Walmart is 50 years old this week. Time looks at the incredibly successful operation and all of its innovations and impacts. Among the biggest is low prices for consumers. Here are the basics.
Walmart is the world largest private employer — only the U.S. Department of Defense and China’s People’s Liberation Army employ more people. Its 2.1 million–plus workers exceed the population of 15 states and the District of Columbia. Each week, more than 140 million Americans shop at Walmart, a figure that far surpasses the audience of the 2012 Super Bowl or the voter turnout of the 2008 presidential election. And though Walmart’s revenue — $443 billion for the latest fiscal year — is comparable to that of some of the world’s largest oil companies, it blows away its nearest retail competitors. Target’s latest fiscal year revenue was just shy of $70 billion.
