only grow. Academic studies show buying locally cuts down on transportation mileage while also assuring customers of a product's providence amid mass recalls.
"Wal-Mart would not be the first" to buy local, said Rich Pirog, associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. "But they're obviously, without question, the largest retailer to go down this route."
Among retailers, Whole Foods Market Inc. of Austin, Texas, is perhaps best known for buying and selling locally grown produce, Pirog said. Others, like New Seasons Market stores around Portland, Oregon, and Hen House Market stores in Kansas City, cater to customers looking for fresh produce.
For Wal-Mart, which leverages bulk purchases to keep prices down, buying from local farms might not appear to fit the company's strategy. However, the Arkansas-based company has focused on buying fruits and vegetables from farms closest to its distribution centers, making shipping easier while cutting down on trucking in produce from outside of the area, said spokeswoman Deisha Galberth.
For example, the retail giant once only bought peaches from a few suppliers. Now, Wal-Mart buys 12 million pounds of peaches annually from farms in 18 different states, she said.
Because of that, the company estimates it saves about 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year and cuts away 672,000 food miles - the distance produce travels from farm to a customer's plate. That adds up to $1.4 million in annual savings, Galberth said.
"It's one of the ways we've been able to keep costs down," Galberth said. "Our customers right now are struggling with tough economic times and looking to us to provide them with products that are at the quality they want and a price they can afford."
Wal-Mart considers locally grown produce anything farmed within a state's boundaries. Galberth said customers will soon see signs near produce that indicate it comes from the same state. The company already has agreements with some states to have stickers and labels show the state certified the produce came from there.
Wal-Mart announced its commitment to locally grown produce Tuesday during an event in Georgia, highlighting that state's cantaloupes, onions and watermelons. The move comes as the company continues a marketing campaign highlighting its environmentally focused practices.
Pirog said Wal-Mart's entry into the locally grown market could have a rippling effect across an industry often associated with local farmers markets. Some restaurants and customers now are willing to pay a little more for fruits and vegetables they know came from local farmers, something Pirog said could change as Wal-Mart moves into the territory and negotiates.
Pirog said Wal-Mart also could be buying from a single large farm in a particular state, locking out other smaller operations. Wal-Mart did not name its suppliers, and Galberth declined to say what percentage locally grown produce represented among all the produce purchased by the company.
However, identifying locally grown food in store aisles can relieve customer concerns, especially after a recent salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes sickened at least 869 people across the country.
"Local food can answer that question," Pirog said. "It can answer a question of where it comes from and how it was grown. That is still somewhat of a mystery to most consumers when they buy food at the store. ... That's what consumers are yearning for."
"Local food can answer that question," Pirog said. "It can answer a question of where it comes from and how it was grown. That is still somewhat of a mystery to most consumers when they buy food at the store. ... That's what consumers are yearning for."
maybe they are yearning for a farm they can call their own.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
A judge has ruled against Wal-Mart in a classaction lawsuit, saying the discount retailer violated state labor laws more than 2 million times, including cutting worker break time and “willfully” allowing employees to work off the clock.
If you break a state law more than 2 million times, you should be kicked out of the state permanently (unless you're an illegal alien, of course).
I guess in the political correct narcisitic world,,,,the ending of a conversation with the word NO is prohibited......unless one thinks they are gonna get somethin' for nothin', walk away and go on your break.......the walls will still be standing, the roof attached and that greeter at the door will still be there and so will your annoying boss along with all those whiny crying kids.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
The Morning News Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Wal-Mart Wins Permanent Gag Order Against Former Worker By Kimberly Morrison The Morning News
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has won a permanent gag order and agreed to drop its lawsuit against a fired security employee who detailed to media what he said were the retailer's surveillance practices.
A Benton County judge Monday granted Wal-Mart a permanent injunction against Bruce Gabbard, a technician who alleged that a manager pressured him to find security leaks.
The injunction replaces a previous restraining order Wal-[b]Mart had against Gabbard and bars him from further disclosing trade secrets and other confidential information.
Gabbard and his supervisor, Jason Hamilton, were fired last year after recording phone calls to and from a New York Times reporter and intercepting pager messages. Wal-Mart said the pair violated company policy.
He later alleged in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he was part of a surveillance operation that spied on company workers, critics, vendors and consultants.
Sharon Weber, Wal-Mart spokeswoman, declined to comment on the court's order, saying only that, "As far as were concerned, this filing should bring the matter to a close."
Circuit Court Judge John Scott ruled at Wal-Mart's request that the company can still pursue a lawsuit if Gabbard violates the order.
Wal-Mart alleged in its lawsuit that Gabbard revealed "confidential information about Wal-Mart security systems and operations" and "highly confidential information about Wal-Mart's strategic planning." It sought unspecified damages.
Gabbard may still posses confidential and potentially damaging information, the filing suggests. Like the previous restraining order, the injunction requires Gabbard to turn over any trade secret information that he may have or has given to lawyers, family members, friends and others.
Gabbard claimed in an April 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal that he worked on a team called the Threat Research Analysis Group, a unit of Wal-Mart's Information Systems Division. Gabbard further detailed surveillance activities that he said included infiltrating an anti-Wal-Mart group, investigating shareholders at McKinsey & Co. and monitoring computer activities of anyone connected to the retailers computer network, including suppliers.
...Galberth said. "Our customers right now are struggling with tough economic times and looking to us to provide them with products that are at the quality they want and a price they can afford."
And why are customers struggling? Because the jobs have gone overseas and Walmart ignores the companies that do produce here. Was it on this Rotterdam board or the Schenectady board, I can't remember, posters started listing where you can get "Made in the USA" products. Then there was a story in the paper recently about Softex in Cohoes, that is "Made in the USA" stuff. Why doesn't Walmart put Softex products on their shelves?? I think the story said that Sears (and maybe Kmart too since they are connected) sell Softex products. And how about the Newberry Knitting products, heck, they are only down the road from Walmart, Walmart could save a fortune in transportation costs having the hats and mittens flown in or shipped from overseas.
So, Walmart, what gives?
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
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