Wal-Mart Opens 36 Stores in October Providing Jobs and Savings Nationwide
Grand Openings across 22 States Provide 4,300 Additional Jobs; Retailer Gives nearly $6 million to Local Charities and Organizations with a Focus on Providing Opportunities for U.S. Workers
October 29, 2007: 11:00 AM EST


BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- This week, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will complete the opening of 36 new stores and clubs across the country in the month of October, providing jobs for 10,800 associates. More than 4,300 associates have been hired to fill new positions at new, expanded and relocated stores, demonstrating the economic opportunities the company provides individuals and communities.

"With these new store locations, we're strengthening our commitment to helping our customers nationwide save money so they can live better," said Bill Simon, chief operating officer, Wal-Mart Stores, U.S. "As we head into the holiday season, we know families want quality products at prices they can afford."

The company is opening stores in 22 states in October and will serve diverse communities from cities such as Baltimore and Cleveland, to rural and suburban communities in areas including Brent, Ala., Kingfisher, Okla., and Coral Springs, Fla. The final two October stores will open on Wednesday, including a new Supercenter in Wasilla, Alaska, the "Duck Tape Capital of the World". Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be on hand to cut the store's ceremonial ribbon, made of duct tape.

Since February, Wal-Mart has opened 205 stores and clubs across the U.S., including 163 supercenters, 19 Sam's Clubs, 16 Neighborhood Markets and 7 discount stores, providing 61,500 secure jobs that give associates the opportunity to build their careers.

Giving locally and helping to provide opportunities

As part of its commitment to operate globally and give back locally, Wal-Mart has a long history of supporting the charitable organizations in the communities where it operates. With the opening of 36 stores during the month of October, Wal-Mart is giving more than $830,000 to food banks, local schools, police and fire departments, chambers of commerce and other organizations. Each of these new stores is also donating funds to local community colleges and technology centers to support job skills training, student retention programs and workforce education efforts.

In addition, Wal-Mart and its Foundation are awarding nearly $5 million in grants this fall to organizations working on advancing the capabilities of current U.S. workers as well as equipping the workers of the future with the skills needed to be competitive in the 21st century job market. The organizations receiving these grants are: the National Center of Education and the Economy, Jobs for the Future, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, STRIVE, CEOs for Cities and Northwest Arkansas Community College.

205 stores opened and 32,000 additional associates hired this year

Since February, Wal-Mart has opened 205 stores and clubs across the U.S. More than 61,500 associates are employed at these new and relocated stores, including 32,000 associates that were hired to fill new positions. In celebration of these store and club openings, the Wal-Mart Foundation has provided more than $4.9 million in donations to charitable organizations at the local level.

In addition to new jobs and support for local organizations, each new store provides more opportunities for consumer to save money. Some of the benefits provided at the new stores include:

• Customer Savings: New research from Global Insight shows that the company now saves American families $2,500 each year, up 7.3 percent from 2004.  The research concluded that the continued reduction in prices due to the presence of Wal-Mart and the growth in consumerexpenditures over the 2004 to 2006 period translated directly into savings for consumers amounting to $287 billion in 2006.
  
  
• $4 Prescription Drugs: Wal-Mart has expanded its $4 prescription program with changes that will help even more Americans deal with the high-cost of healthcare. The program -- which has already saved Americans more than $610 million in its first year -- has been expanded with more medicines covering more categories and faster savings on new-to-market generic drugs.
  
  
• Financial Services: Wal-Mart will open 1,000 Wal-Mart MoneyCenters by the end of 2008, covering a quarter of its stores.  The rapid expansion of its low-cost money services and in-store locations will help meet the needs of the millions of unbanked and underserved customers who visit Wal-Mart each week for their basic money service needs.  In 2006, our customers saved approximately $250 million using Wal-Mart products versus those of our highest volume competitors.  This number is expected to grow to over $320 million by the end of 2007.
  
  
• Holiday Shopping: This month, Wal-Mart began its aggressive holiday pricing plan, with 20 percent more rollbacks than this time last year.

The 36 stores and clubs opening in October 2007 include:

To view more information on Wal-Mart's impact in each state, visit the Live Better Index.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Every week, millions of customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America or log on to its online store at www.walmart.com. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $270 million to local communities in the United States. To learn more, visit www.walmartfacts.com, www.walmartstores.com, or www.walmartfoundation.org.