new chapter in Canadian retailing began on March 17, 1994, when Wal-Mart pur- chased 122 Woolco stores in Canada. Now, it is time to tell you a little miore about us, and what we will be doing over the next several months. In establishing Wal-Mart Canada, we brought with us a phi- — losophy established by our founder, Sam . Walton, when he opened the first Wal- - Mart store in 1962. It is a philosophy based on giving customers superb service, a _ wide assortment of quality merchan- dise, and the lowest possible prices everyday. :

-~ Sam Walton, Founder Wal-Mart Stores, Inc,

._ There’s a lot of Canada in Wal-Mart Canada.

Make no mistake about it ... Wal-Mart Canada is a Canadian company, managed by Canadians and staffed with Canadian Associates.

Wal-Mart's first commitment to Canada was our resolve to retain the 16,000 former Woolco employees. And we dida’t just keep them ... we actually promoted many of them and gave many others well-deserved raises. In fact, we are determined to create Canadian jobs.

Wal-Mart's commitment to Canada also includes stucking Canadian-sourced mer- chandise when-

“ever possible.

That makes good eco- nomic

sense for us and for Canada ... and there is no question that what is good for Canada is certainly good for Wal-Mart Canada.

We're investing in the future, and in the communities we serve.

Wal-Mart has already under- taken an ambitious investment pro- gramme in Canada. By the end of this year, all

122 former Woolco stores will have undergone extensive renovations, creating hundreds of jobs in con- struction-related industries, And new stores will be built in the future. All stores are being equipped with new, state-of-the-art technology, Compre- . hensive employee training is under- way across the country.

It all adds up to jobs, positive economic activity and hundreds of millions of dollars injected into the Canadian economy.

From Woolco to . Wal-Mart ... more than just changing signs.

So, what does this philosophy and commitment to Canada say about Wal-Mart? It says that Wal-Mart is different from other retailers in Canada. That Wal-Mart truly understands and respects the needs of Canadians.

At Wal-Mart, our customers are our bosses. We're committed to. Canada and committed to you. If you don’t like what we have to offer, you'll tell us by shopping somewhere else. But we're certain that once you've experienced a new Wal-Mart .. experienced our philosophy at work ... you'll know exactly where we stand. .