Walmart CEO Bill Simon has announced that the company plans to buy an additional $50 billion in U.S.-made products over the next 10 years.
Said Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM):
“If Walmart’s ‘Made in America’ announcement is real, it’s a game changer. No company drives retailing trends like Walmart. I salute Walmart for stating this commitment and hope other retailers follow suit in sourcing more high-quality products that are made in America.
“However, this is hardly a revolutionary move when you look at Walmart’s business model and overall sales volume. The company is simply responding to economics. Consumers want more made-in-USA choices, and smart observers recognize that this can be a profitable approach.
“Ideally, Walmart's and Sam's Club's pledge of increased domestic sourcing will include higher-ticket items like appliances and apparel, and not simply more of the current paper goods and vegetables that are made in the U.S.
“We certainly understand the ‘Walmart Effect’ and know that no move the company makes will leave others untouched. We hope this is a move that they truly implement, and with net positive effects.”
Walmart’s pledge would mean sourcing an additional $5 billion per year in American-made goods. To help put that into perspective, here are some interesting stats:
- Total amount of money spent at Walmart every hour of every day: $36,000,000
- Total amount of profit Walmart makes every minute: $34,880
- Total number of employees: 2,000,000
- Total number of stores: 4,253
- Percentage of Americans that live within 15 minutes of Walmart: 90%
- Total sales annually: $405 Billion
- Total number of Walmart Brands: 27
- Total number of customers per week: 100,000,000
- World Rank by economy if Walmart were a country: 19th
- Percent of Walmart suppliers located in China: 80%