Wal-Mart Launches Pre-Emptive P.R.

Bentonville, Ark., Wal-Mart has taken another aggressive, offensive step in its ongoing public relations campaign with American citizens. In a full-page ad published in more than 100 newspapers across the country, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott declared: “Wal-Mart is good for consumers, good for communities and good for the U.S. economy.”

In the advertisment, the company pointed to the following:

• This year, Wal-Mart Stores plans to create more than 100,000 new jobs in the United States.

• The chain’s average wage for full-time hourly store associates—such as cashiers, stockers and sales associates—is almost twice the federal minimum wage.

• Seventy-four percent of Wal-Mart’s hourly associates in the United States work full-time, higher than the 20% to 40% typically found in the retail industry.

The company has been a frequent target of criticism related to its impact on high-paying American jobs and health-care infrastructure in communities where it operates.

The company also launched a non-commercial Web site, www.walmartfacts.com, to help its associates, consumers, reporters and others learn the facts about the company.