Wal-Mart: The Global RetailerWal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. In fact, it is the largest company in the world, with revenue last year totaling almost $220 billion. Of that total, $35.5 billion came from Wal-Mart's growing international division. Wal-Mart is experiencing incredible growth, both domestically and abroad. In the early 1990s, its sales were just under $85 billion; it had 2,200 stores and no international division. Today, it has more than 3,200 stores, including about 1,100 outside the United States. Although Wal-Mart continues to open stores in the United States, the greatest opportunity for future growth lies in international expansion. Wal-Mart first "went overseas" to Canada when it purchased 122 Canadian Woolco stores in 1993. By mid-2002, it had 196 stores in Canada, where it was ranked the top retailer and ninth best company to work for. After moving north, the retail giant looked south to Mexico, using joint ventures and sometimes directly buying companies. Wal-Mart opened its first Mexican store in 1991. By mid-2002, it had opened 66 supercenters, 47 Sam's Clubs, 454 Superama supermarkets, 51 Suburbia Apparel stores, 245 restaurants under the Vips division, and 110 Bodego units offering an assortment limit. merchandise at reduced prices. During the first half of 2002, sales in Mexico totaled $4.9 billion, and the company announced plans to open 60 new stores in Mexico by the end of 2003. Clearly, Mexico has been a great success for Wal-Mart. Mart moved to another Latin market, Puerto Rico. Over the next 10 years, Wal-Mart opened 11 additional Puerto Rican stores. In 2002, it announced that it would purchase Supermercados Amigo, Puerto Rico's second largest grocery retailer. After the purchase, Wal-Mart would have 47 stores and an estimated Puerto Rican revenue of $1.5 billion. Sensing a good market, Wal-Mart intended to invest an additional $400 million in Puerto Rico over the next five years. Then he headed to South America. In late 1995, Wal-Mart opened stores in Brazil and Argentina. These are Wal-Mart's most disappointing projects in the Western Hemisphere. On the one hand, the Argentine economy is in difficulty; The Argentine presidency seems to be a revolving door and inflation is soaring. Wal-Mart can't do much about these environmental factors, but it has maintained 11 stores there in the hope that the economic situation will eventually improve. The picture in Brazil is a little brighter.