Walmart is an American public discount department stores founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Bentonville, Arkansas. In 2022, it had 10,586 stores and clubs in 18 countries, operating under 46 different names. It was the world's largest company by revenue in 2022, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in October 2022.[1] It had 2.2 million employees.
It has almost 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers. In 2024, it closed its 51 health centers and its Walmart Health Virtual Care services.[2]
Walmart's global presence
A diagram of where Walmart can be found around the world. The countries in blue currently have Walmart; the countries in red formerly had Walmart; and the countries in grey never had Walmart.A Walmart in Canada
Walmart can be found in a lot of places around the world. It is mostly found around the United States but can also be found in Canada, Mexico, some Asian countries, some African countries and some South American countries. Walmart has not yet reached Oceania.
Asda was part of Walmart from 1999 to 2021, when it was sold to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital. Walmart still has a stake in it. [3]
Criticism
Walmart is criticized for having a poor record on labor rights, especially regarding anti union activity. It has also been criticized for once promoting products made in America. Now it largely imports the products it sells,from developing nations. Many of these jobs replaced manufacturing jobs in the US. Walmart retail jobs replaced many mom-and-pop stores in the US.[4] In 2005, movie director Robert Greenwald made a documentary movie called Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price that criticized Walmart. After this movie was announced, director Ron Galloway made a film that ended up being released at the same time called Why Walmart Works and Why That Drives Some People CRAZY. This movie had a positive view of Walmart.
