Walmart 2015 Annual Report Download - page 7

full-time and part-time hourly store asso-
ciates. Across the country, all entry-level
associates now earn a minimum of $9.00
per hour, and by February 2016, current
associates will earn at least $10.00 per hour.
Our people will have more control over
their schedules and access to training
that provides a pathway to greater career
opportunities. These investments are
designed to reignite our associate pride
and ownership to improve service to our
customers.
Focusing on a quality assortment
We’re an agent for our customer, driving
value through improving quality and
expanding key brands, at an everyday
low price. Customers expect a consistent
high quality fresh food experience, which
is a key traffic driver to our stores. We’ll
continue to strengthen our fresh depart-
ments by improving quality, consistency,
and presentation, especially with more
locally sourced fresh fruits and vegetables.
Operational enhancements, from product
flow and forecasting, to associate training
and development, will ensure a superior
fresh offering. Additionally, by leveraging
our unified physical and digital capabilities,
customers have access to approximately
8 million items across our entire product
offering, with more to come this year.
Maintaining price leadership
Customers want value and we’re committed
to delivering EDLP. We’re focused on
executing a consistent pricing strategy that
will provide transparent pricing for our cus-
tomers through new tools and capabilities.
We’ll continue to work with our supplier
partners to achieve EDLC. This will allow
us to invest in and strengthen our EDLP
pricing strategy and offer the value our
customers seek.
Aligning formats and channels
with customers’ needs
Customers want to save time and money,
and Walmart has an ability to serve them
anytime, anywhere. While our supercenters
provide a convenient one-stop solution,
we’ll reinvent the format to exceed cus-
tomer expectations. And, we’re upgrading
our Neighborhood Markets to accentuate
our fresh and organic offering. Overall, we
expect to add approximately 15 to 16 mil-
lion total net retail square feet in fiscal 2016,
representing between 240 and 270 units.
With our extensive store base, distribution
network and e-commerce capabilities,
we’re best-positioned to succeed at the
integration of digital and physical retail.
We’ll continue to make the walmart.com
experience more intuitive, personalized
and relevant, and we’ve refreshed our
mobile app. We’ll continue to test, learn
and innovate as we explore initiatives, such
as online grocery delivery and Walmart
Grocery Pickup, to provide greater access
to our brand anytime and anywhere.
And, we’ll accomplish all of this through
investments in technology, systems and
our supply chain, including our more than
4,500 stores. These investments will give
our customers better access to merchan-
dise and make the shopping experience
more rewarding.
52015 Annual Report
Providing career
opportunities for
U.S. veterans
We’re proud of our five-year commitment
to hire 100,000 veterans by 2018. Over the
past two years, we’ve hired approximately
80,000 veterans to join the Walmart team.
And, more than 6,000 have been promoted
to roles of greater responsibility and higher
pay. They possess discipline, training and
a passion for service to improve our business
for customers.