How big is Wal-Mart?

[Mayhem]

1 .
At Wal-Mart,
Americans spend $36,000,000 every hour
Of every day.

2 .
This works out to $20,928 profit
Every minute!

3.
Wal-Mart will sell more
From January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th)
Than Target sells all year.

4.
Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot +
Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco +
K-Mart combined.

5.
Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people
And is the largest private employer. And most can't speak English

6.
Wal-Mart is the largest company
In the history of the World.

7.
Wal-Mart now sells more food
Than Kroger & Safeway combined,
And keep in mind they did this
In only 15 years.

8.
During this same period,
31 Supermarket chains sought bankruptcy
(including Winn-Dixie).

9.
Wal-Mart now sells more food
Than any other store in the world.

10.
Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores
In the USA of which 1,906 are SuperCenters;
This is 1,000 more than it had 5 years ago.

11.
This year, 7.2 billion different
Purchasing experiences will occur
At a Wal-Mart store.
(Earth's population is approximately 6.5 billion.)

12.
90% of all Americans live
Within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart

[jarjar]

OMG my life is doomed I hate walmart... give me the good old fashioned friendly grocery store

[Homer]

I miss the old corner store that had their own butcher. 

[Squid]

I miss those old neighborhood stores, too.... along with the friendly service..... but I must admit, I can easily and happily kill an hour in WalMart.  I once saw a special on Microwaves:  17 bucks.  I couldn't get over it.  I didn't stop to think what country was being taken advantage of to get the product so cheaply; I was too busy trying to close my gaping mouth.

[Stinkerbell]

We always call it "The Captain"    :!#

[FreecellFanny]

It's a vicious circle; a catch-22. 

I would rather shop at the small family owned grocery store but in these tough economic times I can't afford to pay 25% more (or even higher) at those places than what Walmart offers.

[Squid]

We always call it "The Captain"    :!#

[disneyland lady]

Because of labor unions we do not have Super Walmarts in sandy eggo - just the ones that do not sell meat and veggies. But I have to say that in 2002 I traveled in a caravan of RVs across California all the way to Orlando FL for eBay Live and we stayed in Walmart parking lots all the way and every night. Walmart stopped letting RV's or camping in the lots because of the liability laws but it was great fun and I met all kinds of fun people in the lots of Walmart.

[Tara]

I buy all my groceries at Wal-Mart and Sams.  <:>

[harley89]

I miss the old corner store that had their own butcher. 

My Dad (80 Years old today) his first job ever was as a butcher in a small grocery store. I still remember the time when chain stores and malls did not exist.  But progress comes but sometimes I wonder if it really is progress

[SexyOutlaw]

I hate Walmart after i had several friends and my sister working there they was belittled them told they was stupid did not let them have there breaks worked people off the clock  Idrive 40 miles so i wont have to shop there i rather starve dont mind paying a few dollars more knowing i not putting it in there pockets  :##

[BabyCheetah]

Where I live, they refused to build a Wal-mart because of how they treat their employees.  The majority of the borough voted against it.

[Stinkerbell]

WalMart building boycotts are taking place all across the country, and I too have heard horror stories about how they treat thier employess, however, my daughter worked for WalMart during the holidays one year and other than nasty, crabby customers, she enjoyed it.  It was the year Furbee's were all the rage.

[PunkInDrublic]

I've heard a bunch of Wal-Mart horror stories myself, seen all the tv specials, etc. I moved to a new town, and with the crap economy, Wal-Mart was the only place hiring at the time. Everyone that works in our store is so nice. I think because of all the horror stories (and potential lawsuits), our management team makes sure we take all of our breaks, and that we get paid for every minute we work. I was leaving work a few nights ago, and a customer asked for help finding something in the grocery section. I took the gentleman to the row where the item was located, and then headed to the doors. A manager had noticed what I did, and made me go back to the office and fill out a time adjustment sheet to make sure I got paid for the extra few minutes I spent with the customer.

[FreecellFanny]

I have only really had one issue with a Walmart employee that prompted me to report her to the store manager.

It was during an election in Maine of some sort and one of the "questions" on the ballot was about same-sex families and one organization that was involved distributed buttons that clearly indicated that they were against same sex unions. Well, this cashier had a huge honking button on her smock, plain as day, which told the world she was against same sex anything.

I reported her to the store manager and she was told to remove the button and never wear it again. It was a political and religious statement of course, but more to the point it offended a great many people as there is a very large gay population in my area. I have a lot of gay friends and I was offended for them but none of them reported this girl because they were afraid. Needless to say, I was not. ;)

To this day I refuse to go through her checkout line.