Wal-Mart has experienced amazing, sustained growth:
How big can Wal-Mart grow? With $256 billion in sales in the year to January 31st, the firm is already the world’s biggest company by that measure. Its nearest retailing rival, a French supermarket chain called Carrefour, is less than half Wal-Mart’s size. In America, Wal-Mart manages nearly 3,000 giant discount stores and hypermarket ?supercentres?. Abroad, it has ventured into Mexico, Britain, Japan, Canada, Germany and China, as well as making smaller investments elsewhere. Eight out of ten American households shop at Wal-Mart at least once a year. Worldwide, more than 100m customers visit Wal-Mart stores every week.
Eight out of ten American households shop at Wal-Mart at least once a year. I guess I’m one of the two out of ten…
In fact, I seem to love Wal-Mart’s “upmarket” competitors:
A number of retailers in America have gone up against Wal-Mart and survived — even thrived. They have deliberately avoided trying to do the same thing as Wal-Mart. Hence Target, based in Minneapolis, competes as a sort of ?upmarket? Wal-Mart with low prices, but a more edited selection of goods. It also employs its own designers to create exclusive ranges. Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington state, operates a chain of membership discount-warehouses, which rival Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club chain. Costco carries international brands and is particularly noted for its wines and surprises: it recently had $52,000 diamond rings for sale. Costco also has a reputation for paying its staff well above the average union rates.