Walmart Latin America Announces “Sustainability“ as Key to Efficient and Profitable Growth

MIAMI - In a speech during the annual “Outlook of the Americas” luncheon of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce (AACCLA), Walmart Latin America CEO Eduardo Solórzano discussed how Walmart is using the company’s expertise in sustainability as a means for profitable growth.

“This is a key region for Walmart with significant growth opportunities in the coming years,” Solórzano said. “We are sharing best practices across markets and developing new formats to serve the unique customs and needs of Latin America customers, but it will take leveraging the company’s expertise in sustainability to manage costs.”

“To sustain our growth in the region we cannot exponentially increase our costs or impact on the environment,” Solórzano said. “Our approach must be agile and innovative to meet the challenges in a very diverse region. That is why we are moving more aggressively to integrate into our business strategy and operations a holistic sustainability plan for 100 percent renewable energy, zero waste and selling products that sustain people and the environment. We call it ‘sustainagility.’”

Commenting on Mr. Solórzano’s speech, Patrick Kilbride, Executive Vice President of AACCLA said, “Walmart is leading the implementation across Latin America of sustainable practices that benefit both the communities they serve and the bottom line.”

Walmart opened its first store in Latin America, a Sam’s Club, in Mexico 20 years ago. In FY 2010 Walmart reported $36.6 billion in revenue for Latin America. The region has almost 3300 stores in nine countries with over 350,000 associates and over 30 different brand banners and formats to fit different socio-economic levels, customs and needs of customers. All the stores share a common goal: Saving people money so they can live better.

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About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) or “Walmart,” serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,800 retail units under 59 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Walmart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2010 Most Admired Companies survey. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com/ and on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Walmart.