Wal‐Mart – the European story so far

Wal‐Mart is the world’s largest retailer. In fact, it is the biggest corporation on the planet. In January 2002, annual year to date sales exceeded a staggering $200 billion, and analysts predict that this figure will have rocketed to $700 billion by 2010. However, to meet such forecasts the organization must expand. Not that this comes as a surprise to the US food retail giant. Wal‐Mart has already increased its global presence from as far as Korea to Puerto Rico. As of March 2002, it had a total of 3,217 stores, over a third of which were located outside the USA. The foundations have been laid but Wal‐Mart cannot afford to rest on its laurels. These markets need to be developed.