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Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Type Discount department store/Public (NYSE: WMT)
Founded Flag of United States Rogers, Arkansas, USA (1962)
Headquarters Flag of United States Bentonville, Arkansas, USA
Key people Sam Walton (1918–1992), Founder
H. Lee Scott, CEO
S. Robson Walton, Chairman
Tom Schowe, CFO
Industry Retail
Products Discount stores, grocery stores, and hypermarkets
Revenue US$351.1 billion (2007)[1]
Net income US$11.3 billion (2007)[1]
Employees 1.8 million (2006)[1]
Website www.walmart.com
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is an American public corporation,
currently the world's largest corporation according to the 2007 Fortune 500.
It was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and
listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. It is the largest private
employer in the world and world's third largest utility or commercial
employer, only to the Chinese Army and the Indian Railways . Wal-Mart is the
largest grocery retailer in the United States, with an estimated 20% of the
retail grocery and consumables business, and the largest toy seller in the
U.S., with an estimated 45% of the retail toy business, having surpassed
Toys "R" Us in the late 1990s.
Wal-Mart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as ASDA, and in
Japan as The Seiyu Co., Ltd. Wholly owned operations are located in
Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the UK. Wal-Mart's investments
outside North America have produced mixed results. In 2006, Wal-Mart sold
its retail operations in South Korea and Germany due to sustained losses and
a highly competitive market.
Wal-Mart has been the target of criticism from some community groups,
women's rights groups, grassroots organizations, and labor unions. Specific
criticisms include the company's extensive foreign product sourcing, low
rates of employee health insurance, resistance to union representation, and
alleged sexism, among other things.
The retailer's mascot is The Rollback Man, a smiley face character who
appears in its ads.
History
Sam Walton's retailing career began when he accepted a job offer at a
JCPenney store in Des Moines, Iowa on June 3, 1940 where he remained for 18
months. In 1945, he met with Butler Brothers, a regional retailer that owned
a chain of variety stores called Ben Franklin. Butler Brothers offered him a
Ben Franklin store in Newport, Arkansas.
Walton could not come to agreement on his lease renewal and could not find a
new location in Newport; so he located a new variety store in Bentonville,
Arkansas which he would open as another Ben Franklin franchise, but called
"Walton's Five and Dime." Walton achieved higher sales volume by selling
products with slightly smaller markups than most competitors.[2]
In 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store, Wal-Mart Discount City and
within five years the company expanded to 24 stores across the state of
Arkansas and reached $12.6 million in sales. In 1968, it opened its first
stores outside Arkansas, in Sikeston, Missouri and Claremore, Oklahoma.[3]
The company was incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on October 31, 1969,
and in 1970 opened its home office in Bentonville, Arkansas, and its first
distribution center. There were now 38 stores operating with 1,500 employees
and sales of $44.2 million. The company began trading stock at this time as
a publicly held company on October 1, 1972, and was listed on the New York
Stock Exchange shortly thereafter. The first stock split occurred in May
1971 at a market price of $47. By this time, Wal-Mart was operating in five
states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma, and entered
Tennessee in 1973, and Kentucky and Mississippi in 1974. As it moved into
Texas in 1975, there were 125 stores with 7,500 employees, and total sales
of $340.3 million.[3]
Wal-Mart continued to grow rapidly during the 1980s, and by its twenty-fifth
anniversary in 1987, there were 1,198 stores with sales of $15.9 billion and
200,000 associates.[3] This year also marked the completion of the company's
satellite network, a $24 million investment, linking all operating units of
the company with their Bentonville Office via two-way voice, data, and
one-way video communication. At the time, this was the largest private
satellite network, and allowed the corporate office to track inventory,
sales, and send instant communication to their stores.[4] Company founder
Sam Walton stepped down as CEO the following year, and was replaced by David
Glass. [5] Walton remained on as Chairman of the Corporate Board of
Directors, and the company also restructured their senior management
positions, elevating a cadre of executives to positions of greater
responsibility.
Also in 1988, the first Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Washington,
Missouri.[6] Wal-Mart expanded their superstore concept during the 1990s,
and shortly thereafter surpassed Toys "R" Us in toy sales.[7] The company
also opened overseas stores during this period, entering the South American
market in 1995 with stores in Argentina and Brazil, and purchasing ASDA in
the United Kingdom for $10 billion in 1999.[8] In 1998, Wal-Mart entered the
grocery business, introducing their Neighborhood Market concept with three
stores in Arkansas.[9] By 2005, estimates indicate that the company
controlled approximately 20% of the retail grocery and consumables
business.[10]
By 2000, as H. Lee Scott was named President and CEO of the company,
Wal-Mart's sales increased to $165 billion.[11] In 2002, Wal-Mart was listed
for the first time on the Fortune 500 list of the world's largest
corporations, with revenues of $219.8 billion and profits of $6.7 billion.
The company was subsequently listed at #1 for every year after 2002 except
for 2006.[12]
In 2005, Wal-Mart had $312.4 billion in sales, more than 6,200 facilities
around the world, including 3,800 stores in the United States and 3,800
international units, and employing more than 1.6 million associates
worldwide. In fact, their U.S. presence had grown so rapidly that there were
only small pockets of the country that remained further than 60 miles away
from the nearest Wal-Mart.[13] Also in 2005, focusing on becoming more
ecologically-friendly, the company designed two new experimental stores, one
in McKinney, Texas and the other in Aurora, Colorado, featuring wind
turbines, photovoltaic solar panels, biofuel-capable boilers, water-cooled
refrigerators, and xeriscape gardens.[14]
In March 2006, Wal-Mart sought to attempt to appeal to a more affluent
demographic, with the opening of a new supercenter in Plano, Texas, and is
intended to compete against stores that some view as more upscale and
appealing, such as Target.[15] The new store features wooden floors, wider
aisles, a sushi bar, a coffee/sandwich shop (with free Wi-Fi Internet
access), and higher-end items such as microbrew beer, expensive wines, and
high-end electronics. The exterior sports the less-common hunter green
background behind the Wal-Mart letters instead of the trademark blue.
Subsidiaries
Wal-Mart's operations are comprised primarily in three retailing
subsidiaries! Wal-Mart Stores Division U.S., Sam's Club (second biggest to
Costco), and Wal-Mart International.[16] Wal-Mart does business under nine
different retail formats: supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandise
stores, bodegas (small markets), cash and carry stores, membership warehouse
clubs, apparel stores, soft discount stores and restaurants.[16]
Wal-Mart Stores Division U.S.
The Wal-Mart Stores Division U.S. is Wal-Mart's largest business subsidiary,
accounting for 67.2% of fiscal 2006 net sales.[16] This segment consists of
three traditional retail formats: discount stores, supercenters, and
neighborhood markets, all of which are located in the United States, as well
as Wal-Mart's online retailer, walmart.com. Walmart.com was listed in the
Top 500 largest e-retailers Guide by Internet Retailer in 2007. This list
also incorporated other retailers such as Target, Apple, and PartStore.com.[17]
Additionally, in February 6, 2007, the company launched a "beta" version of
their new movie download service, mediadownloads.walmart.com, which sells
3,000 films and television episodes from all major studios and television
networks.[18]
Wal-Mart Stores operates retail department stores selling a range of
non-grocery products, though emphasis is now focused on the supercenters,
which include more grocery items.
Wal-Mart Discount Stores
Wal-Mart Discount Stores are a chain of discount department stores that
range in size from 20,000 square feet (2,000 m²) to 224,000 square feet
(21,000 m²) with an average size of approximately 102,000 square feet (9,500
m²).[16] They carry some general merchandise products and a selection of
food items. Many of these stores also feature a garden center, a pharmacy,
Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait
studio, and a fast food outlet. Some also have Gasoline Stations.
The first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas, has been remodeled and
expanded, becoming a 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter. A similar Wal-Mart
concept, Discount City, opened in Rogers a year earlier, but all of these
stores were later closed or converted into Discount Stores.
As of May 31, 2007, there were 1,040 Wal-Mart Discount Stores in the United
States. The busiest Wal-Mart in the world is in Rapid City, South
Dakota.[19]
Wal-Mart Supercenter
Wal-Mart Supercenters are a chain of hypermarkets that range in size from
98,000 square feet (9,000 m²) to 261,000 square feet (24,000 m²) with an
average size of approximately 197,000 square feet (17,000 m²).[16] They
carry everything a Wal-Mart Discount Store does, as well as a full-line
supermarket (including meat and poultry, baked goods, delicatessen, frozen
foods, dairy products, garden produce and fresh seafood). Many Wal-Mart
Supercenters also feature a garden center, a pet shop, a pharmacy, a Tire &
Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait
studio, and numerous alcove shops such as a cellular phone store, hair and
nail salons, a video rental store, a family fun center, a branch of a local
bank, and possibly a fast food outlet. Some locations also sell gasoline,
either through Murphy Oil Corporation, whose Wal-Mart stations are branded
as "Murphy USA", Sunoco, Inc. as "Optima", or Tesoro Corporation, who uses
the "Mirastar" banner on theirs.
The first Supercenter opened in 1988 in Washington, Missouri; a similar
Wal-Mart concept, Hypermart USA, opened in Garland, Texas a year earlier,
but all of those stores were later closed or converted into Supercenters. As
of May 31, 2007, there were 2,326 Wal-Mart Supercenters in the United
States.[19]
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets are a chain of grocery stores that average
about 42,000 square feet (3,900 m²).[16] They offer a variety of products
(including a full-line of groceries, pharmaceuticals, health and beauty
aids, photo developing services, and a limited selection of general
merchandise).
The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998 in Bentonville, Arkansas. As of
May 31, 2007, there were 118 Neighborhood Markets in the United States.[19]
Sam's Club
Wal-Mart operates Sam's Club, a chain of warehouse clubs that sells
groceries and general merchandise, often in large quantities or volume.
Sam's Club stores are only open to customers who subscribe to a paid, annual
membership. Some locations also sell gasoline. The first Sam's Club opened
in 1983 in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
According to Wal-Mart's 2006 Annual Report, Sam's Club accounted for
approximately 12.7% of fiscal 2006 sales. Competitors of Wal-Mart's Sam's
Club division are Costco, and the smaller BJ's Wholesale Club chain
operating mainly in the eastern US.
As of May 31, 2007, there were 584 Sam's Clubs in the United States.[19]
Wal-Mart International
Wal-Mart's international operations comprise 2,701 stores in 14 countries
outside the United States.[20] According to Wal-Mart's 2006 Annual Report,
International accounted for approximately 20.1% of fiscal 2006 sales.[16]
Wholly owned operations are located in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto
Rico and the United Kingdom (UK). With 1.8 million employees worldwide, the
company is the largest private employer in the US and Mexico, and one of the
largest private employers in Canada.[21]
Wal-Mart has operated in Canada since their acquisition of the Woolco
division of Woolworth Canada, Inc.[22] Today, they operate 278 locations
employing 70,000 Canadians, with a local home office in Mississauga,
Ontario. On November 8, 2006, Wal-Mart Canada's first three Supercentres
opened in Ancaster, London, and Stouffville, Ontario. As of January 31,
2007, there were six Wal-Mart Supercenters in Canada.[19] As of November 30,
2006, there were six Sam's Clubs Canada (all in Ontario: London, Richmond
Hill, Vaughan, Cambridge, Pickering, and Toronto).[19] In December 2006,
conversion of a Wal-Mart Discount Store into a Wal-Mart Supercentre has
begun in Lethbridge, Alberta, making it the 7th in Canada and the first in
Western Canada.
Sales in the fiscal year 2006 for Wal-Mart's UK subsidiary, ASDA (an
abbreviation of ASquith and DAiries), were 42.7% of the International
segment sales. In contrast to Wal-Mart's US operations, ASDA was originally
and remains primarily a grocery chain, but it has a stronger focus on
non-foods than most UK supermarket chains (a notable exception is Tesco,
UK's largest grocery & Non-food retailer). At the end of fiscal year 2006,
there were 236 ASDA stores, 10 George stores, 5 ASDA Living and 43 ASDA
small stores.
In addition to its wholly owned international operations, Wal-Mart has joint
ventures in China and several majority owned subsidiaries. Wal-Mart's
majority owned subsidiary in Mexico is Walmex. In Japan, Wal-Mart owns
approximately 53% of The Seiyu Co., Ltd.[23] Additionally, Wal-Mart owns 51%
of the Central American Retail Holding Company (CARHCO) formed from more
than 360 supermarkets and other store formats, operating in 5 Central
American countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa
Rica.[24]
In 2004, Wal-Mart bought the Bompreço supermarket chain, composed of 116
stores. Bompreço is the major supermarket chain in Northeastern Brazil. In
late 2005, Wal-Mart took control of the Brazilian operations of Sonae
Distribution Group through its new subsidiary, WMS Supermercados do Brasil,
thus acquiring control of the Nacional and Mercadorama supermarket chains,
the leaders in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná states. None of those operations
were rebranded. As of August 2006, Wal-Mart operates 71 Bompreço stores, 27
Hiper-Bompreço stores, 15 Balaio stores and 3 Hiper-Magazines (all
originally part of Bompreço). It also runs 19 Wal-Mart Supercenters, 13
Sam's Club stores and 2 Todo Dia stores. With the acquisition of Bompreço
and Sonae, Wal-Mart is currently the third largest supermarket chain in
Brazil, behind Carrefour and Pão de Açúcar.
In July 2006, Wal-Mart announced its withdrawal of operations from Germany
because of sustained losses in the highly-competitive German market. The
stores were sold to the German company METRO AG.[25] The sale was completed
in Wal-Mart's fiscal third quarter.[23]
In November 2006, Wal-Mart announced a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises
to open "hundreds" of retail stores in India. Since foreign corporations are
not allowed to enter the retail sector in India directly, Wal-Mart is
expected to operate through franchises and handle the wholesale end of the
venture.[26] The partnership will involve two joint ventures. While Bharti
would be managing the front-end that involves opening retail outlets,
Wal-Mart would take care of the back-end such as cold chains and logistics.
Private label brands
Today, approximately 40% of products sold in Wal-Mart are private label
store brands, or products offered by Wal-Mart and produced through
subsidized contracts awarded to the lowest bidder.[27] Wal-Mart began
offering private label brands in 1991 with the launch of Sam's Choice, a
brand of drinks produced by Cott Beverages exclusively for Wal-Mart. Sam's
Choice quickly became popular, and by 1993, was cited as #3 on the list of
top beverage brands in the United States.[28] Other Wal-Mart brands include
Great Value and Equate in the US and Smart Price in the United Kingdom. A
2006 study recently found that, "While clearly other results in this study
point to the success of other retailers, we are struck by the magnitude of
mind-share Wal-Mart appears to hold in shoppers' minds when it comes to
awareness of private label brands and retailers."[29]
Corporate affairs
Wal-Mart's business model is based on selling a wide variety of general
merchandise and marketing, at "always low prices."[16] The company refers to
its employees as "associates." All Wal-Mart stores in the US and Canada also
have designated "greeters", whose general role is to welcome shoppers at the
store entrance, and play a role in loss prevention.[30]
Unlike many other retailers, Wal-Mart does not charge a slotting fee to
suppliers for their products to appear in the store.[31] Alternatively, they
focus on selling more popular products and often pressure store managers to
drop unpopular products in favor of more popular ones, as well as
manufacturers to supply more popular products.[31]
On September 14, 2006, the company announced that it would be phasing out
its layaway program, citing declining use and increased costs.[32] Layaway
was offered until November 19, 2006, with merchandise pickup by December 8,
2006. They plan to focus on alternative payment options, such as increased
use of 6 and 12 month zero interest financing.
Financial
In 2006, Wal-Mart ranked at number 67 of the 100 largest corporations in
terms of profitability (profits divided by total revenue), behind retailers
Home Depot, Dell and Target, and ahead of Costco and Kroger.[33] For the
fiscal year ending January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart reported net income of $12.178
billion on $344.992 billion of sales revenue (3.5% profit margin).[34] For
the fiscal year ending January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart's international operations
accounted for approximately 20.1% of total sales.[16] As of June 7, 2007,
net sales for the 17-week period ending June 1, 2007, were $115.875 billion,
up 8.0% from the previous year's results.[35]
Governance
Wal-Mart is governed by a thirteen-member Board of Directors, which is
elected annually by shareholders. S. Robson Walton, the eldest son of
founder Sam Walton, serves as Chairman of the Board, and H. Lee Scott, the
Chief Executive Officer, serves on the board as well. Other members of the
board include Aída Álvarez, James Breyer, M. Michele Burns, James I. Cash,
Jr., Douglas N. Daft, David D. Glass, Roland A. Hernandez, Jack C. Shewmaker,
Jim C. Walton, Christopher J. Williams, and Linda S. Wolf.
Notable former members of the board include Hillary Clinton (1985-1992)[36]
and Tom Coughlin (2003-2004), who also served as Vice Chairman. Clinton left
the board prior to the 1992 U.S. Presidential Election, and Coughlin left
the board in December, 2005 after pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax
evasion for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wal-Mart.[37] On
August 11, 2006, he was sentenced to 27 months of home confinement, five
years of probation, and ordered to pay $411,000 in restitution.[38]
Competition
In North America, Wal-Mart's primary competition includes department stores
like Kmart, Target, ShopKo, Meijer, or Canada's Zellers, Winners, or Giant
Tiger. Wal-Mart's move into the grocery business in the late 1990s has also
positioned it against major supermarket chains in both the United States and
Canada. Several smaller retailers, primarily dollar stores, such as Family
Dollar and Dollar General, have been able to find a small niche market and
compete successfully against Wal-Mart for home consumer sales.[39] In 2004,
Wal-Mart responded by testing their own dollar store concept, a subsection
of some stores known as "Pennies-n-Cents."[40]
Wal-Mart has struggled in other foreign markets. For example, in Germany, it
had captured just 2% of German food sales following its entry into the
market in 1997 and had remained "a secondary player" compared to competitor
Aldi which boasts 19% share of the German market.[41] In July 2006, Wal-Mart
announced its withdrawal of operations from Germany because of sustained
losses. Its stores are to be sold to German company METRO AG[25] In China,
Wal-Mart is "a small fish" as its strategy of "everyday low prices" has not
been successful against "Chinese mom-and-pop shops that are used to
cutthroat pricing."[42] In May 2006, Wal-Mart withdrew from the South Korean
market when it agreed to sell all 16 of its South Korean outlets to
Shinsegae, a local retailer, for $882 million who are as of late 2006
re-branding the country's Wal-Marts as E-mart. Wal-Mart had originally
entered the South Korea market in 1998.[43] In the UK, Wal-Mart's ASDA
subsidiary is the second largest chain after Tesco.[44] Specifically, ASDA
is a distant second to Tesco in the UK grocery market, and as of 2006 the
gap is widening, based on market share figures published by TNS Worldpanel.
Customer base
Each week, approximately 100 million customers, or one-third of the US
population, visits Wal-Mart's US stores.[45] Wal-Mart customers place low
prices as the most important reason for shopping at Wal-Mart, reflecting a,
"Low prices, always," message that Wal-Mart had had from 1962 until
2006.[46] Wal-Mart's average US customer's income is below the national
average, and analysts have recently estimated that more than one-fifth do
not have a bank account, twice the national rate.[47] A Wal-Mart financial
report in 2006 also indicated that Wal-Mart customers are sensitive to
higher utility costs and gas prices.[48] A poll prior to the 2004 US
Presidential Election indicated that 76% of voters who shopped at Wal-Mart
once per week planned to vote for George W. Bush, while only 23% planned to
vote for John Kerry.[49] When measured against other similar retailers in
the US, frequent Wal-Mart shoppers were rated the most politically
conservative.[50]
In 2006, Wal-Mart made steps to expand its US customer base, announcing a
modification in its US stores from a, "one-size-fits-all," merchandising
strategy to a custom-fitting merchandise assortment designed to, "reflect
each of six demographic groups – African-Americans, the affluent,
empty-nesters, Hispanics, suburbanites and rural residents."[51] About six
months later, the company went public with a variation on their customer
profile: "Saving people money so they can live better lives."[46] This
reflects what Wal-Mart identifies as the three main groups that its 200
million customers are organized into: "brand aspirationals" (people with low
incomes who are obsessed with names like KitchenAid), "price-sensitive
affluents" (wealthier shoppers who love deals), and "value-price shoppers"
(who like low prices and cannot afford much more).[46] Wal-Mart has also
made steps to appeal to more liberal customers, for example, by rejecting
the American Family Association's recommendations and carrying the DVD
Brokeback Mountain, a love story about two gay cowboys in Wyoming.[52]
Employee and labor relations
Wal-Mart has been criticized with regard to many of its policies and/or
business practices, primarily by community groups, grassroots organizations,
labor unions,[53] religious organizations,[54][55] and environmental groups.
In particular, several labor unions have specific concerns regarding the
company's anti-union stance, as well as several employee relations issues.
Other areas of concern include the corporation's extensive foreign product
sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, environmental
practices, the use of public subsidies, and the impact of stores on the
local economies of towns in which they operate.[56][57][58]
In 2005, labor unions created several organizations to confront these
issues, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (United Food and Commercial Workers) and
Wal-Mart Watch (Service Employees International Union). By the end of 2005,
Wal-Mart launched Working Families for Wal-Mart, an astroturf operation, to
counter the criticisms of the other two groups. Additional efforts to
counter criticism include launching a public relations campaign in 2005
through their public relations website,[59] as well as several television
commercials. The company retained the public relations firm Edelman to
respond to negative media attention,[60] and has started interacting
directly with bloggers by sending them news, suggesting topics for postings,
and even inviting them to visit their corporate headquarters.[61]
Wal-Mart also faces several significant issues with regards to its employee
and workforce relations. These issues involve low wages, poor working
conditions, inadequate health care, as well as issues involving the
company's strong anti-union policies. One of Wal-Mart's biggest issues is
their high turnover rate – approximately 70% of its employees leave within
the first year, primarily due to lack of recognition and inadequate pay.[62]
However, Managers and executives of Wal-Mart are paid very well and are part
of a generous bonus program..[63]
A jury in Massachusetts Superior Court awarded nearly 2 millions dollars to
a ex Wal-Mart employee due to the store underpaying her and then firing her
for discrimination. In the suit, she claimed that she demanded from Wal-Mart
that she be paid wage differential and bonuses and also was reprimanded for
reporting missing drugs to law enforcement. [64]
Diversity
With regard to equal opportunities for women, in 1999, Wal-Mart ranked well
below its retailing peers, which had an average of 56% female managers (only
11% difference from the ratio of women in the workforce, which is 45%),
according to data from the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.[65][66]In 2001, Wal-Mart's EEOC filings showed that female
employees made up 72% of Wal-Mart's workforce, but only 30% of its
management (a 15% difference from the population ratio, 4% higher than the
rest of the industry). This ratio was typical in 1975.[65][66] On April 3,
2007, Wal-Mart reported that female employees were now 61% of its workforce
and 40% of its management.[67]
Wal-Mart has received improving scores on the Corporate Equality Index, a
measure of how companies treat homosexual employees and consumers, published
by the Human Rights Campaign. The rating was 65% in the 2006 edition,[68]
57% in 2005, 43% in 2003 and 2004, and 14% in 2002.[69][70] Wal-Mart's 2003
score accompanied an expanded antidiscrimination policy to protect gay and
lesbian employees,[71] The 2005 score accompanied a new definition of family
that included same-sex partners.[72]
In January 2006, Wal-Mart announced that, "diversity efforts include new
groups of minority, female and gay employees that have started meeting at
Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville to advise the company on marketing and
internal promotion. There are seven so-called Business Resource Groups:
women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Gays and
Lesbians, and a disabled group."[73]
Wal-Mart is currently facing a gender discrimination lawsuit, Dukes v.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., alleging female employees were discriminated against
in pay and promotions. In February 2007, the United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit issued a 2-1 ruling that affirmed a lower court ruling
to certify the case as a class-action lawsuit that plaintiffs estimate could
include approximately 1.6 million women.[74][75] A similar lawsuit, EEOC
(Janice Smith) v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., was filed on August 24, 2001,
accuses the retailer of discriminating hiring practices at their London,
Kentucky Distribution Center dating back to 1995.[76] Mauldin v. Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc., charges that the company's denial of health insurance coverage
for birth control is unfair to female employees. In 2002, the lawsuit was
granted class action status, allowing all female employees after March,
2001, to file claims if they were using contraceptives.[77]
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