Wal-Mart Stores Inc., or WalMart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is a US-based global chain of companies that is the world's largest company in terms of turnover and is controlled by the Walton family. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA. Wal-Mart is mainly involved in the retail industry and is the most employee-owned company in the world. It ranks first among Fortune Global 500 companies for four consecutive years. Wal-Mart has 8,500 stores in 15 countries around the world. Wal-Mart operates in 50 states and Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart mainly has four business methods: Wal-Mart Shopping Plaza, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart Store, and Wal-Mart Community Store.

On November 25, 2013, Doug McMillon, the head of the International Business Department, was appointed to take over Mike Duke as President and CEO of Wal-Mart. The appointment took effect on February 1, 2014.

On December 11, 2014, overseas media said that Wal-Mart will close about 30% of Chinese stores. On December 2, Wal-Mart laid off staff for restructuring in China. In December 2014, Wal-Mart attached great importance to allegations of misconduct against its company.

On June 29, 2016, Wal-Mart said it would open a two-day free shipping service to all US consumers. This is another expansion of Wal-Mart's service. On the evening of July 20th, 2016, Beijing time and the world released the latest Fortune Global 500 list [5]. For the fifth consecutive year, Wal-Mart ranked first in the 2017 Fortune 500 list released on June 7, 2017. Wal-Mart ranked first in the Fortune Global 500 list on July 20, 2017. On May 21, 2018, in the 2018 Fortune 500 list, Wal-Mart topped the list for the sixth consecutive year.

Wal-Mart Stores Ltd. was founded in 1962 by the legendary American retailer Sam Walton in Arkansas. After more than 50 years of development, Wal-Mart has become the largest private employer in the United States and the world's largest retail chain. Wal-Mart has more than 10,000 stores in 27 countries around the world, with 69 brands, more than 2.2 million employees worldwide, and 200 million visitors to Wal-Mart every week.

In 1991, Wal-Mart's annual sales exceeded $40 billion, making it one of the world's largest retailers. According to the National Service Industry Classification released by Fortune magazine in May 1994, Wal-Mart's sales in 1993 reached US$67.34 billion, an increase of more than 11.8 billion over the previous year, surpassing the number one in 1992. Sears ranks first in the nation's retail industry. In 1995, Wal-Mart's sales continued to grow, creating a world record for the retail industry, achieving annual sales of $93.6 billion, ranking fourth in Fortune magazine's 95 largest US corporate rankings. In fact, Wal-Mart's annual sales are equivalent to the sum of all department stores in the United States, and it still maintains a strong momentum of development. To date, Wal-Mart has 2,133 Wal-Mart stores, 469 Sam's member stores and 248 Wal-Mart shopping plazas in the United States, China, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. 14 countries including Nicaragua. It has developed so rapidly in just a few decades, and it has to be said that it is a miracle in the retail industry.

In 2011, Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Foundation's charitable donations totaled $319 million and materials totaled more than $480 million. In 2014, Wal-Mart once again topped the Fortune Global 500 with a sales force of 476.294 billion US dollars. Wal-Mart ranked first for three consecutive years. In 2015, its operating income reached US$482.1 billion, a slight decrease of 0.7% year-on-year.

Wal-Mart put forward the principle of “helping customers save every penny” and realized the promise of the cheapest price. The company has consistently adhered to the principle of “successful service and different employees” to provide customers with new enjoyment of super-class service. When you walk into Wal-Mart, customers can experience the thoughtful service at home. Once again, Wal-Mart promotes a new concept of “one-stop shopping”. Customers can purchase all the goods they need at the fastest speed in the shortest possible time. It is this fast and convenient way of shopping that attracts modern consumers.

In addition, although Wal-Mart has repeatedly reduced its advertising expenses in order to reduce costs, it does not pay much for the donations of various public welfare undertakings. With paying for it, Wal-Mart's long-term investment in public welfare activities and the unique creativity of the event itself have greatly enhanced brand awareness and successfully shaped the brand's excellent image in the eyes of consumers.

Finally, one of the most important reasons why Wal-Mart can surpass Sears is that Wal-Mart adopts different retail operations for different target consumers, occupying high and low-end markets respectively. For example, Wal-Mart's affordable shopping malls for middle- and mid-level consumers; Sam's member stores that offer discounts and services only to members, and Wal-Mart's comprehensive department stores that are popular with upper-level consumers.