Leveraging our foundation to reach even more U.S. families

In fiscal 2011, Walmart U.S. delivered strong operating income and expense leverage. Net sales exceeded $260 billion. Operating income grew 3.1 percent to approximately $20 billion. We offer one-stop shopping to millions of customers through more than 3,800 stores and over 617 million square feet of selling space.

Improved sales this year.

  This year, the Walmart U.S. team is implementing a four-point plan to improve comparable store sales. Walmart’s commitment is to deliver every day low price on the basket. EDLP is what our brand was built on, and what drives customer trust and loyalty. Working with our suppliers, we will offer the most relevant, broadest assortment possible across all categories. We are expanding our assortment, reallocating selling space and enhancing productivity initiatives to reduce costs. By expanding our multi-channel initiatives, customers have even more opportunities to shop on their terms.

Continued growth in the U.S.

  Growth through new stores remains a priority, with supercenters the primary driver because they continue to offer the greatest returns and allow customers a one-stop shopping experience. We are growing also through smaller formats, including both grocery stores and even smaller, convenience formats. We will open our first convenience format stores, Walmart Express, in the second quarter. These stores will be less than 30,000 square feet and will sell grocery, pharmacy and limited general merchandise.

Solid and consistent expense leverage.

  Our focus on delivering expense leverage is as strong as ever. We continue to implement productivity initiatives throughout the stores, supply chain and logistics to improve returns. Last, as we see topline sales increase through our focus on EDLP and from operational and merchandising improvements, we can further enhance our ability to drive expense leverage.