Positioning our portfolio for continued growth

In fiscal 2014, Walmart International’s net sales, excluding the impact of currency exchange rate fluctuations and acquisitions, increased 4.6 percent to $140.9 billion. We added 12.5 million square feet and 324 stores, bringing our total portfolio to more than 6,100 stores. We also grew or maintained market share in most countries, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment where household incomes were stretched and competition remained high.

Targeting the most promising opportunities. International will continue to be a growth vehicle for Walmart. We’re focused on driving comp sales in all markets and investing in relevant formats and channels, including e-commerce and mobile. During the year, we took steps to strengthen our position in Brazil, Chile, China and Mexico and expect these actions to help us deliver our financial priorities.

We’re excited about opportunities for growth in e-commerce. Our investments in infrastructure and talent are accelerating International’s digital expansion and providing options for customers with diverse shopping habits. For example, Asda’s rapidly growing online grocery business exemplifies the physical-digital convergence, creating a customer experience that only Walmart can deliver. Brazil e-commerce sales grew at nearly twice the market rate last year, and Yihaodian is one of China’s fastest-growing e-commerce sites, offering customers both grocery and general merchandise. In addition, we’re increasing our investments in Mexico and Canada to drive growth.

Customers around the world still want and need value. We’ll deliver EDLP for them by continuing to invest in price. EDLP builds trust with customers while saving them money, whether it’s “Worry Free” pricing in China or the “Asda Price Guarantee” in the U.K. Our objective is to fund this investment by being the lowest-cost operator in every market. We continue to expand our capabilities to buy, operate and sell for less. In partnership with our global leverage teams, we’re driving innovative technology and process improvements, all with a lens on greater customer relevance.

Taking corporate responsibility to a higher level. At the core of International are the outstanding associates, who are dedicated to serving our customers. We continue to recruit some of the best global talent in retail to complement our current teams, and we’re investing in training and development of current associates. For example, in the last year, we ramped up our efforts with the merchant leadership academy to provide advanced training in merchandising strategy and execution.

As a global company, we have responsibilities to the countries in which we operate, and we earn trust through our commitment to compliance, social and environmental issues. We remain vigilant in our focus to have the most compliant processes and capabilities, to support charities and to lead on environmental sustainability to improve the communities that we serve.