Walmart, the biggest retailer on earth, has a truly global influence that touches consumers and businesses around the world every day. Rapidly expanding into emerging markets, Walmart is a tough competitor for retailers and a vital customer for manufacturers as well as a source of best practice in a number of retail disciplines such as procurement, logistics, systems and store format innovation. Walmart offers a comprehensive insight into how the retailer emerged from its humble roots in rural Arkansas to become a global retailing phenomenon. It's a period of change for the world's largest retailer marking the first time in the company's history that it operated more stores internationally than in the US, a clear indication of where future growth opportunities lie. As Walmart approaches its 50th anniversary, Berg and Roberts offer an objective analysis of the company's global impact on competitors, suppliers and consumers and, crucially, how it will reposition itself for the next 50 years of growth.