Wal-Mart stores operate on an "Every Day Low Price" philosophy and are able to maintain their low price structure through conscientious expense control. While other major competitors typically run 50 to 100 advertised circulars per year, Wal-Mart produces only 12-13 major circulars per year (http://www.walmart.com). The cost savings associated with fewer circulars are passed on to the customer through lower shelf prices every day.

Wal-Mart associates strive to provide exceptional customer service, a characteristic that is unique to the chain. Everything possible is done to make shopping at Wal-Mart a friendly experience (2000 Annual Report).

When Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart stor

To better understand the demands of the marketplace, it is important to focus on such categories as age groups and geographic shifts ("Industry Survey" pg.9). Retailers need this information so that they have the right merchandise on hand to meet the needs and wants of the customer. For marketing purposes, age groups are typically broken down as follows:

"Growth strategies for retailers have changed over the past two decades" ("Industry Survey" pg.5). In the past, with a rising population of adult spenders, it was sufficient for retailers to simply open up new stores. Now, however, most markets are saturated, and sales increases are harder to come by. The industry is suffering from overcapacity.

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The total asset turnover ratio is intended to indicate how effectively a firm is using all of its assets and can be calculated as follows:

Total Asset Turnover = Sales/Total assets

The following section contains financial ratios that provide information about leverage, profitability, and value of the company. First is the current ratio, which measures a firm's ability to meet its financial obligations. In other words, how able a firm is to pay its bills (Ross pg.31).

Retailers have learned that having a store filled with merchandise does not insure sales gains, nor does it necessarily boost profitability. After all, if the customer does not want the merchandise, it will not sell and will have to be marked down to a lower price. Thanks to the information collected bit by bit from technology, retailers are better able to track which merchandise their customers are buying. Technology is also letting retailers move to a just-in-time supply system, in which computers track every product sold and automatically alerts warehouses when to restock the shelves ("Industry Survey" pg.8). This kind of efficiency has reduced inventory levels and improved in-stock positions.

The number of days it takes a firm to collect on their extended credit and receivables can be calculated by the following:

For example, real growth in GDP measures change in the U.S. economy's output of goods and services. The U.S. economy grew solidly in 1999, with real GDP rising 3.9% on top of a similar gain in 1998. Because consumers are more upbeat and continue to spend, Standard & Poor's index is currently projecting another annual gain of 3.9% for 2000 ("Industry Survey" pg.18).

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