Walmart Case Study Essay

In 1998 Wal-Mart became one of the first international retailers in China. After many frustrations and difficulties Wal-Mart became the 20th largest retailer in China at the end of 2005, with 59 stores. In the year 2006 the company outbid its largest competitor in China and acquired Trust-Mart, a chain of over 100 super centers located in 20 cities in China. This acquisition made Wal-Mart the largest network of food and department stores in China.

Within less than 30 years, Wal-Mart had transformed from a small rural retailer in Arkansas into the largest retailer in the U.S. In order to continue this rapid growth, the company had started to pursue international expansion grounded in the belief that the firm’s business model of offering quality products at low prices and great customer service would appeal to consumers everywhere around the world (p.8)[1]. China was of particular interest in going international as Wal-Mart’s top management held the opinion that it was the only market in which the firm’s success story in the U.S. could be repeated (p.2/8). However, in 2005 (nine years after its

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 conclusion, I think that China should change its policy because it is damaging not only the U.S. economy but the economy globally. Countries such as the United States are still recovering from the economic recession we are still leaving in. It is obvious that if China let the Yuan appreciate their exports will decrease and imports will increase making their trade surplus to decrease. If this happens international countries will be grateful because by this happening means that their export will increase and employment will increase. Countries should avoid doing currency manipulation or artificially devaluing their currency because it just hurts the global economy and it promotes other countries to do the same – it hurts everyone.

Which goes back on how the dollar is back up. Another deal that countries see is that they can also exchange the Yuan which they have, to the federal banks of China into gold since their money is control in a gold standard economy.

1. What are the implications of China’s exchange rate policy on doing business with and “against” China?

 Illustrates low prices and at the same time, not portray a cheap image to consumer.

The U.S. trade deficit has risen more or less steadily since 1992. In the second quarter of 2004, the trade deficit relative to GDP surpassed the 5 percent mark for the first time. Many economists already considered trade deficits above 4 percent of GDP dangerously high. The fear is that continued growth in this external imbalance of the U.S. economy will ultimately spook overseas investors. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2004/09/b193700.html

China, the largest growing market in the world, currently has a policy regarding monetary regulation that allows the Yuan to “float”. This has seen the Yuan appreciate by approximately 24% over the past few years. Today, the exchange rate between the Chinese Yuan and the American Dollar is approximately 6.3 Yuan to 1 Dollar. Some argue that China should revalue the Yuan again the dollar, establishing a more fixed exchange rate. Others believe that current should allow

Wal-Mart is a company which operates in the service sector, more specifically in the “Discount, Variety Stores/Retail” industry. The company’s superior performance is demonstrated through the fact that it was America’s largest company (in terms of revenue) in 2002, and the reputation of the company is reflected in the opinion of “Fortune” who have identified Wal-Mart as one of the world’s most admired companies. In 2004 Wal-Mart had been hiring 1.4 million employees – making it the largest corporation in the world. Wal-Mart’s share prices have also been stable at time of stock market volatility. There are

Secondly, the fixed dollar-pegged exchange rate system and monetary policy, the independence of the existence of a fundamental conflict, undermine the effectiveness of monetary policy cannot meet the needs of economic development. Monetary policy autonomy is essential for China’s macroeconomic stability; monetary policy should take precedence over the independence of significant exchange rate stability. But the Yuan against the U.S. dollar exchange

In recent years, China’s balance of payments always keeps “double favorable balance”. In 2005, China’s national economy developed quickly and stably. The exchange rat of RMB became more flexible. The current account surplus increased obviously and the capital account surplus decreased. The foreign exchange reserve still increased quickly. In 2005, Chinese government did some fiscal policy and monetary policy. Such as decreased government expense, raise the tax rate, used managed floating system, improve the foreign exchange management, enlarged the foreign exchange market. We can conclude that china’s BOP will still keep “double favorable balance” and keep

With China's deepening Opening Up and economic restructure adjustment and the continuous appreciation of RMB in recent years, the

The US and Europe felt that the RMB was undervalued for several reasons. One reason is that China’s exports had dramatically increased, growing 30% from 2004 to 2005, making China the third largest exporter in the world and accounting for

As you can see, this Chinese economic rise is slowly creating important changes here at home. No matter if the changes are seen as good or bad, they can still take their toll on the American citizens. China’s economy is getting better, in fact they are even seen to possibly