Walmart 1999 Annual Report Download - page 2

Steady as she grows …
In a world of dramatic ups and downs, Wal-Mart’s growth
strategy keeps producing returns for shareholders.
Board of Directors
Meet some of the business leaders from across the United
States and around the world who guide Wal-Mart’s growth.
Fine-tuned merchandising
Information is the key to serving the customer, and Wal-Mart
keeps looking for new ways to leverage our understanding of
customers, markets and merchandise into shareholder value.
Everybody’s hometown store
“The Wal-Mart Way” has truly gone global, as customers
worldwide come to know our service, selection and Every Day
Low Prices.
The ultimate ‘learning organization’
The new store in Panorama City may not look like an ordi-
nary Wal-Mart, but then Wal-Mart has never been tied down
to old ways of serving our customers.
It’s not a market, it’s our home
“Our commitment has always been to our customers and our
communities,” says Cynthia Lin, and she should know. As a
Wal-Mart Community Affairs Director, she works to make
that commitment a reality.
Good neighbors to a nation
Wal-Mart associates, working one-by-one on projects planned
at their own stores, add up to the largest charitable fund-rais-
ing force in the United States.
Now showing … at Wal-Mart!
Borrowing from the entertainment industry, Wal-Mart finds
new ways to make shopping fun.
Fiscal 1999 end-of-year store counts
The information our customers seek most often is simply,
“Where’s the nearest Wal-Mart?” So along with our store-
count chart, our annual report also includes a map showing
which states have the most and fewest people per Wal-Mart.
11–year financial summary
Management’s discussion and analysis
Financial statements
Corporate information
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You never can tell what
you’ll see at a Wal-Mart –
maybe even the nation’s top
team of 10- to 14-year-old
cheerleaders, the Champion
Outlaws from San Diego
(left). The name of the game
is “retailtainment”; the
idea is to make shopping at
Wal-Mart fun. Page 15
Table of contents
INTERVIEW
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WHO’S NO. 1? THE CUSTOMER!
FINANCIALS
There’s a method in our
merchandising: Industry-
leading technology not
only helps us stock the
items customers want
(left), but also helps them
find items they may need.
Page 8
A multi-story Wal-Mart? That’s
just the first surprise in our new
community store in Panorama
City (below). Page 12
Welcome to Wal-Mart’s 1999 Annual Report!
Just as they do in our stores, our People
Greeters welcome you to each story. Our featured
greeters: Cover and Page 14 – Chester Grandstaff; Page 2
(above) – Frances M. Judd; Page 8 – Carrol M. Martin; Page
9 – Pat S. Hines; Page 10 – Shelly L. Bagby; Page 12 – Javier
Rincon (Assistant Manager); and Page 16 – Eric
Tinderhott.
Three for the price of one: Our 1999
Annual Report features an interview with
Chairman Rob Walton, President and
CEO David Glass and Senior Vice
Chairman Don Soderquist (right). Paul
Harvey, prominent broadcaster and
shareholder, conducts this interview. Page 4