Walmart 's Case
Wal-Mart, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, is the world’s largest public corporation. Wal-Mart, whose headquarters are located in Bentonville, Arkansas, was incorporated in 1969, and later in 1972, it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2006 Wal-Mart became the number one retailer in the United States and is currently the world’s largest private employer. Wal-Mart has more than 6,800 stores world-wide, in countries such as: Canada, China, Germany and Britain. Due to the rapid growth of the company, Wal-Mart decided to develop three types of retail stores: discount, super centers and neighborhood markets. These stores are all very popular in the United States and around the world. This business philosophy of owning various types of stores has allowed Wal-Mart to reach more people and sell a wider variety of products, which has enabled Wal-Mart to create a larger customer base. In the case presented in the textbook, Wal-Mart was trying to penetrate the markets in Argentina and Brazil by attempting to create a different shopping experience for consumers. However, because of the nature of the supermarket industry in Argentina and Brazil, Wal-Mart has not seen any profits and has faced many problems with implementing their “Everyday Low Price” strategy ("Wal-Mart history timeline," 2012). By exporting their “main street USA” type of shop all over the world, Wal-Mart sought to bring a different type of shopping experience to other cultures and make profits in the process. However, because of the nature of the supermarket industry and cultural influences in Argentina, Wal-Mart did not see the profits that the company had aspired for when embarking on this endeavor. Argentineans simply did not enjoy the American supermarket experience. It is clear that Wal-Mart is facing similar problems in Brazil, where they are trying to implement their “Everyday Low Price” strategy. Brutal competition coupled with the inability to achieve economies of scale has
Cited: Chandran, P. (2003). Wal-Mart 's supply chain management practices. ICFAI: Center for Management Research, Retrieved from http://mohanchandran.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/wal-mart.pdf Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P., & Simchi-Levi, E. (2008). Designing and managing the supply chain: concepts, strategies, and case studies. (3rd ed., pp. 309-328). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Wal-Mart history timeline. (2012). Retrieved from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/heritage/history-timeline Wal-Mart struggles with deeper problems. (2005, May 19). Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7901047/#.USGHUh32-So