"Wal-Mart [3] is working with Hill & Knowlton [4] on a PR campaign designed to rehabilitate the much-maligned company's reputation in California and pave the way for 40 new Wal-Mart Supercenters in the state in the next few years," PR Week reports. The world's largest retailer published an "open letter to California residents [5]" in 15 California newspapers on September 23. "As the company has grown, we've become a target for negative comments from certain elected officials, competitors and powerful special interest groups," Wal-Mart wrote. PR Week reports that several of H&K's California offices have been working with Wal-Mart for several months on the PR effort, "primarily handling media relations tasks." Wal-Mart announced plans to add 55 million square feet of retail space [5] in 2005, representing an 8 percent increase in retail space for the company, which had a record setting $134.5 billion [6] in net sales for the six months ended July 31, 2004.