.walmart
| Status: | Proposed |
| Registry Provider: | Verisign |
| Type: | Brand TLD |
| Priority #: | 1386 - Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. |
.walmart is a Brand TLD being proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.[1]
Application Details
The following is excerpted from the applicant's response to question #18:
"Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (ʺWalmartʺ) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week around the world. Walmartʹs mission and founding principle is ʺsaving people money to help them live better,ʺ and Walmart has been recognized as a leader in sustainability, philanthropy, and employment opportunity. In the U.S., Walmart operates more than 4,400 retail facilities, including Walmart Stores and Samʹs Club warehouses. Walmart International operates more than 5,200 retail units in 27 countries outside the U.S. Walmart.com has been known for bringing the convenience, quality merchandise, and low prices of Walmart to the Internet. Walmart content is accessible in multiple TLDs, including the .COM, .NET, and .ORG gTLDs, and the .CA, .CO.UK, and .US ccTLDs.
In recent years, Walmart has invested heavily in global eCommerce in order to reach more customers. In 2010, Walmart consolidated its eCommerce activities around the world in a Global eCommerce Division with three goals: 1) Develop and execute a global eCommerce strategy; 2) Accelerate global online channel growth; and 3) Create technology platforms and applications for every Walmart market. Walmart understands the impact that changing technology has had on retail and has dedicated eCommerce platforms around the world; the investments made in these platforms are helping to accelerate Walmartʹs growth in other markets.
The intended future mission and purpose of the .WALMART gTLD is to serve as a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace for the benefit of Walmart’s customers and Internet users in general. Walmart will be the entity to bring the .WALMART gTLD to market.
Although ICANN has not specifically recognized a .BRAND gTLD specification in the current version of the Applicant Guidebook, it is widely anticipated within the brand owner community that this will become a specialty subset of new gTLDs. The .WALMART gTLD was planned as a .BRAND gTLD, with the goal of protecting Walmartʹs online presence and identity, expanding its marketing and promotional efforts, providing a secure channel for products and information online, and offering a platform on which to consolidate many of the intellectual property activities of Walmart.
Walmart intends to initially limit registration and use of domain names within the .WALMART gTLD to Walmart and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates. This initial use will allow Walmart to establish its operations and achieve full sustainability. This limited distribution, coupled with the other requirements set forth in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement, is intended to exempt Walmart from its annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements."[2]