Wal-Mart: We'll Keep Customers Gained In Recession

The company, which generated more than $400 billion in sales last year, has pulled shoppers away from rivals around the globe because its re-emphasis on low prices along with the right mix of merchandise and marketing have come together just as the economy went sour.

Similarly, first-quarter profits fell 12 percent this year compared with last year industrywide. Excluding Wal-Mart's positive results, industry profits would have dropped 17 percent, though the gap between Wal-Mart and the rest of the industry has narrowed as merchants increase cost-cutting, Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics, said.

"Winning feels good, doesn't it?" Castro-Wright told the cheering crowd on Friday.

Still, after enjoying a 20 percent surge in its stock price in 2008, Wal-Mart has seen its shares fall 7.5 percent so far this year as Wall Street turns to retailers that sell more discretionary goods and could benefit when the economy improves. That has driven up share prices for such merchants as Macy's Inc. and Minneapolis-based Target.

The challenge for Wal-Mart is to make sure new shoppers stay when the economy recovers. It continues to move forward with an aggressive remodeling of its stores, which includes a better display of electronics and lower shelves to help shoppers navigate the store more easily. The company plans to remodel 500 of its more than 3,600 stores in the U.S. this year.