沃尔玛为什么要改名字

排名世界第一的企业——沃尔玛本周三宣布改名字，放弃叫了47年的Wal-Mart Stores，删掉其中的Stores，主要是为了跟亚马逊不断竞争的同时体现出电子商务的重要性。新名称将于明年2月1日启用。

虽然Wal-Mart Stores这个企业法人名称很少出现在公开资料或沃尔玛超市中，但首席执行官董明伦还是在声明里表示，沃尔玛确实需要改名，以更好地贯彻“顾客可以自由选择如何去沃尔玛购物”的理念。董明伦还说：“顾客认的是Walmart这个牌子，如今他们不光去实体店里买东西，也会在我们的网站和app上购物。”

沃尔玛没有披露在线收入占比（人们普遍认为网购占该公司全球销售额的4%或5%左右），但这项业务越发受到重视。在美国分公司，电商创业者马克·洛尔已经成为Walmart.com负责人，而且上一季度沃尔玛的在线销售额增长了50%。增速迅猛主要是因为收购，例如Jet.com（2016年洛尔把Jet.com转让给了沃尔玛，随后成为沃尔玛在线业务CEO），同时扩建网站，进一步整合实体店和电商业务，改善移动购物app以及将更多实体店设为在线订单提货点。

沃尔玛近期股价接近历史最高点，其在纽约证券交易所的股票代码维持不变，仍是“WMT”。

沃尔玛1962年成立，1969年组建公司时的企业法人名称是Wal-Mart, Inc，几个月后才变为Wal-Mart Stores。公司旗下最著名的业务是沃尔玛连锁超市，在美国还经营山姆会员店等连锁业务，在其他国家和地区则拥有沃尔玛、山姆等品牌。

除更名之外，董明伦最近对沃尔玛还有其他调整举措。今年9月他曾表示，沃尔玛将在发源地阿肯色州本顿维尔市营建新总部。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

After 47 years known as Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s largest company said on Wednesday that it is dropping “Stores” from its name in a nod to how much important e-commerce is to the business as it continues to compete with Amazon.com (AMZN, +1.05%). The change goes into effect on February 1st.

While Wal-Mart Stores as a corporate legal name is rarely used in public-facing materials or in stores themselves, CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that he felt the name change was needed to be “consistent with the idea that you can shop us however you like as a customer.” He added: “Our customers know us as Walmart and today they shop with us not only in our stores but online and with our app as well.”

Walmart doesn’t break out how much of its corporate revenues come online. (They are believed to be around 4% or 5% of sales worldwide.) But they are increasingly a point of focus for the company. In the United States, where e-commerce entrepreneur Marc Lore has been heading Walmart.com, digital sales rose 50% last quarter. That surge has been the result of moves such as buying Jet.com (which Lore sold to the company in 2016 before becoming Walmart.com CEO), expanding its marketplaces, further integrating stores and e-commerce, improving its mobile shopping app, and equipping more stores as pick-up points for online grocery orders.

Wal-Mart Stores, whose shares lately have been trading near all-time highs, will continue to trade under the stock ticker “WMT” on the New York Stock Exchange.

While Walmart was founded in 1962, its formal legal name when it incorporated in 1969 was Wal-Mart, Inc before becoming Wal-Mart Stores a few months later. The company is best known for its namesake chain, but it also operates chains such as Sam’s Club in the U.S. as well as Walmart, Sam’s and other banners in other countries.

The name change is not the only move by McMillon of late to update the company. In September, he announced the company would build new headquarters in its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.