Walmart: Company Description Walmart is a US-based mass merchandiser operating under various banners in 28 countries. It runs multiformat stores, including supercenters, membership-only warehouse clubs, cash-and-carry stores, discount stores, convenience stores and pharmacies. Walmart has been working on multichannel innovations in recent years, such as online grocery and mobile express checkouts. [caption id="attachment_91727" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company press releases/company reports[/caption]  

Key Events Overview: 2017-2019

In the last two and a half years, Walmart has focused on managing its store fleet efficiently, strengthening its e-commerce business and expanding its omnichannel capabilities while maintaining price leadership.  Walmart recently divested its less successful store-based operations in Brazil, selling 80% of its stake to Advent International. In the UK, it had plans to merge its local grocery segment, Asda, with British grocery retailer Sainsbury’s, for a consideration of £7.3 billion ($10.1 billion), but the deal fell through after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the merger.  In fiscal year 2018, Walmart closed 67 US Sam’s Club stores, whereas in fiscal year 2019, the company opened just 31 new stores in the US, the slowest rate of new store opening in the last five years. To strengthen its global online proposition and compete with Amazon, Walmart undertook a series of strategic moves in the e-commerce space. In May 2018 it acquired Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce player, in a deal valued at $16 billion. Between October and December 2018, it acquired online intimate apparel retailer Bare Necessities, plus-sized online retailer Eloquii Design and online home décor retailer Art.com. In 2017, it acquired Bonobos, a US-based e-commerce company focused on men’s apparel, and Moosejaw, an outdoor apparel and gear retailer. News of the Bonobos acquisition emerged around the time Walmart announced strong, 63% e-commerce growth in the second quarter of 2017. Walmart’s calculated market expansion moves in 2017 and 2018 followed announcements of several acquisitions and alliances the previous year. In early 2017, Walmart acquired ModCloth, an online women’s clothing and accessories retailer. The acquisition came less than a year after Walmart bought online marketplace Jet.com in a deal valued at $3.3 billion. Having first forged an alliance in 2016, in August 2018 Walmart and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com announced an investment of $500 million in Dada-JD Daojia, a logistics services company partly owned by JD.com. In keeping with its drive to enhance its omnichannel capabilities, in April 2019 the company launched Intelligent Retail Lab, an AI-powered “store of the future,” in Levittown, New York. Walmart also indicated its ambitions to drive in-house retail technology innovation by establishing an incubator called Store No. 8 in 2017. The incubator nurtures startups focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and virtual reality in retail.  [caption id="attachment_91734" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Company reports/S&P Capital IQ/Coresight Research[/caption]