Remarks as Prepared for Lee Scott CEO and President, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. NCLR Annual Meeting Miami, Florida, July 24, 2007

Transcription

1 Thank you, Monica. Remarks as Prepared for Lee Scott CEO and President, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. NCLR Annual Meeting Miami, Florida, July 24, 2007 I appreciate that introduction, which was entirely too kind. And I appreciate the leadership that you and so many here have given to the Hispanic community and the entire country over the years. In addition to Monica, I would like to recognize Janet who represents the best in a new generation of Hispanic American leaders. And of course there is Tom Castro and Jose Villarreal. Jose is a former Wal-Mart board member who can t be here today, but who I couldn t say enough good things about. And when we think of leaders, we have to think of Raul Yzaguirre -- Janet s predecessor -- who has devoted his life to NCLR and paved the way for everyone I just mentioned. Thank you all for your leadership. Let me also thank the NCLR staff that put together today s speaking program. I am so relieved that I don t have the impossible task of following a Reverend Al Sharpton speech. Reverend Sharpton is a dynamic leader. And he s someone you can sit down with, talk with and build a relationship with. I m pleased to share the podium with him. It really is a pleasure to be here today representing Wal-Mart. We know how important NCLR is to the Hispanic community in the U.S. And I hope you have seen Wal-Mart recognize that role. We re proud to participate in events like this and to support good works like the Emerging Latino Communities initiative and the Raul Yzaguirre Campaign.

2 Clearly, both our company and our foundation see NCLR as a partner. And what I want to talk about today is why we are so enthusiastic about NCLR and the men, women and children you represent. To be sure, part of the reason is business. And I ll talk about that because it s real and significant for you and for Wal-Mart. But a lot of it goes beyond business to who Hispanic Americans are, who Wal-Mart is and the values we share together. I believe it comes down to three things community, family and opportunity. Let me start with community. Wal-Mart is very much a global company. We operate stores in 13 countries, including a lot of places where Hispanic Americans have roots, like Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico. But for as much as we are global, we are far more local. Every Wal-Mart store no matter where it is in the world is a key part of every community we serve. And in many cases, we are a center of the community. You see this with our customers who run into friends and neighbors on our floors and in our aisles. You see it in our merchandise and how we strive to select the mix most relevant to every community. You also see it in how we run our foundation. Last year, we gave away $270 million here in the U.S. And we donated the majority of that money at the local level across more than 4,000 communities. We all know community is central to the way of life for Hispanic Americans. And you know this better than anyone else. NCLR itself is an organization of communities. 2

3 Well, community is central to Wal-Mart, too. And I think that brings us together. And so does family. At Wal-Mart, we really do treat each other as family. We share common values throughout the company respect for the individual, service to our customers, striving for excellence. We watch out for each other and take care of each other in times of need. Hurricane Katrina was probably the most public example of this. We said that if the hurricane wiped out an associate s home, we weren t going to let it wipe out their job, too. They could go anywhere there was a Wal-Mart or Sam s Club, and we d find them a job. But you see acts like this every single day in every single store. When a loved one gets sick or a husband or wife gets deployed overseas, we come together and support each other as a family. We know how important family is to Hispanic Americans. All you have to do is look at the sacrifices people make simply for a shot at a better life for their loved ones who are often thousands of miles away. We also see this in something as simple as how our Hispanic customers shop our stores. It s a family affair literally. You can walk through our stores that serve Hispanic communities and see individuals shopping like they do everywhere else. But you also see a lot more groups and families people enjoying the experience and the time together. And I think that very small act says a lot. Third, let me touch on opportunity. Opportunity takes a lot of forms at Wal-Mart. 3

4 As you probably know, our company is the largest private employer of Hispanics in America. Nearly 154 thousand Hispanic associates serve at all levels of our company including some of our most senior leaders and two directors on our board. We have some superb Hispanic suppliers. They range from Gruma -- the worldwide leader in corn flour and tortilla production to La India Spices -- which sells more than 20 products in our stores across the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. And we are constantly working to attract new Hispanic-owned businesses of all sizes to the Wal-Mart family. Hispanic Americans are also among our best customers. 127 million customers shop our U.S. stores every week. About 14 percent of them are Hispanic. And few customer segments think better of Wal-Mart -- and are as loyal to Wal- Mart -- as Hispanic Americans. Now why is that? I believe opportunity is a big part of it. Our Hispanic customers want the opportunity to live better. And more than any other retailer, we give that to them. Many of our Hispanic customers are either immigrants or first generation Americans. They are in this country to build a better way of life for themselves, for their families and for future generations. Wal-Mart plays a big role in that by giving them the opportunity to save money. That s what this means on the screen: Ayudamos a ahorrar dinero a la gente para que puedan vivir mejor. (Ah-you-dah-moss ah ah-oh-rar dee-neh-ro ah la hen-teh par-ah keh poo-ehdone bee-bee-r mehor) We save people money so they can live better. 4

5 The fact is saved money has tremendous value. It can be spent on more merchandise a better television, nicer clothes, whatever you want. But it can also be spent on things that really lift up your quality of life buying your first car, sending your kids to college, building a nest egg for retirement, sending money to your family. This is what our Hispanic customers see in us. It is what they want and need from us. And it is who we are it s the thread that ties together every associate and every store all around the world. Family, opportunity and community these are the bedrock values that Wal- Mart and Hispanic Americans share. And we believe that relationship really adds up to something meaningful for the Hispanic American community and for the causes you fight for at NCLR. At Wal-Mart, we are under no illusions about the struggles that our customers are facing. When you look at the big picture, the economy is doing pretty well. Unemployment is low. The stock market is up. Interest rates are holding steady. But when we look at our customers, we know they are feeling pressure. They are being hurt by a slumping housing market where a lot of Hispanic Americans work. Every American working family is being stressed by this summer s high gas prices. In fact, for Wal-Mart, the cost of energy is our single best predictor of consumer behavior. There also is the constantly rising cost of health care that s taking more and more money out of people s pockets. These are the pressure points we see our customers facing. And they are having an impact and not just here in the U.S. 5

6 We are seeing it in our stores in Mexico and Central America. The fact is many Hispanic Americans are having a harder time sharing money with families abroad. These are the kinds of issues that NCLR is concerned about and has been working on for years. At Wal-Mart, we don t just talk about problems either. We want solutions too. Take health care costs, for example. There are 46 million uninsured in America. And a disproportionate percentage of the uninsured are Hispanic Americans. At Wal-Mart, we re working to ease that burden. Last year, we launched our $4 prescription drug program. To date, it has saved Americans more than $350 million. And listen to this -- about 30 percent of our $4 prescriptions are being filled for people without insurance. Financial security is another example of where we are working to have an impact. One out of every five Wal-Mart customers does not have a checking account. And as I am sure you know, Hispanics are three times as likely to be unbanked. Recently, we committed to opening 1,000 Wal-Mart MoneyCenters by the end of next year. These are places in our stores where customers can pay bills or cash checks or get a debit card. This is a huge opportunity for millions of our customers to save money and set themselves on a course to financial security. In fact, we project that our new MoneyCenters could put as much as $320 million back into the pockets of our customers this year. Now not everything we are doing on the issues that matter most to NCLR and Hispanic Americans is being done in our stores. 6

7 We re stepping out into the public arena where a lot of companies have shied away. We have joined together with other companies and think tanks and labor unions to form the Better Health Care Together Coalition. Our goal is straightforward: American s health care system must be fixed by Our company has also said that Congress needs to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We are disappointed that the Congress and the Administration haven t been able to agree. Immigration -- like many issues -- cannot be solved without government playing its role. And two years ago we told both the President and Congress that we thought the minimum wage should be increased. Finally, starting today, the first installment of the minimum wage increase goes into effect. We are thrilled that millions of working Americans will get a well-deserved and long overdue pay raise. Now I don t want you to walk away with the impression that understanding, representing and appealing to Hispanic consumers and increasing opportunities for Hispanic suppliers isn t also a business priority at Wal-Mart. Because it is and an important one at that. The fact is that Hispanic buying power in the U.S. is projected to reach nearly $1.2 trillion dollars by Let me put that in perspective. From 1990 to 2011, if trends continue, Hispanic buying power will have grown by more than 450 percent. That compares to a growth rate of only 176 percent for non-hispanic buying power over the same time period. There is tremendous opportunity with Hispanic consumers. 7

8 And at Wal-Mart, we believe we are uniquely positioned to seize that opportunity and give Hispanic Americans the shopping experience they want and deserve. But again, we don t feel that way just because of our efforts to understand, represent and appeal to Hispanic customers as a retailer. We feel that way because of who Wal-Mart is, who Hispanic Americans are, and the values we share together -- community, family and opportunity. I want to close by saying that as much as we believe in the ability of our company to have an impact on our nation s problems, we know we can t fix them alone, and what we have done is just a start. So whether it s health care or education, the unbanked or the environment, we are doing more within our own walls. But we are also reaching out. We are talking with critics and competitors, government leaders and nongovernmental organizations. And what we have found is encouraging. When we are met with open minds, as we have been at NCLR, I believe there s nothing we can t overcome, nothing we can t accomplish together. So I hope we will not only continue to work together as we have, but do more together in the future. For our company, for NCLR and for Hispanic Americans, that is an opportunity that none of us can afford to pass up. 8