Friends,
This time last year, no one foresaw the impact of COVID-19 and what it would mean to each of us, our customers and our communities in 2020.
Practically overnight, our business, our retail environment and our lives completely changed. Despite all the challenges of the past year, I’m proud to say that Walmart Canada was able to focus on the urgent without losing sight of the important.
Within just days, we made urgent and unprecedented changes to our stores and business. We introduced new safety measures, changed the shopping experience for customers and we invested an additional $125 million to support our associates.
Working with suppliers, we pulled out all the stops to keep products on shelves and provide for our customers. And, as more people stayed home, we accelerated our investments in e-commerce, ramped up capacity by hiring more associates and increased grocery pickup and delivery slots for customers.
But even as we took urgent steps to deal with the pandemic, we continued to focus on our long-term priorities. Priorities such as business growth, investment, and innovation. Local communities. Diversity, equity and inclusion. And our planet.
Within just days, we made urgent and unprecedented changes to our stores and business. We introduced new safety measures, changed the shopping experience for customers and we invested an additional $125 million to support our associates.
We announced an investment of over $3.5 billion over the next five years to radically transform our supply chain, making it more responsive and efficient, as well as finding opportunities to deepen our relationships with local suppliers.
We continued to innovate, upgrade and retool our business, technologies and systems. We raised millions of dollars for charities – from food banks to children’s hospitals. We helped Canadians when they needed us most – breaking all our previously set records. We were recognized as a champion of diversity, inclusion and equity for our dedication to hiring a diverse workforce, inclusive of ethnicity, age and abilities.
And we committed to being a regenerative company and to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040, putting sustainability and the planet at the forefront of our strategies.
As we begin our new fiscal year, I’ve never felt more confident that we can handle whatever comes our way – that we will always focus on the urgent while never losing sight of the important.
Thank you to our associates, customers, suppliers and everyone for helping us thrive over adversity in a year we will never forget.
Sincerely,
Horacio Barbeito
President and CEO, Walmart Canada