Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg To Meet With Wal-Mart Inc’s Mike Duke In Arkansas To Discuss Strategy To ‘Deepen’ Relations Between The Companies

Mark Zuckerberg , CEO of Facebook Inc is expected to meet with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s CEO Mike Duke this Friday in Bentonville, Arkansas to discuss strategy to deepen relations between both the companies.

This move comes 2 months after Facebook's Initial Public Offering did poorly at the Nasdaq. Now that there is less than a week left till Facebook reports its second quarter earnings on July 26^, many investors feel that Facebook is trying to tap into the revenue generated by e-commerce and advertising on this social media website.

According to Reuters, Zuckerberg's team will meet Duke and his lieutenants in what will be the first meeting of its kind between these two giant corporations. Zuckerberg and Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg will then speak to hundreds of Wal-Mart employees on Saturday at the retailer's monthly meeting. In a statement, Facebook said it was looking forward to working to deepen its relationship with Wal-Mart, and noted that Facebook can learn from the retailer's experience and management team about building a strong, durable and valuable company for the long term.

Reuters reported that the representatives at both companies declined to discuss the specific agenda for Friday's meeting other than noting that the summit is intended to bolster the relationship between the world's No. 1 social network and the world's largest retailer.

If Facebook and Wal-Mart do establish the deep relationship they are aiming at, it will benefit both the companies. The retail giant Wal-Mart that made $443.85 billion in total sales last year, is well behind Amazon.com Inc. in online sales. Amazon had online sales of $48.08 billion last year. Wal-Mart is trying to tap into the customers that shop online. Wal-Mart's Facebook page has more than 17 million fans and the company also pays to advertise on Facebook. Expanding its reach online is key for Wal-Mart as shoppers increasingly shop on their computers, tablets and smartphones.Wal-Mart said in a statement, We appreciate and value the ongoing strategic partnership we have with Facebook, It further added that, their help and support with testing new and innovative products and technologies to reach our customers has been invaluable.

Facebook on the other hand will benefit from the ad sales revenue.

Companies like J C Penny, GAP and Nordstrom have also experimented with opening online stores on Facebook.