Wal-Mart, globalization's Trojan horse

Abstract

Created in 1962 by Sam Walton, this small American supply business has quickly become the leading world business. From Bentonville, Arkansas, to China, Wal-Mart shows a rather classic road from its headquarters to a proliferation of its stores in some fifteen countries. With a US$ 405 billion turnover in 2008, the world's number 1 supply company was only surpassed in April, 2009 by Exxon Mobil oil and gas company, classified within the world's top 500 companies. However, unlike other large transnational businesses such as Exxon Mobil or Microsoft, Wal-Mart the world's first supply company has to adapt to the local environment in order to attract a large number of consumers. This paper proposes a multiple-scale approach of this international firm's development strategies. Thus, the application of a spatial analysis turns out to be appropriate to make clear the existing links between territories and the actors' strategies on different geographical scales.