Walmart is one of the booming retail chains in the United States. It is almost impossible to not see people not carrying Walmart bags when you pass by the streets. But how much do you really know about Walmart? Here are the top 10 facts about Walmart that will really enrich your understanding and knowledge about the retail chain.
Fact #1: The first Walmart store was opened in 1962 by Sam Walton at Rogers Ark. Five years later, the family already owned 24 Walmart retail chains across different cities in United States. Ironically, Walton used to be an employee at J.C. Penney.
Fact #2: Walmart has 2.1 million full-time employees – that seven fold the population of Iceland. If it were an army, Walmart could be the second largest military troop next to China.
Fact #3: In 2013, it has broken the record of more than $1.29 billion sales every day. However, it was in 2009 when Walmart made the 23rd-largest economy in the world, with a $405 billion revenue bigger than Sweden.
Fact #4: Every week, nearly one-third of the population in United States would go to Walmart. That explains the unlimited number of people coming in and out the Walmart’s door. If you have any plans going to Walmart, it is highly recommended that you don’t bring a lot of things to keep you comfy through the entire store.
Fact #5: Walmart has more than 8, 500 stores in the world. If you combine them all, that would occupy a 32-square mile of land – that is as much as 15, 300 of football fields combined together as one. With this, you should not be surprise if Walmart is larger than any other retail establishment in the United States such as Kroger, Home Depot, Target, Sears, and K-Mart.
Fact #6: Every week Walmart would serve more than 200 million customers with different nationalities at more than 10, 4000 retail chains built in 27 different countries. And every family who visits Walmart is more likely to spend an average of $4000 a year.
Fact #7: There are only four countries that Walmart is not present: Germany, South Korea, Russia, and India. It planned to open in India but the plan did not materialized when some allegations that Walmart broke some retail rules arose. For 6 years, it has also planned to enter Russia but the bureaucratic understanding seemed to get in the way. Walmart opened in Germany but closed shortly in 2006 because of some cultural issues. The same goes in South Korea. Walmart focused more on luxury retails while South Koreans wanted food and beverages.
Fact #8: Former Walmart CEO Michael Duke had an annual salary of $35 million – no not per year. He actually earned it in an hour – that is many times bigger than the take home salary of every full time employee in the store. The current CEO today is C. Douglas McMillon with a compensation of $9.56 million. A lot of people would want to become Walmart CEO just looking at the figures.
Fact #9: In 2009, the bestselling products of Walmart were bananas. Could you even believe it? In truth, bananas are also good for the heart as they are rich in potassium.
Fact #10: The size of Walmart’s parking space is as wide as the entirety of Tampa, Florida. You can expect to find there different sizes and brands of cars parked in a long, long way. People with cars spend an average of 1 to 2 hours looking for some space. So if you are going to Walmart in a hurry to buy some groceries, you know what to do.
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