COSTCO
Wal-Mart isn't the biggest in "every" business. Costco Wholesale is the largest wholesale club operator in the US (ahead of Wal-Mart's SAM'S CLUB). The company operates about 555 membership warehouse stores serving more than 53 million cardholders in some 40 US states and Puerto Rico, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the UK, primarily under the Costco Wholesale name. Stores offer discount prices on an average of about 4,000 products (many in bulk packaging), ranging from alcoholic beverages and appliances to fresh food, pharmaceuticals, and tires. Certain club memberships also offer products and services such as car and home insurance, mortgage and real estate services, and travel packages.
Wal-Mart-
Retailing - thou art Wal-Mart! Headquartered in Bentonville, AR, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), the world's largest retailer, operates about 7,360 retail stores under three business segments, which include Supercenters, Discount Stores and Neighborhood Markets: Sam's Club membership warehouses. The Wal-Mart Stores segment is the largest segment, accounting for 64% of current net sales. It offers general merchandise, groceries and specialty shops such as vision centers, photo centers and Tire & Lube Express stations. It also sells products online via walmart.com. The company serves more than 180 million customers a year in US, Puerto Rico and internationally in 12 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, China, and the UK. Its international business segment comprises wholly owned subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico and the UK, majority-owned subsidiaries in Central America, Japan and Mexico, joint ventures in Indiaand China, and minority-owned subsidiaries in China. Incorporated in 1969, the company had 2008 revenue of about $378.8 billion and has about 2.1 million employees. In May 2008, the Wal-Mart Foundation announced a $5 million grant to YouthBuild USA, which will give 2,000 low-income youth across the country who left high school without a diploma the opportunity to resume their education, while developing job skills.
INDUSTRY TYPE: Discount Department Stores