THE 2019 POWER 25 TOP BANNERS: WALMART, WALMART SUPERCENTERS, NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETS, SAM’S CLUB HQ: BENTONVILLE, ARK. STORE COUNT: WALMART: 4,763; SAM’S CLUB: 599
Walmart has its mojo back—but it’s a whole different kind of mojo. The Bentonville, Ark.-based mass merchant has regained strong sales momentum in the U.S. by using its vast resources to support an ever-expanding array of technology advances that are winning share of convenience-minded shoppers attracted to its online grocery offering, and supporting its traditional focus on costs with new efficiencies in stores. Online grocery pickup, now available in thousands of U.S. stores and expanding rapidly to delivery, is doing more than just winning share for Walmart; it’s also helping to burnish its reputation, open up new audiences to its brand and tie ever-stronger loyalty between the retailer and its shoppers. Walmart’s momentum isn’t all digital, either: Cleaner stores and better-paid workers have also helped, as have a few billion in price investments. The key, CEO Doug McMillon says, is neither technology nor people, but the combination of them: “Putting these pieces together is enabling us to transform into an omnichannel digital enterprise, which enables us to serve customers more effectively.”
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