I remember during several of my SWOT Analysis workshops conducted for several of my  organizations, I used to mention Walmart as an example of a world class organization. I did a review of Walmart and discovered that it has many strong attributes of world class organization. Below is my research information:-

About Walmart

Walmart has a customer and members base big enough to have served them more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,159 retail units under 55 different banners in 15 countries. Walmart has sales of $401 billion, and employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide for fiscal year 2009

About Walmart History

Founded in 1962, the company open its first Walmart discount store in Rogers, Ark. on Oct. 31, 1969, the company incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Its shares began trading on OTC markets in 1970 and two years later, it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It grew to 276 stores in 11 states by the end of the decade. The company opened its first Sam’s Club membership warehouse in 1983 and opened the first supercenter in 1988 — now the company’s dominant format — featuring a complete grocery in addition to general merchandise. Walmart became an international company in 1991 when it opened its first Sam’s Club near Mexico City. Learn more about our history.

Walmart Mission – Saving people money to help them live better

This is the goal that Sam Walton envisioned when he opened the doors to the first Walmart more than 40 years ago. Today, this mission is more important than ever to our customers and members around the world. Learn more about our purpose.

Ed. Note: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is the legal name of the corporation. The name “Walmart,” expressed as one word and without punctuation, is a trademark of the company and is used analogously to describe the company and its stores. Use the legal name when it is necessary to identify the legal entity, such as when reporting financial results, SEC filings, litigation or governance matters.

The above are some facts about Walmart obtained from its website http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/.