...unfamiliar territories there are many challenges that companies ought to overcome such as cultures, regulation, communication barriers, and so forth. Currently, Wal-mart and Carrefour are dominating in China as the foreign discount stores but they have different strategy to compete in China. Background In 1959, Carrefour was created in Southern France and became international by 1969. “It innovated with the hypermarket format in France in 1963 where it introduced the idea of one stop shopping for food, clothing, electronics, appliances, etc. Although it does not compete in the USA, it has adapted successfully to Latin American and Asia markets” (Arnold, 2002, p. 563). “Now, it serves over 2 billion clients per year in its more than 9,000 stores, which are present in 32 countries across 3 geographic zones. Carrefour is not only the second but also the most internationalized retailer worldwide” (Shiue, Der-Juinn, & Yeh, 2006, p. 171). In 1962, Wal-mart began its story in Northwest Arkansas as the discount store and quickly expanded to the largest family owned business. “It is active in 11 countries and has stores in North and South America, Europe and Asia. It has over 4,400 stores, of which three quarters are in the USA and that still account for 80% of its growth” (Arnold, 2002, p. 564). Currently, Wal-mart Stores is the...
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...WAL MART SWOT ANALYSIS Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was started by Sam Walton in Newport, Arkansas in 1946 in an effort to “help people save money so they can live better” and was achieved by keeping sales prices lower than his competitors by reducing his profit margin. From this simple concept the company has grown to nearly 3000 stores in 14 countries and is the world’s largest company in terms of revenue bringing in a staggering average of $401 billion annually. In addition to the Wal-Mart supercenters you now have the Wal-Mart neighborhood markets as well as Sam’s clubs that have begun to pop up all over since 1984. The ability to offer value and service to customers has largely determined their competitive position within the retail industry. There are many programs that are in place to meet the high competitive pressures within the retail industry that are the cornerstone of the Wal-Mart philosophy and are as follows: * Every Day Low Prices (“EDLP”) – the pricing philosophy under which items are priced at a low price every day so that the customers trust that the prices will not change frequently within promotional activity. * Roll backs – the commitment to pass continually internal and external cost savings on to the customer by lowering prices on selected goods. * Store Within a Store – a program to provide accountability to assistant managers and department managers as to merchandise planning and overall department performance. * Store of the Community...
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...1-Wal-Mart history and Introduction The first Wal-Mart was opened in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. By 1969 it was incorporated into Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and in 1972 went public on the New York Stock Exchange. The company grew steadily across the United States, and by 1990 was the nation's largest retailer. In 1991 and 1994, Wal-Mart moved into Mexico and Canada respectively. By 1997 it was incorporated into the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As of 2005, Wal-Mart has stores in the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico, and brings in revenue of close to 300 billion dollars a year. In 2006, Wal-Mart invaded the China and India's markets. During the last two decades, Wal-Mart has been able to take advantage of the rise of information technology and the explosion of the global economy to change the balance of power in the business world (Wikipedia, 2006). Today Wal-Mart continues to grow and their success is not only from their sound strategic management planning but also from its implementation of those strategic plans. In other words operational planning has been an important key to their success. 2-Wal-Mart Strategy Once plans have been developed, an organization must address how management will be accomplishing be those plans. This involves operational plans that must flow from strategy; specify resource, time issues, and commitment of human resources. Operational plans at the lower - levels of the organization, have a shorter time horizon, and are narrower in scope (Bateman...
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...Malav Patel 03/19/2015 Business Management 303 John Deichstetter SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart Unraveling the concept of Wal-Mart exposes a simple idea of providing basic necessities at an affordable rate. A superb way of viewing a business is to look objectively at its’ operations. This begins by looking at their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats or to conduct a SWOT analysis of Wal-Mart. * A strong point of Wal-Mart is that they have developed a loyal customer and employee foundation. This interaction is vital and helps the company grow and learn. They achieved this loyalty with good customer service, great pricing for the products and by moving to areas of the country that are often ignored by other retailers. As for their employees they offer flexible hours, competitive wages, health insurance and discounts for their purchases. Also the work environment is well established allowing everyone to feel inclusive. The expenditure of the company opens its’ employment to virtually anyone from the ages of 16 to 50. * Loyal customers * Great pricing * Larger market share * Good locations * Good benefits for full time employee * Good locations * Strong Brand awareness * The company has a core competence involving its use of information technology to support its international logistics system. For example, it can see how individual products are performing countrywide, store-by-store at a glance. This is useful...
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...Business Analysis Part I – Wal-Mart Melissa Wojciehowski MGT/521 June 21, 2012 Dr. Felicia Bridgewater Business Analysis Part I – Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is a common staple in American society today, as it was in the past. From the time Wal-Mart opened its doors in Rogers, Ark back in 1962, Wal-Mart has served the public in ways that are unimaginable to other convenience store and retail chains throughout the nation. When first opened, Sam Walton imagined that his store would be a convenience to working families. The company became incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., on Oct. 31, 1969. (Walmart.com, 2012) This allowed for growth into various outlets such as automobile care, pharmaceuticals and warehouse sales (Sam’s Clubs). With this growth also came notoriety. The year after becoming incorporated, Wal-Mart, Inc. began trading shares on OTC markets and two years later were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Little did Mr. Walton know of the iconic changes Wal-Mart would put into place for businesses. In this paper I will examine, from the viewpoint of a mutual fund manager, whether or not Wal-Mart, Inc. is a company worth investing in. In order to do this, I will take a look at a brief SWOT analysis of the company as a whole. I will then examine Wal-Mart’s stakeholders, both internal and external, and whether or not Wal-Mart is living up to their expectations and what if anything needs to be done to make that happen. Strengths: Based on the corporate page of...
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...Library Research for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. DeVry University Keller Graduate School of Management MGMT 591 November 24, 2013 Introduction of Organization: Wal-Mart is an American multinational retail corporation and the world’s second largest public corporation (Wal-Mart 2013). Founded by the Sam Walton, this company runs a chain of large discount department stores, and warehouse stores (Wal-Mart 2013). With over two million employees this company is worth approximately $446 billion. To this day Wal-Mart remains a private employer and is still run by the Walton Family (Wal-Mart 2013). Description of Problem: With more than two million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart has faced major lawsuits in regards to workforce. Employees are generally dissatisfied due to low wages, poor working conditions, and inadequate healthcare (Hart 2006). Furthermore, Wal-Mart faces sex discrimination allegations against their female employees in terms of promotions (Wexler 2011). This in-turn has caused Wal-Mart to be scrutinized constantly in regards to how they treat their employees. These issues have caused low job satisfaction amongst all employees. In my paper, I would like to look at employee motivation and how it can be applied to remedy this low employee satisfaction Wal-Mart is experiencing. Additionally, I want to look at attitudes and job satisfaction and what steps Wal-Mart can take to make sure that their employees are happy. I want to compare Wal-Mart’s top competitor,...
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...Executive Summary: This paper is an analysis and evaluation of Wal-Mart and the future venture into the retail sector of India. The challenges that Wal-Mart needs to resolve to become successful range from the cultural differences to problems with supply chain management in India. The analysis below identifies the challenges of many factors dealing with the Wal-Mart, Bharti and the Indian retail sector. These factors for Wal-Mart would deal with the ability to operate in India efficiently as they do in the US. In addition, Wal-Mart to be successful will have to sort out problems with the government, culture differences and the partnership with Bharti. These factors for Wal-Mart and Bharti will be presented in more specific detail through a SWOT analysis. The analysis will evaluate Wal-Mart as a company in relation to the future operation in the Indian market. Then the Bharti Company will be analyzed using a SWOT to pin point how the company will fit into the overall plan of Wal-Mart operating in India. The report will further evaluate the Indian retail sector through a competitive industry analysis using the Porter’s 5 forces model. This model will detail the threats to the market entry, supplier power, buyer power, availability of substitutes and competitive rivalry as they relate to the India retail sector. The report will then offer alternatives for the Wal-Mart company. These alternatives would include not progressing forward within India, chose a global market with less regulation...
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...to invest they are already looking in the future at the profitable gains he/she may receive. In this paper I will take on the role of a mutual fund manager and discuss my decision whether or not to invest in a Fortune 500 company. I will also conduct a SWOT analysis of the company and discuss the parts of the analysis that are most relevant in my decision to invest in the company. Identifying internal and external stakeholders will also be discussed as well as their wants and needs, and what the company plans on doing to see that they are fulfilled. If the research proves that the stakeholder’s needs are not being met, what will the company do to see that they are? The company that I choose to invest in is Wal-Mart. This company is number 2 on the Fortune 500 list this year. Wal-Mart began in 1962 and was founded by a man named Sam Walton. His idea for his company was to put sales volume before prices. He accepted a slightly lower margin in hopes of driving out competition while achieving an image of lower prices without compromising the quality of his products. His brilliant plan worked! His business started to grow, and in no time he expanded to over 20 stores and reached 12.6 million in sales. By the early 1970’s Wal-Mart had grown to over 100 stores, and began trading stock publicly. By 1975 the total sales for the company had reached an astounding 340 million dollars. With numbers like these it was certain that Sam Walton was doing something right. His growth...
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...Wal-Mart: Big Business Natalie Matthews MGMT/521 February 27, 2012 Steven Perret Abstract Who does not go to Wal-Mart?! I am sure everyone has gone there at least one time. Wal-Mart is a multi-million company, and some people have stock with the company. I actually worked for Wal-Mart for almost three years. I believe I can inform people on whether to invest in this company. Wal-Mart: Big Business Sam Walton is the mastermind behind Wal-Mart. Mr. Walton created Wal-Mart in 1962. He declared that tree policy goals would define his business: respect for the individual, service to customers, and striving for excellence (www.walmart.com). Wal-Mart keeps their prices low by reducing cost by the use of advanced electronic technology. It also negotiates deals for merchandise directly from manufactures, eliminating the middleman (Vance, 72). Wal-Mart currently has 1,093 supercenters, 502 Sam’s Club, 31 Wal-Mart Neighborhood stores, and 1,183 international stores. The Wal-Mart stores offer “one-stop shopping”. As I stated previously, you can find everything at Wal-Mart groceries, health and beauty aids, and apparel. SWOT Analysis Trying to determine whether or not I should invest in Wal-Mart, I need to gather as much information I can get in order to make the right decision. I thought that one of the things I could do was a SWOT analysis of the company. By gathering information for the SWOT analysis,...
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...Odila Mora SWOT Analysis Principles of Management 303 Professor James Sisto Wal-Mart SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis looks at the strengths and weaknesses of a company and the opportunities and threats. When used in business it can help a company carve a sustainable niche in the market. A SWOT analysis can be a powerful tool that can assist a company in uncovering opportunities. If a company can see their weaknesses they can then manage and eliminate threats that would have caught them off guard. By a company looking at themselves and their competitors and using this tool, a company can come up with a strategy that will set them apart from their competitors. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week more than 10,130 retail units, under 69 different banners, in 27 countries with sales of $443 billion for 2012. Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer as well as the largest private employer having over 2 million employees. The strength that Wal-Mart also has is its popularity by being known worldwide. Wal-Mart serves in retail outlets, online and on mobile devices to their customers. One thing that they always mention is that they are committed to saving people money so they can live better, taking their business to were it is today. In addition the company makes strategic adjustments every time it’s needed and ensures that whenever changes occur the industry has plans to alternate to it. The strength of the company is the supply chain...
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...Zhang Planning: For the Porter’s generic strategies, Wal-Mart is overall cost leadership strategy, because Wal-Mart’s mission is “Save money. Live better.” It always low prices, and using this strength to attract customers. Moreover, for the Miles and Snow’s strategy, Wal-Mart is the type of analyzer which incorporates elements of both the prospector and the defender, because Wal-Mart is not only defending its current market by lowering its cost, but it also seeks out the market opportunities that expand its scope of globalization. Wal-Mart has over 7100 stores worldwide and more than 4000 in America, so Wal-Mart is also a global strategy company. It views the world as a single marketplace and addresses the needs of the customers worldwide. Wal-Mart has proactive stance for the social responsibility. This company always does feedbacks to the society. In this article, Wal-Mart donates 4 million dollars to a city program that offers summer jobs to young people. This behavior helps finance 3400 jobs. CSR can also motivate employees and strengthen brands, while also providing benefits to society. References: “Always low prices”. The Economist, 29 Feb. 2008. http://www.economist.com/node/10727908 Javier, C. Hernandez. “As It Campaigns to Build in the City, Wal-Mart Donates $4 Million”. The New York Times, 05 July. 2011 http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/as-it-campaigns-to-build-in- the-city-wal-mart-donates-4-million/ Organizing: Walmart's business...
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...bound to fail. The two selected companies for this analysis are; Target Company and Wal-Mart Company. These are the leading global retail stores that are known for their irresistible retail force in the business industry. Wal-Mart Company is known to serve more than 200 million times each week all the esteemed clients of the corporation. The organization endeavors to order the operations of the company to be in line with the legal requirements of the state. This is undertaken through the strategic set company goals that direct the operations of the company. The corporate statement registrations of the Wal-Mart company shares are constantly undertaken to safeguard the finances of the company in the market industry. Target Company which is an American retail company has placed its operations to be the second largest company in the retail industry in America. The operations of the company were licensed to Wesfarmers at the acceptance of the company bulls eye trademark. Wal-Mart Corporation has placed all its operations in diverse areas of the United States and the global realm. The company accounts for more than 700 discount stores that have increased the profit margin of the organization. The different stores are the reason behind the huge employee number that has reached a figure of close to 2.1 million personnel. There are more than 9,600 retail units undertaking the Wal-Mart company operations in more than 28 nations. The Target Company on...
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...July 9, 2012 Yvonne Richmond Today I will choose Wal-Mart for my company business analysis SWOT. Wal-Mart is one of the biggest retail stores in the United States. Wal-Mart operates under 69 different banners in the 27 countries. Wal-Mart mean goal is to saving people money to help them live better, that was Sam Walton. Today one will be talking about the strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats of the company I have chosen. Strengths • Wal-Mart is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. • Wal-Mart has grown substantially over recent years, and has experienced global expansion (for example its purchase of the United Kingdom based retailer ASDA). • The company has a core competence involving its use of information technology to support its international logistics system. For example, it can see how individual products are performing country-wide, store-by-store at a glance. IT also supports Wal-Mart's efficient procurement. • A focused strategy is in place for human resource management and development. People are key to Wal-Mart's business and it invests time and money in training people, and retaining a developing them. Weakness • Wal-Mart is the World's largest grocery retailer and control of its empire, despite its IT advantages, could leave it weak in some areas due to the huge span of control. • Since Wal-Mart sell products across many sectors (such as clothing, food...
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...Case Objective: This case objective is to study Wal-Mart’s history, external environment, internal environment, perform a SWOT analysis, analyze its business strategy, performance measures, and to provide strategic recommendations. Moreover, Wal-Mart’s “glory days are over” and its stock is “dead money”. So, what had worked in the past for Wal-Mart was no longer sustainable in the current competitive environment. The president Lee Scott wondered whether he should somehow adjust Wal-Mart’s course or to change efforts he had started over the past few years would begin to have a positive effect. These statements and facts will be addressed and discussed in the course of the paper and presentation. Wal-Mart's Mission: "To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people" Wal-Mart's Vision: "To become the world leaders in retailing" (WalMart.com, 2011) Introduction: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large, discount department stores. It is world’s largest public corporation by revenue and was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. It is the largest private employer in the world and the fourth largest utility or commercial employer. Other key facts about Wal-Mart are that “at the end of fiscal year 2010 Wal-Mart has over 4,300 stores and clubs in the U.S., and more than 8,400 units worldwide.”(Walmart.com, 2011) They employ 1.8 million in over 6,700 stores in 14 countries and on a weekly basis “they serve 200...
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...Wal-Mart in China In the United States, Wal-Mart has become the leader of all retail stores and is the largest retailer than any other dominating the industry with stores in the international market. The company operates in 27 countries including Canada, and the United Kingdom (Farhoomand, & Wang, 2008; Wal-Mart, 2014). Wal-Mart was founded in Rogers, Arkansas by Sam Walton (Wal-Mart, 2014); and throughout the years it grew into a successful business. When Mr. Walton created Wal-Mart, he defined his business in three distinct objectives: individual respect, customer service, and strive for excellence (Hayden, et al., 2002). At that time, he utilized the “pricing philosophy” as one part of his corporate management strategy; this technique involved selling high quality, brand name products at the lowest price and has remained the same since Mr. Walton first opened the store (Farhoomand, & Wang, 2008; Hayden, et al., 2002, p. 16). Wal-Mart became a departmentalized, discount retail business and although the company launched its business in small-towns it expanded into larger cities (Farhoomand, & Wang, 2008; Hayden, et al., 2002). To accomplish his corporate aforementioned goals, Sam established two distinct rules; the first, the “Sundown Rule” in which an associate must logically provide an answer to a request or question from a customer or supplier within 24 hours (Hayden, et al., 2002, p. 16). Second, the “Ten Foot Rule” in which “an associate must greet, smile, and attend...
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