Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon, in his annual letter to shareholders, associates and customers, expressed gratitude for their contributions and patronage while highlighting company focal points going forward.
McMillon said Walmart continues to address pandemic-related issues as they have been occurring around the world, as well as those associated with economic turmoil and labor. He added, though, that he feels gratitude and optimism based on interaction with employees, customers, members of Sam’s Club and Walmart’s own Plus program, and suppliers. He noted that his optimism is based on the momentum the company has built-in adapting to change while sticking to the company’s values.
In commenting on the strategic path Walmart is treading, McMillon stated:
As more customers and members join our ecosystem, it gives us an opportunity to monetize the capabilities and assets we’ve developed to diversify our revenue and profit base. Sometimes that means new businesses like Walmart GoLocal, our delivery as a service platform, or Walmart Luminate, a suite of insight and analytic tools for suppliers and sellers. Other times it can be the expansion of existing businesses like advertising, where we’ve seen tremendous growth over the last few years. It’s now a $2.1 billion business for us globally. We’re attaching B2B businesses to our B2C businesses in a way that supports investments and profitability.
Our strategy is clear. It’s to build strong local businesses that share common flywheel characteristics, powered by Walmart with ideas, resources, talent and technology. Each market is positioned to deliver long-term, sustainable growth. Our teams in each market know their customers well, and they partner on common areas to drive progress even faster. We’re expanding the ecosystem that supports them as we grow capabilities in areas like advertising, payments and other financial services, and health care.
