Who are they?

In 1962 Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart store. He operated the store under a simple premise, buy products in large quantities to take advantage of volume discounts. He was also skillful at mastering the just in time inventory strategy. Actually Wal-Mart’s inventory management strategy is iconic and is studied in Marketing and Inventory Control classes around the world.

The company’s stock has often been considered the premier buy. You may have heard many people say, if I had bought a hundred shares of Wal-Mart 20 years ago, I’d be rich. And it is true. Wal-Mart stock prices have outpaced that of its competitors. Wal-Mart has had great financial successes.

However, for all of their successes, Wal-Mart has been plagued with image problems since nearly its beginning. Its founder, Mr. Walton, is legendary for being cheap. This attribute is something that spilled into his staffing practices. More often than not, maximum employee compensation was the minimum the law required. He also had the tendency to hire as few people as possible to get the job done.

Several times, Wal-Mart has been accused of forcing employees to work off the clock to avoid paying overtime, scaling back on employee work hours to prevent them for qualifying for full time benefits such as health insurance, and gender bias when it came to promotions. The company has been sued and lost many times over because of these practices.

For these and other reasons, Wal-Mart has acquired its fair share of nemeses and has become the mark of many advocacies groups. In just about any city, when Wal-Mart applied for an operating permit … there was a long line of protesters waiting at the front door.

Wal-Mart… people either love them or hate them.

In the news

After more than 15 years, Wal-Mart has a new look. Late last month the company unveiled its new logo. The hope is that this new, more organic look will help peter out the company’s image problem.

In Park City, UT, Wal-Mart faces, yet again, strong aversion. At a public hearing, opponents fought fiercely to block the expansion of a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Their efforts were, at least, temporarily effective. The city commission delayed approval of a permit.

Wal-Mart concedes with a Chinese Union and agrees to increase the wages by 16% over the next two years.

The card

Looking for a Wal-Mart credit card? Well, you’ve got two options. There is a Wal-Mart credit card that can only be used in Wal-Mart stores. There is also a Wal-Mart Discover that can be used anywhere you see the Discover card logo. Here are some features of the Wal-Mart Discover card.

The basics

• No annual fee
• APR as low as 12.37%
• Issued by GE Bank
• 25 day grace period

The extras

• 1% cash back on all purchases
• Save 3 cents per gallon of gas at Wal-Mart gas stations
• Up to $100 cash advance with purchase
• No interest on purchase of $250 or more if paid within 12 months

My take

I am not one of those people who hate Wal-Mart, but I do shop there is little is possible. However, I think the card has really nice features. The two that I am most impressed with are the ability to save 3 cents per gallon on gas. Also, no interest for 12 months on purchase of $250 dollars or more is a very good offer.

My take: I have some personal reservations about the company as a whole. But as far as the Wal-Mart Discover card, it has nice extras. And when used responsibly, it can help save you money.