Wal-Mart expands
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Discount retailer will open 50 to 55 new stores and 220 to 230 new Supercenters in fiscal 2004, President and CEO Lee Scott says Sept. 29. New doors will comprise 50 mil. square feet of new retail space. Company had 1,494 Wal-Mart stores, 1,386 Supercenters, in the U.S. as of Aug. 31. "We believe that the combination of square footage growth and same stores sales increases will allow us to achieve total shareholder return in the mid-term of 13 to 15 percent," Scott noted. Company also reaffirms third quarter guidance of $0.45 to $0.47 earnings per share from continuing operations...