The Grocer gained unprecedented access to the Wal-Mart inner sanctum in Bentonville being the only UK publication to be invited to its annual shareholders' meeting. Camilla Palmer flew out with the Asda delegation and in our six page special reports on the astonishing exuberance of a retailing phenomenon You don't get more Wal-Mart than Arkansas," says Sam's Club manager Wes Anderson. "Everyone in the area works for 'em, or if they don't, they know 10 people who do," he chuckles. With 12,000 staff at its head office and a proliferation of stores in the area, Anderson is probably right. By now every one of its nervous worldwide competitors knows the mindboggling statistics. It's the biggest employer in the US after the government. Its head office has an IT capability which enables it to print 90,000 paycheques in half a day. Its buying power is such that global suppliers such as Mars and Heinz have set up shop on Sam Walton Bvd, Bentonville, just to be close to the action. And despite clinching no fewer than eight international deals since buying Asda in April 1999, the message from the top back in Bentonville is that the beast is still very hungry. The $190bn sales of last year are just the beginning, says vice chairman Don Soderquist. "We now have 200 million customers worldwide and 5,000 stores ­ this will continue to grow." In spite of a ruthless acquisitions agenda, Soderquist and his chairman David Glass are convinced growth will come through the training and retention of its people: "Running this business is uncomplicated ­ we have the right products at the right price, with the right people selling them," stresses Glass. "It took 17 years to make $1bn sales ­ and our growth rate since then is just an indication of what we can achieve. We have a new generation of management ­ they are smarter, better educated and have better resources. They will do a better job." President and ceo Lee Scott says e-commerce and international opportunities are the heart of the strategy: "We will spend the resources in money and personnel to ensure we have the position in e-commerce that we do in the bricks and mortar side of the industry." And he denies Wal-Mart's international thrust is being hampered by "difficult" trading in Germany: "We will be successful there within three years." {{COVER FEATURE }}

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