Transnational companies sell their products in multiple countries across the globe. This strategy differs, however, in the way the product is marketed in each country. A transnational product keeps its same characteristics, regardless of the country in which it is sold. The product does not change according to local customs or preferences, so that the product sold in Asia or Mexico is exactly the same as the version sold in the United States or Europe. However, in 2013, the company announced that it was closing 50 stores in Brazil and China. Nevertheless, taking a second look at their transnational strategy due to poor performance in countries. In India, they are ended their relationship with Bharti Enterprises due to difficulties in navigating regulations on foreign investment. In South Korea, they pulled out in 2006 due to their shoes-to-sausage product line did not persuade the shopping habits of many non-American shoppers. (Wall Street Journal, 2013)
Macro Environment
The Wal-Mart / Sam’s Club chains are the biggest retail companies that operate within the United States of America. The company has received the first position in the Fortune 500 Index Fortune Magazine for a substantial number of years (Wal-Mart History, 2014). The company has managed to embrace a distinct corporate strategy whose goal revolves around dominance into the already existing retail market. There has also been an increase in the manner for which expansion activities of the business are
The evolution of Wal-mart from the early 1960s to the present day has set a benchmark that few can achieve. Wal-mart executives have been successful nationally as well as globally. The knowledge and expertise in economics have made Wal-mart a global giant. The research completed is the final recommendations by the members of research team C and will address questions regarding global competition and issues of the organizations ability to expand or reduce current operations.
Walmart is known throughout the entire world as one of the most popular chain department stores. Actually, most have probably visited a Walmart store in the past week. Though Walmart stores seem to be a normal part of life the average person more than likely has little knowledge that pertains to Walmart’s success and business culture. This paper will guide one through the history of the organization, why Walmart is successful, what could threaten or open new opportunities, and how might they hold a competitive advantage.
Outside the U.S. Costco has stores in Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Costco’s main international market is Canada. In fiscal 2015, for example, Costco’s Canadian store was more profitable than all its other international stores combined. If its market in Canada ever failed, then this could devastate this company (Soni Part 6). Costco needs to diversify its international markets to avoid such vulnerability. Meanwhile, Kroger does not have any stores outside the U.S. (Soni Part 20 COST), and Walmart has stores in 26 other countries (Soni Part 3).
This pattern of growth, allowing it to build market share and secure volume advantages quickly, through large expenditures on warehouses, is also evident in the manner in which Wal-Mart built its stores. Wal-Mart stores were initially built of a smaller average size than its direct competitors and only if there was space in the location for future expansion; this increased Wal-Mart’s flexibility and it helped reduce unnecessary costs, as indicated by Wal-Marts lower proportion of rental expense and its significantly higher sales per square foot. Indeed, this is just one manner in which Wal-Mart, unusually for a service industry, was able to create a real competitive advantage. However, because this advantage is clearly imitable Wal-Mart has been aggressive in maintaining its technological lead.
For better or for worse, Wal-Mart dominates the retail industry. With annual revenue of more than $315 billion, Wal-Mart ranks No. 2 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations. Wal-Mart is also the largest corporate employer in the nation, with more than 1.3 million people on its payroll (only the federal government employs more people). On the global front, Wal-Mart operates nearly 3,000 international stores, buys products from 70 countries, and generates about 20% of its sales from abroad. Given Wal-Mart’s aggressive expansion plans, those numbers are only likely to grow.
In business, three major strategies comprising of cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies exist. The focus strategy emphasizes on providing services and products to a specified buyer group or market segment within a given geographic market. The differentiation approach is often defined as provision of services or products that are perceived to be unique in the market place. Wal-Mart emphasizes on the long-term strategy of cost leadership. Through this strategy, the company ensures that it offers customers with quality products at relatively lower prices than other providers in the industry. Through overall cost leadership strategy, Wal-Mart has been offering better quality products at a lower price than any competitor can offer. For the organization to achieve this goal, it has developed long-term supply chain management, which ensures that products are made available to the market at the required time (Enz, 2010).
Wal-Mart exhibits a huge and thriving presence in the fluctuating society of business. The company, at the time of this writing, guided over 3,400 stores in the United States, as well as over 550 Sam’s Club establishments (Basker, 2007). Wal-Mart has become one of, if not the, largest merchant in the U.S. and abroad thanks to an individual who envisioned a prosperous future.
Wal-Mart is the world's largest retail and departmental store chain. Having business operations in 27 countries with 69 different brand names, Wal-Mart is able to serve a huge number of customers per day. Wal-Mart is the fastest growing and the most successful retail brand in the world. The factors which make it the strongest brand in its industry include large customer base, sound financial strength, strong brand image, and huge supply chain network. Wal-Mart has certain weaknesses in its operations and business setup like low acceptability of certain products, high employee turnover, and less recognition of newly introduced brands. These weaknesses can be overcome by availing attractive opportunities from the market and investing more in the most profitable areas. Wal-Mart faces the biggest threat from its competitors and ever-changing customer preferences.
Wal-Mart is the number one retailer in the world in both sales and earnings, dwarfing many of its retail competitors. It offers a full assortment of products ranging from clothing to electronics. It currently has 6000 locations predominately within the United States with over $312.4 Billion in net sales during 2006. In addition to its strong domestic presence, Wal-Mart has expanded aggressively to Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico with over 1000 locations within those countries. This expansion can potentially create greater economies of scale for Wal-Mart services and merchandise. The synergies created by expansion will also drive profitability in the future by providing goods and services at even lower costs to consumers. In order to enter foreign markets successful, Wal-Mart engages in both joint ventures and acquisitions. By utilizing this method, Wal-Mart intends to leverage foreign retailer's market knowledge with its own core competencies of merchandising and supply chain management (Stilgoe, 2003).
Wal-Mart is arguably the most dynamic corporation in the last 50 years in the United States, if not the world. Arising from its beginnings in Bentonville, Arkansas, it has grown to over 4,400 discount stores, super centers and corner markets worldwide. Wal-Mart continues to expand despite public criticism of its labor practices as well as complaints about their treatment of competitors. The many strengths of Wal-Mart, like their low cost production and marketing practices, will aid Wal-Mart as it continues to grow in the retail
Ans:Wal-Mart,Inc runs a chain of large, discount department stores.it is the world’s largest public corporation by revenue. Walmart is the largest private employer and the largest grocery retailer in the United States. Walmart is one of the best known industries all over the world. Its concentration of a single business strategy is the basis of its success over the decades by this strategy without having to rely upon diversification to sustain its growth and competitive advantage. The leading marketing strategies of Wal-Mart are low prices, service and smile. However by adapting this strategy, it has risked itself by putting all of a company’s egg in one industry basket. While its global strategy worked elsewhere, the results were bad in Germany and Korea that Wal-Mart withdrew from those countries.
Wal-Mart was founded by businessman Sam Walton in 1962 as a small retail store in Arkansas, USA. From there it has grown to become the largest retail giant in the world. Ranked by Forbes 2000 list for 2011 as the 18th largest public corporation in the world, Wal-Mart is the highest revenue generating public entity in the world as of 31st January 2011, with gross revenue of 422 billion US Dollars (Walmart Annual Report, 2011). It is also noted for being the largest private employer in the world having just over 2 million employees serving in 8500 stores, in 15 different countries, under 55 different names, worldwide. (Daniel, 2010)
Wal-Mart’s mission to ‘save people money so they can live better’ has impacted more than 176 million consumers in thirteen countries. A global company, Wal-Mart has positioned itself as the unbeatable price leader in offering a variety of affordable products that range from health and beauty, to apparel and jewelry to electronics and food items. While expansion,
Wal-Mart is an organization that has been extremely successful in achieving its goals of becoming top retail store in the world. Managers for this organization must plan, organize, lead, and control each component of this organization in order to secure its success. There are factors, internal and external, that can impact these four functions within an organization. Management 's responsibility is to take these factors into consideration to ensure that business will be successful. These factors are its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT). (Bateman-Snell, 2009)
Bonini, S. M., Mendoca, L. T., & Oppenheim, J. M. (2006). When Social Issues become strategic. McKinsey Quarterly, 20-32.