Corporate Profiles - 2020 - 112

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Walmart, Inc.
New initiatives follow unprecedented e-commerce sales
almart, Inc., Bentonville, Ark., is
seeking to carry its online business to
profitability with a new subscription
service and an expanded assortment of
products and emerging brands.
Walmart+, an annual subscription service
that provides shoppers with free grocery delivery and other items as fast as the same day,
launched in September. The service costs $98
a year, or $12.95 a month, and includes a 15day trial period. Other benefits include fuel
discounts and a "Scan & Go" app, which gives
users the ability to pay by mobile phone and
skip checkout lines at stores.
The company previously tested unlimited delivery, a grocery-focused subscription service,
and earlier in the year partnered with thirdparty delivery provider Instacart to provide
same-day shipping in several markets.
"Walmart+ is designed to make it easier,
giving customers an option to not have to sacrifice on cost or convenience," said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer at Walmart, Inc. "We
know shopping should fit customers' needs, not
the other way around. We have always been a
champion for the right item at the right price,
but now it's more than that. We have the right
shopping solutions at the right time, too."

Walmart in June partnered with Shopify to
launch Walmart Marketplace, an integrated
platform that allows Shopify sellers to list items
on Walmart.com. More than 1 million businesses use Ottawa-based Shopify's e-commerce
channel to sell products online. The Marketplace is focused on US-based small and medium businesses with a complementary product
offering and strong track record and underscores the retailer's shift toward stocking more
emerging and specialty brands on its shelves to
match changing consumer tastes.
"We are going to be smart as we grow," said
Jeff Clementz, vice president of Walmart Marketplace. "We will start integrating new sellers now
and expect to add 1,200 Shopify sellers this year."
The launch of both the Walmart+ and Walmart
Marketplace initiatives followed several months
of unprecedented e-commerce sales resulting
from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Walmart's earnings and sales spiked during

the second quarter of fiscal 2021, ended July 31.
Walmart's net income for the quarter rose
sharply to $6.5 billion, equal to $2.29 per share
on the common stock, 79% higher than the
same period during the previous year.
Sales for the quarter rose 6% to $137 billion.
Walmart's US e-commerce business surged
74% in the first quarter ended April 30 and
97% in the second quarter ended July 31, with
the number of new customers using online grocery picking up and delivery increasing fourfold
between March and May.
"We saw significant increases in repeat rates
and weekly active digital customers, and we
continue to make progress on assortment expansion and seller tools with eCommerce marketplace sales growing triple digits," said M.
Brett Briggs, chief financial officer.
In May, the retailer discontinued Jet.com, the
platform it acquired for $3.3 billion four years
prior as part of its omnichannel development
strategy. Marc Lore, founder of Jet.com, joined
Walmart following the transaction to global ecommerce efforts.
"The Jet acquisition was critical to jumpstarting the progress we've made the last few
years," said C. Douglas McMillon, president and
chief executive officer. CP

Chief executive officer -
C. Douglas McMillon

Walmart net income

Walmart net sales

(fiscal years ended in January)

Walmart share price
$149

$9,862

$6,670

$14,881

2018

2019

2020

in millions

$137
$125
$500,343

$514,405

$523,964

2018

2019

2020

$113
$101

112 \ October 2020

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http://www.Walmart.com http://www.Jet.com http://www.Jet.com

Corporate Profiles - 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Corporate Profiles - 2020