Wal-Mart Business Concept

Wal-Mart, a "Big-Box Retailer" employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide and has two-thousand seven-hundred stores in the United States with many more in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Central America, Chile, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom, making Wal-Mart the largest retailer in the world. "Wal-Mart accounts for upward of 30 percent of U.S. sales, and plans to more than double its sales within the next five years" (Lynn 29-36). Why is Wal-Mart so successful, and is Wal-Mart actually bad for America?

On July 2, 1962, Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. Over 50 years later, Wal-Mart became known as the largest private employer in the United States and the largest retailer in the world. Wal-Mart have expanded to over 4400 stores across the globe. Americans truly love Wal-Mart. When there is not any groceries at house the first thought comes to mind is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart have the cheapest and lowest price that everyone can afford, so when the groceries are scarce at home most often Wal-Mart will be the next stop. People love shopping at Wal-Mart since it is more convenient than any other store around. Wal-Mart plays a tremendous growing role in America’s economy. More than 100 million customers visit Wal-Mart every week, but is Wal-Mart good for economy? This a question that many Americans never assumed or inquired. Wal-Mart is effecting America in a lot of ways. Wal-Mart has devastated thousands of small industries and innumerable manufacturing jobs over the past decades (Economy in Crisis). Wal-Mart has become so massive in retail that it sells five times more than any other retailer in the country. Sadly, 85% of the items on Wal-Mart’s shelves comes from foreign countries. This in turns hurts America’s economy, taking thousands of jobs away and taking countless revenue. Wal-Mart is a textbook illustration of where our economic system is headed.

In 1950, former J.C. Penny employee, Sam Walton opened Walton’s Five and Dime in Bentonville, Arkansas. By 1965, in the same small town Walton would open the first Walmart store unknowing that his investment would become the world’s largest retailer. By keeping sales prices low Walton was able to get ahead of the competition and successfully opened an additional store within the same year. Walton’s success continued and by 1967 his chain of stores had grown to 24 locations, and was bringing in about $12.6 million dollars in sales annually.

It almost seems ridiculous now because Walmart is one of, if not the number one, retail department store, but at one time people could not believe it would be successful at all. Though by 1970 Walmart was expanding and others were beginning to realize the potential Walmart had. Sam himself was shocked that what he had created was now booming. Sam was quick to credit not only himself but his loyal associates who were pleasing and meeting customer expectations. The relationship

"Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer, with $285.2 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2005. The company employs 1.6 million associates

Wal-Mart is considered one of the biggest employers in the U.S. with 25 different stores in most states also worldwide. One out of every 10 retail workers in the industry is employed by Wal-mart. When you think of Wal-Mart, you think of bargain items in any department of your choice. Hundreds of people visit Wal-mart on a daily basis, whether it is a big city or a small country town. Even though the business has created lots of jobs for people, especially in the smaller cities, it does hurt the small businesses. Wal-Mart has been viewed to have destroyed tens of thousands of small businesses and manufacturing jobs (Wal-Mart’s Impact on America 2012). With the opening of these Wal-Mart stores, it displaces other retail workers in the rural areas (Who win with Wal-Mart, 2011).

When Wal-Mart opened its doors in 1962, the Walton brothers had no clue on the magnitude the ‘one stop shop” chain would bring. For every company that is successful, there is a multitude of competitive strategies that are found at the core of their success. Such strategies virtually direct the company’s activities that will essentially carry over and contribute to their culture, performance, and other strategies that are implemented. Wal-Mart currently is the biggest grocery retailer, as well as the largest private employer, with over 8,900 stores located in over 10 countries, that serve under 55 different names. However, during the first 5 years, it seemed as though Wal-Mart’s reputation and performance were headed in opposite directions.

Approach any random stranger in America and ask them where they can get their groceries, clothes, appliances, and electronics from at a cheap price and they will most likely say Wal-Mart. A pioneer of the “one-stop-shop”, Wal-Mart has evolved from a small, wholesome shopping mart into a world renown corporation. America has not seen a complete domination of the market in this manner, since the mid 1900’s with General Motors. Wal-Mart has revolutionized the American culture of saving money. With all of the successes, there are also many consequences and controversies that flood the corporation’s name, making it also one of the most infamous and negatively viewed businesses in the world. The unethical working conditions, wages, and lack of benefits combine with the undeniable truth of Wal-Mart’s monopoly of the variety store genre has deemed the company “evil” among many Americans. However, there is a reason as to why Wal-Mart is still exponentially growing in net worth every single day. It is the success story that gives millions hope and strive to achieve. People may look down upon Wal-Mart, but it is a great asset to America as it provides jobs for millions of Americans, offers necessities at the lowest price possible, and is the physical embodiment of the American dream.

The first Wal-Mart store opened July 2, 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. The store was founded by Sam Walton from Bentonville, a small town in

Wal-Mart is a general merchandise discount retailer, which was incorporated in 1962. Wal-Mart’s history is based on one man, Sam Walton, who changed the course of retailing forever. Sam Walton first entered retailing when he was a management trainee at J.C. Penny Co. in 1940 in Des Moines, Iowa. After serving in the Army in World War II, Walton acquired a Ben Franklin variety store franchise with his brother James Walton in Newport Arkansas, until they lost the lease to the store in 1950. By 1962, when the first Wal-Mart Discount City was opened in Rogers Arkansas, both Walton’s were operating fifteen stores under the “Walton 5 & 10” name, and were the largest Ben Franklin franchisee in the

Wal-Mart’s sheer size gives it unrestrained economic power which allows it to drive down costs in the retail and manufacturing sectors and to enact its own standards with regards to its work force.

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.

When Sam Walton founded the first Wal-Mart in 1962, the idea of bringing in a discount-shopping store into rural America was almost unheard of, except for the local five and dime stores. When Walton noticed that he had a lot of competition from regional discount chains, him and his wife Helen traveled the country to study other new retailing concepts, and were convinced that it was the wave of the future. With Walton's vision, Wal-Mart grew to be a multi-billion dollar, international company, operating about 4,600 stores around the world.

In 1962, Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart in Bentonville, Arkansas. What began as a single

Wal-Mart is certainly credited with changing the retail world as we know it with its low prices and big stores with huge selections but it has come at a price. They have struggled with issues that question the ethics as a company and legal issues that question how they manage people. These issues will continue to hurt their organization unless a complete change in management thinking and actions are changed. As a socially responsible organization, their management planning in this area is second to none. Lets hope they take the same effort in improving their image when it comes to ethics and legal issues.