1. LIBR 282 Using Social Media for Competitive and Company Research C. Confetti-Higgins S. Brown

2. I went on a journey through the internet and visited different sites to see what information was given about Wal-Mart. Some Sites Included:  Google  Facebook  Morning Star  Hoover’s Company Records  Bing  Yauba

3.  About 2.5 million friends on Facebook  Google News: bad press about Lawsuit  Bing News: More stories on Lawsuit  Yauba News: End of extra pay on Sundays  Yauba News: Wal-Mart partners with Salvation Army

4.  World’s largest retail store with more than 8,400 stores  2.1 million employees  Over 30 brand names and licenses  Sales of $46.7 Billion Dollars

5.  Target  Costco  K-Mart

6.  Target is #2 Retailer in US  1,745 stores in the US as well as target.com  351,000 employees  $65million in Sales

7.  Target Credit Card: save 5% w/purchase  Target expansion into Canada - several hundred within next 10 years  Renovation of over 340 stores  High Profile Designers: Isaac Mizrahi  Partnerships with well known Chefs: - Giada De Laurentiis  2,000 stores by 2011

8.  Largest Wholesale Club Operator  Membership Only to access stores  565 Membership Warehouse Stores  147,000 employees  $77,946 Million in Sales

9.  Doubling number of warehouse stores in the next ten years  Expansion in Asia and Mexico  Growth for Costco.com  Lawsuit similar to ours on Gender Discrimination for Female Managers

10.  #3 Retailer in the US  1,300 stores  Subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corp.  $16,219 Million in Sales

11.  Dropped Sales of more than 8% since 2007  Closure of more than 55 stores  Partnership with Sears has been disappointing  Revival of Layaway has provided double digit growth in 2010

12.  Lawsuit for Gender Discrimination 1 million female Wal-Mart employees will proceed with the lawsuit (filed back in 2001) that seeks billions of dollars in damages and accuses Wal-Mart of paying women less than men and promoting fewer females to management positions  Cut of extra pay for Sundays The stop of the extra $1 will not happen until next year and it will only impact new hires

13. Growth Abroad  Acquisition of 51% stake in South African retailer Massmart Holdings  Pending purchase of the Netto Food Stores in the UK  Consolidation of our two Latin American Businesses  Possible Expansion to Russia Stock Value  Morning Star has given our stocks a 3 star rating (fair return) Wal-Mart Foundation  Monetary as wells as product donations to many non-profit organizations all year round: Local & National

14.  Expansion of online products All competitors are expanding online store components by adding more products or services  Expansion Abroad All competitors are initiating expansion outside of the US  Expansion in the USA Most competitors are also adding to the number of stores they have in the US

15.  US economy not as strong as some abroad more resources should be placed in expanding abroad while the US economy balances out  Work on providing Wal Mart’s side of the story with negative news: ensure the facts are being presented  Continue to provide great products at low prices and make the experience convenient  Continue to use Social Tools to find information about Wal Mart or its competitors

16.  Put more resources into Walmart.com (Wal Mart Marketplace) Amazon.com is well known and liked and it will take time to have people move to Walmart.com

17. Wal-Mart continues to have an edge over the competition by being able to provide quality products at an affordable price. Wal Mart does a great job of using social media tools to keep their customers and future informed about their products and services. Wal-Mart is the number 1 retailer and it uses that advantage to provide their customers with various products from around the world. Being number 1 also opens the gate to criticism and scrutiny, but ultimately the customers have spoken and Wal-Mart continues to be the preferred retailer

18. Boyle, Matthew. Wal-Mart Plans to End Extra Pay for Sunday Shifts Next Year. Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 7 th. Cappo, J. (2002). Kmart latest casualty of retailing's evolution. Crain's Chicago Business, 25(5), 6. Retrieved from Regional Business News database. Costco Wholesale Corporation. (1 December). Hoover's Company Records. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from Hoover's Company Records. Facebook. (2010) WalMart. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from Facebook. Kmart Corporation. (1 December). Hoover's Company Records. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from Hoover's Company Records.

19. Nelson, B. (2010). Wal-Mart Inc. Retrieved October 20, 2010, from Morningstar Document Research database. Target Corporation. (1 December). Hoover's Company Records, Retrieved December 1, 2010, from Hoover's Company Records. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (1 December). Hoover's Company Records, Retrieved December 2, 2010, from Hoover's Company Records. Wal-Mart.com USA, LLC. (1 December). Hoover's Company Records,125250. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from Hoover's Company Records.

20. Widness, S. (2010). Walmart: banking on success?. Champlain Business Journal, 14(10), 24. Retrieved from Regional Business News database.