Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. It operates through three segments: Wal-Mart Stores, Sam’s Club, and International. The Wal-Mart Stores
includes supercenters, discount stores, and neighborhood markets in the United States, as well as walmart.com. This segment offers general merchandise, including apparel, domestics, fabrics and notions, stationery and books, shoes, housewares, hardware, electronics, home furnishings, small appliances, automotive accessories, horticulture and accessories, sporting goods, toys, pet food and pet accessories, cellular phones, and cellular service plan contracts. Its stores also offer grocery merchandise, and financial services and products. The Sam’s Club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States, as well as samsclub.com. This segment primarily provides hardgoods, softgoods, institutional-size grocery items, and selected private-label items under the MEMBER’S MARK, BAKERS & CHEFS, and SAM’S CLUB brands. The International segment includes various formats of retail stores and restaurants, including discount stores, supercenters, and Sam’s Clubs that operate in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. As of January 31, 2007, the company operated 1,075 discount stores; 2,256 supercenters; 579 Sam’s Clubs; and 112 Neighborhood Markets in the United States. It operated 13 units in Argentina, 299 in Brazil, 289 in Canada, 137 in Costa Rica, 63 in El Salvador, 132 in Guatemala, 41 in Honduras, 392 in Japan, 889 in Mexico, 40 in Nicaragua, 54 in Puerto Rico, and 335 in the United Kingdom, as well as 73 stores through joint ventures in the People’s Republic of China, as of the above date. The company was founded in 1945 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas.
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