Walmart Case Analysis
Wal-Mart: A Case Analysis
Matthew Hoskins
LeTourneau University
Wal-Mart: A Case Analysis Wal-Mart, its headquarters located in Bentonville, Arkansas, is currently the largest retailer offering different formats of stores to fit the needs of the neighborhoods in which they are located. The company operates in several different countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and the UK. With all of these locations, Wal-Mart employees over 2 million employees. Wal-Mart recorded a bold $408,214 million in revenue for the year ending in January 2010, an increase of .09% over 2009. Furthermore, Wal-Mart recorded an operating profit of $23,950 million, an increase of 5.1% over 2009, and a net profit of $14,335 million, an increase of 7% over 2009 (DATAMONITOR: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 2010).
Facts
While being a huge target for the competition to pursue, Wal-Mart offers an everyday low price strategy to stay ahead of the competition, retain, and attract more consumers to its stores. An everyday low price strategy enables them to retain this position. Wal-Mart is also growing rapidly in international markets, further increasing the company’s ability to stay at the top. Furthermore, Wal-Mart has streamlined its inventory system, enabling it to turn product fast. This allows product to be delivered in time to stores for customers to purchase. However, some news reports say Wal-Mart’s everyday low price strategy has created problems, such as low wages, high insurance cost, capped wages, and more part-time positions added instead of full-time positions. Everyday low pricing means that Wal-Mart has to cut somewhere to make up for the cost of reducing prices (Hightower, 2007).
Business Strategy Wal-Mart’s centers its business strategy on everyday low pricing. To achieve low prices, Wal-Mart focuses on keeping its costs low. For example,
Matthew Hoskins
LeTourneau University
Wal-Mart: A Case Analysis Wal-Mart, its headquarters located in Bentonville, Arkansas, is currently the largest retailer offering different formats of stores to fit the needs of the neighborhoods in which they are located. The company operates in several different countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and the UK. With all of these locations, Wal-Mart employees over 2 million employees. Wal-Mart recorded a bold $408,214 million in revenue for the year ending in January 2010, an increase of .09% over 2009. Furthermore, Wal-Mart recorded an operating profit of $23,950 million, an increase of 5.1% over 2009, and a net profit of $14,335 million, an increase of 7% over 2009 (DATAMONITOR: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 2010).
Facts
While being a huge target for the competition to pursue, Wal-Mart offers an everyday low price strategy to stay ahead of the competition, retain, and attract more consumers to its stores. An everyday low price strategy enables them to retain this position. Wal-Mart is also growing rapidly in international markets, further increasing the company’s ability to stay at the top. Furthermore, Wal-Mart has streamlined its inventory system, enabling it to turn product fast. This allows product to be delivered in time to stores for customers to purchase. However, some news reports say Wal-Mart’s everyday low price strategy has created problems, such as low wages, high insurance cost, capped wages, and more part-time positions added instead of full-time positions. Everyday low pricing means that Wal-Mart has to cut somewhere to make up for the cost of reducing prices (Hightower, 2007).
Business Strategy Wal-Mart’s centers its business strategy on everyday low pricing. To achieve low prices, Wal-Mart focuses on keeping its costs low. For example,
References: DATAMONITOR: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2010). Wal-mart stores, inc. SWOT analysis, 1-12. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Govindarajan, V., & Gupta, A. (2002). Wal-mart stores, inc. (2-0013), Retrieved from http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:MWyfIwVkwVYJ:mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pdf/2002-2 0013.pdf+walamrt+management+policies&safe=strict&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESghCSRz60D9-IyaPH-OoEn0vlqyEySp38B8WybB3-8xvgsEPUkRA9IQMaRZa1L2Vz8LYpcOHz5-h1HXtiFUsjYs3riZnnksd4QiqJsOoCg-scBpaFnf-fnwRlpHtZ3p-fenGHSh&sig=AHIEtbQtkOu1w6Hz3Zuc4mdWHWJhF9biIg Hightower, J. (2007, January 30). Wal-mart 's new marketing strategy hides dirty practices. Hightower Lowdown, Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/story/47224/?page=entire Kapner, S. (2008). Wal-Mart enters the ad age. Fortune, 158(3), 30. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Neff, J. (2010). Walmart 's merchandising shift has five brands dancing in aisles. Advertising Age, 81(32), 2. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Nickels, W.G., McHugh, J.M., & McHugh, S.M. (2010). Understanding business. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.