Fayetteville, AR, June 9--The chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. used the company's annual meeting Friday to address accusations that it treats employees unfairly, saying managers who don't follow company policy need to find work elsewhere.
Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's president and CEO, said in order for the world's largest retailer to keep growing, it must be an attractive place for people to work. He encouraged all 1.4 million Wal-Mart employees to use the company's open-door policy if they witness impropriety.
Wal-Mart faces lawsuits alleging employees were forced to work unpaid overtime and that women do not have the same chances for promotion as men.
Scott said the company insists on fairness, equal access to pay and promotion and has to make sure all workers are paid for the hours they work.
He said the company will "make sure any manager who doesn't understand the prior points no longer has a career at Wal-Mart Stores Inc."
Scott's comments came during a presentation focused on the company's plans to sustain growth, drawing cheers from the crowd that nearly filled the 19,000-seat Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus.
For the year ended Jan. 31, Wal-Mart earned $8.04 billion, or $1.81 per share, up from $6.67 billion, or $1.49 a share, a year earlier.
Sales for the year were up 12.3 percent to $244.52 billion from $217.80 billion a year earlier.
Tom Schoewe, chief financial officer, said Wal-Mart can continue growing by increasing sales in existing stores, expanding those locations, building new stores, and buying other businesses.
This year, the company is adding 48 million square feet of retail space as part of an $11 billion investment in growth. Last year, the company spent between $9 billion and $10 billion on expansion, adding 396 units in the United States and abroad.
Scott said that if sales in stores open at least a year increase between 3 percent and 4 percent this year and Wal-Mart expands its square footage by 8 percent as planned, revenues will increase by $25 billion to $27 billion.
Tom Coughlin, executive vice president for Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs in the United States stressed how important it was to sustain the company's effort to keep items in stock, citing duct tape as an example.
International division leader John Menzer emphasized Wal-Mart's clothing labels, including its George line, launched in Britain. Menzer said the company was taking the label to its stores around the world.
Menzer said the company's goal is for the international division to account for one third of sales and earnings growth over the next three to five years.
The company allowed a number of shareholders presenting resolutions to speak about their issues. The resolutions included proposed policies that would affect board composition, auditor duties, use of genetically-modified food, gender-based equality among company workers, international labor standards, and executive compensation. The board and company executives recommended the measures be defeated. None of the measures passed.
