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Walmart Case Analysis

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Walmart Case Analysis
Wal-Mart, 2007 Case Analysis
International Business

Executive Summary 4
Challenges 5 Re-Aligning the Marketing Strategy for Greater Relevancy 5 Figure 1: Wal-Mart Segmentation Strategy 8 Figure 2: Customer Segment Loyalty Analysis 10 Human Resources Lack Compliance and Governance 11 Figure 3: Wal-Mart’s Chain of Command 14 Ethnocentrism Rampant In Global Growth Strategies 15 Competitive Strategies must get Beyond Price Wars 18 Wal-Mart’s Competitors 19 Figure 4: Big Box Retailing Market Shares, 2007 20 Responding To an Emerging Recession 22
Company Analysis 23 Wal-Mart Strengths 23 Wal-Mart Weaknesses 25 Wal-Mart Opportunities 26 Wal-Mart Threats 27
Industry Analysis 28 Figure 5: Comparing Store Statistics 30 In applying the Porter Five Forces Model to this industry, the following insights emerge by area. Figure 6, Porter’s Five Forces Model, provides the theoretical structure for the analysis. 31 Threat of New Entry 31 Competitive Rivalry 31 Supplier Power 32 Buyer Power 32 Threat of Substitution 33
Alternatives 33 First Alternative: Heavy Investment in Merchandising and Marketing to Increase Same-Store Sales 34 Second Alternative: Increase process-related and IT investments, including RFID in the Wal-Mart global supply chain so aggressive pricing can be pursued. 34 Third Alternative: Enable Global Market Growth by capitalizing on analytics, merchandising, supply chain and technological expertise. 36
Recommendations 37 Figure 8: Wal-Mart Value Chain Analysis 41
Appendices: 42
References 43

Executive Summary
Wal-Mart faces a daunting series of challenges beginning with the need to refine and strengthen its core marketing strategies in the U.S., resolve Human Resource compliance violations, and learn from failures to expand globally and to be successful in China and India. In addition to these challenges, Wal-Mart faces stiff competition from competitors who are



References: Richard Appelbaum, Nelson Lichtenstein. "A New World of Retail Supremacy: Supply Chains and Workers ' Chains in the Age of Wal-Mart. " International Labor and Working Class History  70.1 (2006): 106-125.  Tom Belden.  Mark Doiron. . "CPFR: Myths and Realities. " International Commerce Review : ECR Journal  4.1 (2004): 51-54.  http://www.ecr-institute.org/publications/international-commerce-review/archive/vol-4-no-1-summer-2004/cpfr-myths-and-realities/ Wal-Mart Workforce, February, 2003 Drogin, Kakigi & Associates, Berkeley, CA 94705. 1 – 46. "Business: Heading for the exit; Retailing" The Economist  5 Aug. 2006: 54. 1 Dec. 2003: 68-80.  http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html?page=0%2C6 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-12722797_ITM Dana French.  "Sales grow at top big box retailers. " Casual Living  1 Aug. 2007:  http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-25331788_ITM Daniel T Jones, Alan Mitchell. 2002. Sustaining the thirst for knowledge. ECR Journal : International Commerce Review v2, no. 1 (April 1): 9-14.  23.(2008): 17.  Maddison, A., and H. Wu. "Measuring China 's Economic Performance. " World Economics  9.2 (2008): 13.  Sandra Mottner, Steve Smith. "Wal-Mart: Supplier performance and market power. " Journal of Business Research  62.5 (2009): 535. John A Parnell, Donald L Lester. "Competitive Strategy and the Wal-Mart Threat: Positioning for Survival and Success. " S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal  73.2 (2008): 14-24,2. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34730487_ITM Michael E Porter.  "THE FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES THAT SHAPE STRATEGY. " Harvard Business Review  : Special HBS Centennial Issue 1 Jan. 2008, 1 – 17. Porter, Michael E., and Victor E. Millar.. "How information gives you competitive advantage." Harvard Business Review 63.4 (July 1985): 149-160. Mwema Powanga, Luka Powanga. "Deploying RFID in Logistics: Criteria and Best Practices and Issues. " The Business Review, Cambridge  9.2 (2008): 1-10.  Susan D Supermarket Business  1 Mar. 1989: Mike Troy.  http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34657341_ITM Robert Taylor.  (2003) Karen E Thuermer.  (2006, February). Corporate Strategy: Wal-Mart Asia - Supersized sales. Foreign Direct Investment,1.  http://www.fdimagazine.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/1536/Supersized_sales.html Greg Todd. . "Retailers Using Analytics are Outperforming Rivals. " DM Review  18.6 (2008): 35.  http://digital.dmreview.com/dmreview/20086 1Wal-Mart Annual Reports, 2002 - 2008 – Accessed from Wal-Mart.com Investor Relations website including Securities and Exchange Commission 10K and 10Q analysis

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