Our Mission: Saving people money so they can live better.

Saving people money so they can live better was a goal Sam Walton envisioned when he opened the first Wal-Mart store more than 40 years ago. Today, with thousands of stores in a number of formats around the globe, this mission is embedded in our business; it lives in our culture; and it impacts every part of our Company — from our customers and our shareholders, to our associates and our communities.

Over time, we have seen the true potential and meaning of this mission. We've also come to understand the enormous responsibility it presents to us as a retailer. Our mission empowers us to help our customers — regardless of where they may live or what their backgrounds might be — afford the things they need to run a household or support a family, which is especially important in today's economic climate. It means we can be an advocate for the men and women who shop in our stores because we understand their needs and the importance they place on value. It also means we can combine our role as a retailer with our responsibility as a member of the global community to help people improve their situations and build better lives.

We believe that by applying our "Save money. Live better.^®" mission to big global challenges like energy or the cost of prescription drugs, we can deliver both value and quality to our customers, and ensure that neither comes at the expense of responsibility. This is why we continually work to build efficient, productive and sustainable solutions into our business, and why we partner with our suppliers and stakeholders to create outlets for our customers to take advantage of our mission and purpose. We believe we have more to do and more to offer our customers and our communities in this regard. But we also believe that our mission is what strengthens our ability not only to do well as a business, but also to do good in the world.

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