#1: Washingtonians are already Shopping & Working at Walmart
- Last year Washingtonians spent more than $41 million at Walmart stores OUTSIDE of the city
- Right now, Walmart employs more than 600 D.C. residents at their stores located outside of Washington
#2: Washingtonians Want Walmart in Washington D.C.
- Walmart commissioned poll of Washington, D.C. residents by Lester & Associates (November 7- 9, 2010):
- 73 percent of D.C. residents support bringing Walmart to their neighborhood
- Ward specific support shows: Ward 4 (67 percent), Ward 5 (79 percent), Ward 6 (67 percent), Ward 7 (91 percent), and Ward 8 (95 percent)
#3: Washingtonians Need Jobs
- City-wide unemployment rate is 11.1 % according to U.S. Department of Labor (September 2011)
- Unemployment rate by Ward according to Department of Employment Services (September 2011):
- Ward 1 - 9.4 %
- Ward 2 - 5.4 %
- Ward 3 - 2.8 %
- Ward 4 - 8.9 %
- Ward 5 - 14.7 %
- Ward 6 - 10.9 %
- Ward 7 - 17.9 %
- Ward 8 - 26.4 %
#4: Walmart Will Have a Positive Economic Impact on the Local Economy
- Walmart announced six new stores that will:
- Create approximately 1,800 new jobs and 600 construction jobs
- Expand access to affordable, healthy food, especially in underserved areas
- Provide a competitive wage equal to or better than those offered by competitors, including unionized grocers
- Walmart has not asked for any public financing for planned D.C. stores
#5: Walmart Provides Competitive Wages, Affordable Benefits & the Chance to Build a Career
- Walmart’s wages and benefits meet or exceed those offered by a majority of competitors currently doing business in the city.
- The average, full time hourly wage for a Walmart associate in Virginia is $11.82 per hour.
- More than 70 percent of the company’s store management team in the Washington D.C. region started as hourly Walmart associates
- Associates can become eligible for benefits including affordable health plans, quarterly bonuses, 401K plans, stock purchase plans and a discount on store merchandise
#6: Walmart Helps American Households Save Money
- In the D.C. area, Walmart’s grocery prices are 19% lower than Giant or Safeway according to Washington Consumer Checkbook survey
- Walmart saved American households $3,100 each year according to a 2008 study by Global Insight*
- Walmart offers $4 generic prescriptions at Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies; this program has saved Walmart’s U.S. customers more than $3 billion since it was launched in 2006
- Walmart and Sam’s Club have long-accepted SNAP, formally known as food stamp benefits, at all stores nationwide
#7: Washingtonians Need More Access to Fresh, Affordable Food
- The local hunger situation is dire in Washington, D.C.
- Nearly one in five families with children is facing hunger hardship
- More than 633,000 residents are at risk of experiencing hunger, 200,000 of which are children according to the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest nonprofit hunger and nutrition resource in the Washington Metropolitan area
- Access to fresh, healthy food is severely limited in some neighborhoods, especially those east of the Anacostia River, leading to distinct “food deserts”
- Currently of D.C.’s 43 full-service grocery stores, only two are located within Ward 4 and only four are in Ward 7
- According to a recent D.C. Hunger Solutions report, the ratio of full-service grocery stores to residents varies widely among the District’s wards
- On average, residents of Wards 4, 5 and 7 must travel longer distances than residents in other wards to reach the closest full-service grocery store
- The city loses more that $112 million in annual grocery revenues to neighboring jurisdictions because existing grocery retail does not meet residents demands
- As the nation’s largest grocer, Walmart sells more locally grown produce than any other company in America
#8: Walmart is Committed to Making Food Healthier and Healthy Food More Affordable
- In January 2011, Walmart announced a partnership in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative, an effort to encourage healthier living that would include:
- Reformulating thousands of everyday packaged food items by 2015
- Making healthier choices more affordable
- Developing strong criteria for a simple front-of-package seal
- Providing solutions to address food deserts by building stores
- Increasing charitable support for nutrition programs
#9: Walmart Supports Local Communities
- In 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation contributed more than $2.4 million in cash and in-kind gifts to D.C. based non-profit organizations including Martha’s Table, D.C. Central Kitchen, Rachael’s Women’s Center, Latino Economic Development Corporation, Capital Area Food Bank, Brainfood and others
#10: Walmart is Committed to Diversity
- Walmart continues to implement initiatives to attract and retain a diverse workforce, including recruiting from colleges and universities with large multicultural populations
- More than 850,000 of Walmart’s associates are female and make up 59 percent of the company’s U.S. workforce
- More than 41 percent of Walmart officials and managers are women
- We also employ:
- 259,000 African Americans
- 171,000 Hispanics
- 42, 000 Asian Americans
- 15,000 American Indian and Alaskan Natives
- 430, 000 associates 50 and over
*Walmart saves the average family about $3,100 a year, no matter where they shop.
