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Update from Horacio

March 30, 2021

1 Min. Read

Hi everyone --

After what’s been a challenging past 13 months, the weather is warming and most importantly vaccinations are rolling out across the country.

I’ve been so moved by the stories of Walmart pharmacists vaccinating our customers. Patients like Joseph and Mary, who received the first COVID-19 vaccinations by a trusted Walmart Canada pharmacist. They even made the local news in Red Deer, Alberta! Joseph said he was proud to be “Walmart famous”.

The vaccine rollout is vitally important for all of us. Our Walmart pharmacists have administered thousands of vaccines, with more to come. Each vaccination represents hope and optimism. One more step forward, customer by customer, community by community.

We’re working collaboratively with governments and public health units so more of our pharmacies can help in vaccinating more Canadians. Please keep checking www.walmart.ca for stores near you administering the vaccine.

While the vaccination campaign is a major priority and safety remains paramount, we’re continuing to transform our business to make the shopping experience simpler, faster and better for you.

A few weeks ago, we announced a $500 million investment to upgrade stores across the country. This is our largest yearly investment in upgrades, ever. It’s a big one and it means better stores. For example, our store in Lasalle, Quebec is getting an $8 million overhaul and another store in Calgary is being converted to a Supercentre. More than 60% of our approximately 400 stores will be improved this year and I’m sure most of you will notice upgrades in your local store.

At the same time, demand on Walmart.ca remains high – a trend that’s here to stay.

We’re continuing to ramp up services to make the online shopping experience best-in-class. We are expanding delivery to more communities and adding grocery pickup to 60 more stores this year – so 85% of all Walmart Canada stores will offer grocery pickup.

Choice is also important, so we’re adding to our online assortment of general merchandise and apparel available always at everyday low prices.
While we make investments, I know we have a responsibility to give back. Our recent Fight Hunger. Spark Change campaign raised a record 13 million meals for Canadians in need through Food Banks Canada. The campaign was one of our strongest ever, thanks to the generosity of customers and suppliers and the efforts of our associates.

Finally, I love meeting our associates when I’m visiting stores. I’m happy that through our annual store incentive bonus program 75,000 associates across the country are sharing more than $120 million in cash bonuses this year. Our associates are amazing, and the bonus is well deserved.

We’ve profiled many associates who have done great work this past year. You can meet them here.

I look forward to sharing more business updates with you throughout the year.

Have a happy Easter and great long weekend.

Sincerely,
Horacio Barbeito

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