Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.) president and ceo Lee Scott said his company is “good for America” and that the barrage of criticism against the retailing giant is an effort by competitors and others to protect the status quo in the retail industry.
Addressing about 50 journalists at the company's first-ever media conference, Scott defended Wal-Mart's wages and health care plans, criticized by labor groups as inadequate, and said the company is able to save customers big money as it drives costs out of its system.
“Innovation and competition tend to change the status quo,” he said.
The two-day conference is part of a stepped-up public relations campaign begun last year to polish Wal-Mart's image and counter views that the world's largest retailer — and nation's biggest private employer — skimps on wages and benefits while filling suburbs with big-box warehouses surrounded by acres of parking lots. At the session, company spokeswoman Mona Williams urged reporters to clear their minds of previous articles about the company and “start with a clean slate.”
The conference comes in the midst of some high-profile legal problems for Wal-Mart. The retailer recently announced it was paying a fine to settle federal charges that underage workers operated dangerous machinery, and agreed to pay $11 million to settle charges that its cleaning contractors hired illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart is appealing a judge's decision to certify class-action status for up to 1.6 million female employees who claim the retailer discriminated against them because of their gender.