17 Things You Didn’t Know About Walmart

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Love’em or hate’em, they have one of the lowest prices around. How? Well, we’ve read (or in some cases, experienced) how they treat their employees. Low pay, no benefits, bad management. But isn’t that pure capitalism at work? Exploit the workers, make profit, no morals, high chance of success? That’s how it works, right? Right?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghrDIQ-K8mg&w=584&h=390]

1. Walmart is actually an innovative company. Current public consensus has Walmart as a dirty, low-end, cheap consumer brand, but they launched a television network in 1998, pivoted to give consumers healthier and organic goods to try and stem customers from jumping ship to Whole Foods. But then, Walmart’s probably trumps Whole Foods when it comes to prices, and for the price-conscious consumer, does purchasing organic food really matter?

2. Vermont blocked Walmart from opening a store, which evolved into a 20-year battle. Walmart won in the end and opened its first store in St. Albans.

3. A couple actually held their wedding at a Walmart.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkiyk0ZxBp4&w=584&h=390]

4. A Kansas couple got so horned up in a Walmart, they stole some KY and decided to have sex in the middle of the store.

5. A man with a backpack entered a Walmart in Kentucky. Employees became suspicious and checked up on him. Turns out the guy was carrying around a mobile meth lab and he had passed out from the fumes.

6. Walmart claims they actually give good benefits and pay — in fact, all employees receive quarterly bonus opportunities based on store performance.

7. Apparently box cutters are a big thing in the Walmart employee community.

8. There’s a 10-Foot Rule set forth by Sam Walton: “I want you to promise that whenever you come within 10 feet of a customer, you will look him in the eye, greet him, and ask him if you can help him.” That means when you come within 10 feet of an employee, they’ve made a promise with Sam Walton to help you out.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqRjl0HMLvQ&w=584&h=390]

9. Walmart tried to block benefits for disabled employees.

10. In 2013, Walmart was blasted for being “Welfare Kings” because their 1.3 million-member U.S. workforce falls below $25,000.

11. An estimated $36,000,000 is spent every hour on a daily basis at Walmart. That’s $34,880 made every minute.

12. Bananas are the best-selling item at Walmart.

13. In 2013, Walmart’s international net sales exceeded $135 billion.

14. Sam’s Club is a division of the Walmart brand.

15. Hillary Clinton was on the Walmart board of directors for 6 years.

16. Walmart employees about 2 million people around the world. The only organization that has more employees in the world? That’s the Chinese army — People’s Liberation Army — with 2,285,000 active members.

17. Walmart is one of the nation’s most prominent union-busters. They also prefer to hire part-time help so that employees don’t get access to benefits that full-time employees get to enjoy.