Wal-Mart Rehabilitates Its Image

BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS, USA - MARCH 16: (EUROPE OUT) Female Wal-Mart employees look on as a manager rewards an employee with a plaque, a common practice in the company on March 16, 2005 in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart has been accused of discriminating against women, a charge denied by the company, March 16, 2005 in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA. Based in the small town of Bentonville, Arkansas (pop. 19,730), with 1,5 million employees and earnings of 285 billions last year, Wal-Mart has grown into the biggest corporation in the world since Sam Walton opened his first store in nearby Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. Today Wal-Mart operates 3,700 stores in the U.S. and 1,607 abroad. The fiercely anti-union and media-shy company has recently become the target of critics regarding the treatment of its employees and the effects of its large and inexpensive stores on small local businesses. Wal-Mart is currently waging a battle to rehabilitate its image. (Photos by Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images)