Our Purpose: Saving People Money So They Can Live Better

Saving people money to help them live better was the goal that Sam Walton envisioned when he opened the doors to the first Wal-Mart. Today, more than 40 years later with operations in 14 markets, we continue to deliver that promise to families around the globe. It’s the focus that underlies everything we do at Wal-Mart. And for the more than 200 million people in the U.S. who shop at Wal-Mart each year (according to Nielsen estimates), it means a lot. In 2007, independent research from Global Insight showed that we save American families $2,500 each year, regardless of where they choose to shop.

Save Money

We know that price matters to our customers. That’s why we offer the best quality merchandise at the lowest prices in all of our stores, from school supplies, to household items and top quality groceries. We also look at savings that go beyond the prices you see in our stores. For example, we are working with our suppliers to introduce more energy efficient products that can save customers money for years to come. And because every store or club is designed to reflect the local community, our customers know they will find the lowest prices on the products that match their lifestyle.

Live Better

Saving money is a means to helping our customers live better. By offering the best possible prices on the products our customers need, we can help them afford something a little extra. Whether it’s a grandmother who can buy her grandchildren a special gift because she saved money on her prescriptions, or a young family saving money to buy their first home, we see our mission come to life every day.

We also see opportunities to help people live better beyond the walls of our stores and clubs. That’s why we support causes that are important to our communities, like education, and why we are working hard to do our part in protecting our planet and conserving our natural resources for generations to come. Wal-Mart’s environmentally-friendly initiatives include: doubling the fuel efficiency of our trucks, becoming 100 percent supplied by renewable energy, and creating zero waste in our stores. In the United States, we are proud to make the majority of our charitable donations to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods. In 2007, Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs and the Wal-Mart Foundation gave more than $296 million to 4,000-plus communities in the U.S.

Saving people money so they can live better is at the heart of everything we do, and these are just a few examples of the many ways we bring that mission to the community each and every day. Simply put, helping people live better is more than something we do, it’s who we are.

A few more facts:

• Wal-Mart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide, including more than 1.4 million in the United States.
• Wal-Mart is a diverse employer. In our U.S. stores, more than 171,000 Hispanics; 257,000 African Americans; 41,000 Asian Americans; 5,000 Pacific Islanders; 16,000 Native Americans; and 869,000 women choose to work at Wal-Mart.
• The majority of our associates are full-time associates (34-40 hours per week). Many of our associates are seniors who need supplemental income or students who want work experience.
• Wal-Mart insures more than 1.1 million associates and family members making us among the nation’s largest providers of private sector health insurance.
• Wal-Mart offers the opportunity for a career: More than 75 percent of our store management team joined us as hourly associates.
• Through our relationships with 56,000 U.S. suppliers, we spent $200 billion on merchandise in 2007 and supported more than 3 million American jobs.
• Through our “Jobs and Opportunity Zones” (JOZ) program, Wal-Mart works with local businesses and suppliers to spur job creation and economic development in the community. Wal-Mart has partnered with local chambers of commerce, business groups, minority chambers of commerce and minority and women-owned businesses within 10 designated zones – each anchored by a Wal-Mart store – to direct hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to these communities. The JOZs are: Chicago; Cleveland; Decatur, Ga.; East Hills, Pa.; El Mirage, Ariz.; Indianapolis; Landover Hills, Md.; Portsmouth, Va.; Richmond, Calif.; and Sanger, Calif. Nine of the 10 JOZ anchor stores have opened. The remaining zone is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2009 in East Hills, Pa.

For more information, visit Walmartstores.com