It can be hard to get a handle on Wal-Mart with its 2.1 million workers,
37.2 square miles worth of retail space and $447 billion in revenues.As the retailer has settled into utter domination and fended off accusations that it unfairly overwhelms main street stores and doesn't treat workers properly, it's been tricky for the company to talk about itself. Wal-Mart has a story to sell to Wall Street, but also has to keep peace with employees and customers.
One small but telling piece of this effort is the cover of its annual report, the evolution of which illustrates the company's move from regional upstart bragging about its growth to global behemoth trying to connect with everybody and only partially succeeding.
