Walmart Inc: Meet the retail giant that will take over Flipkart

Walmart has announced its deal to buy a controlling stake in Indian e-commerce major Flipkart. A look at the Arkansas-based retail giant

Walmart is the largest retail corporation of discount department stores and warehouse stores in the world. In 2017, the company's global net sales amassed approximately $500 billion.

Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton when their first store opened in Rogers, Arkansas.  In the fiscal year 2017, the company operated more than 11,695 stores across the world and this figure has increased as the company continues to expand into emerging markets. Around 90 per cent of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Walmart.

Walmart has three divisions: Sam's Club, Walmart International and Walmart US.  Walmart US generates the majority of the companies earnings. In 2017, the US segment of Walmart alone generated over $300 billion, which correlates to about 60 per cent.

If Walmart was a state army, it would have the second largest military in the world, behind China. Walmart has a total of 2.3 million employees worldwide. The mega-retailer employs 1.4 million people in the US alone.

About 75% of the store management teams started as hourly associates, and they earn between $50,000 and $170,000 a year.

In 2009 and 2010, the most popular item at Walmart was Banana. They sold more bananas than any other single item they carried.

In an attempt to counter rival Amazon, more than 900 US locations of Walmart stores offer online grocery sales; Walmart.com offers more than 67 million products in total.

Walmart Founder Sam Walton famously refused to donate money to philanthropic causes. Today, Walmart donates only 2% of its earnings yearly. Compare this to Bill Gates who has pledged 48%, while Warren Buffett has pledged to donate 78% of his net worth.

Walmart has acquired some significant companies in recent years, primarily in order to keep it competitive in the digital space. It purchased Vudu (an online movie service) in 2010, e-commerce company Jet.com (an Amazon competitor) in 2014, and Bonobos (a menswear company) in 2017. Flipkart deal in India, which is estimated to be worth $16 billion, will be its biggest acquisition.

In India, Walmart Inc. owns and operates 21 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in 8 states. The first store opened in Amritsar in 2009.