...Week Four - Business Analysis Part I Before we conduct a SWOT analysis on Walmart, I want to give a brief history of the company. Walmart was founded in 1962 in Bentonville, Arkansas. Sam Walton’s vision was to achieve high volume of sales by maintaining sales price lower than competitors, which meant he had to reduce his profit margins. This multinational organization has been an example of growth, stability, profitability, and leadership in the retail business. The company is the second largest public corporation in America on the list of Fortune 500 in 2012 with 446,950 million dollars in revenue and $15,669 million dollars in profit (CNN Money, 2012). SWOT Analysis Strengths * The biggest private employer in the world (CNN Money, 2012). * Low price leader in the market since the beginning. * Second America’s largest corporation in 2012 (CNN Money, 2012). * One stop shop. Wide range of products under one roof. * Worldwide presence with more than 10,000 stores in 27 countries (Duke, 2012). * Leverage in the marketplace because of high purchasing volume. Weaknesses * Criticized of low paying jobs to its employees. * Limited grow opportunities to its employees. * Deficiency in the upscale market. * Adverse effects on small business in local community * Suppliers have to cut margins to sell their merchandise. * Monopolistic business. Opportunities * Pursue new international markets, especially in Asia and...
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...primary intent of this paper is to compare the current strategy and operational approaches for two pharmacy retail stores such as Walmart and Walgreens chain stores. A SWOT analysis for both companies is bellow in table. My understanding after the initial study / investigation is that Walgreens has chosen to be conservative with their strategy in increasing their customer reach, market and base by a more organic growth than Walmart which growth approach is to rapidly build small and large supercenters on major neighborhoods in the United States and key cities around the world. The main strategy reporting evidence that reflect these two companies operational growth is mainly reflected in each financial statement that shows profit and loses for each company and their reinvestment percentage into each one. The financial analyses display the result of each company decisions to their market growth approach and impact on investment. Because of their more conservative stand and minimum risk taken by Walgreen’s, their operations model seems more solid and better prepare to accept their rate of growth in contrast to Walmart aggressive scheduled and heavy investment direction. Two different and what appear to be very effective approaches despite their very recent and impressive operations growth for each company. SWOT Analysis Walmart Weakness * Walmart approach to go with large space stores has little penetration in urban stores, plus as it continue to open in larger cities...
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...Summary of Case Table of Contents Summary of Case History Overview: * Vision, Mission, and Goals Major Issues Swot Analysis CSR Analysis - “Buy American” program and “Environmental Awareness” program Sam Walton: A motivational Genius? Walmart’s responsibility to it employees Stakeholder analysis Competitors Ethical Practice towards Walmart Walmart’s and the international arena Critique Recommendations References History Overview Walmart’s mission statement is “We save people money so they can live better.” Walmart's vision statement is to 'promote ownership of Walmart's ethical culture to all stakeholders globally.’ Walmart Corporation has guidelines to help associates to uphold this vision. Some of these guidelines are following all laws, being fair, having integrity, respecting others and embracing diversity. They also believe in the idea of “working together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone, and give an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.” One of their many goals is to become an international brand. Walmart was founded and opened by Sam and Helen Walton in Rogers, Ark. in 1962 while using their family home as collateral. The store was just 18,000 square feet of selling space, and had clothing racks made of plumbing pipes. Store 1 was modest, but customers loved the great prices and the wide assortment. Starting off with Sam Walton’s idea of low prices in the 1940s, Wal-Mart has since then become the world’s...
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...Perspectives on International Trade and Finance Assessment 2 – Individual Case Analysis Case Analysis Walmart’s Expansion in Africa: A New Exploration Strategy Submitted by: Pharin Chhodarangsey (Kevin) 001MG715 Date of Submission: November 4th, 2015 Submitted to: Dr. Rachaniphorn Ngotngamwong 1 Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 I. 1 Company Background 3 II. Case Analysis 3 1. Detail the growth of Walmart and its international experience. 3 2. Describe the growth strategies of Massmart in the African Continent. 5 3. Detail Walmart’s acquisition of Massmart and expected strategic advantages.5 4. Analyses the challenges Walmart have to face in the African Continent. 6 5. What happened to Walmart’s operations after taking 51% share in Massmart in 2011? 7 References 2 I. Introduction I. 1 Company Background Walmart Stores, Inc., is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and warehouse stores. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969. (Winston-Salem Journal, 2010) From the humble beginnings as a small discount retailer in Rogers, Ark., Walmart has opened thousands of stores in the United States and expanded internationally. Through the model of business global expansion, which brings the right store...
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...I. INTRODUCTION The mission statement for Walmart is a simple statement to focus on consumer needs. “We save people money so they can live better. If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it is like to save and have a better life”(Walton S.) Walmart’s company culture includes a list of values and beliefs it establishes through its management and employee relations. The company’s marketing efforts are to establish awareness that they are the price leaders in their market. In recent times, the company has focus on becoming involved more in local communities by charity and service. With the general instability of the global economy, corporations like to play it safe; Walmart is an example of a multinational which is making a bold move. Acquiring South African grocery chain Massmart offered Walmart a safe foothold to prepare for the next step, which is continental expansion. South Africa is arguably the most westernized country in Africa. Western companies in general perceive it as easier to do business there than in other African nations. II. SWOT ANALYSIS The SWOT analysis of Walmart shows that the company can have higher long-term success potential through aggressive global expansion, especially in retail markets in developing countries. Strengths: Walmart’s strengths are all related to the size of its business. These strengths enable the company to withstand threats despite its weaknesses. Walmart’s...
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...Walmart in Japan I. Problem identification phase Introduction Walmart is an American international retail company that is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company began operations in 1962 after being founded by Sam Walton and incorporated in 1969. The present brand name—Walmart—came about in 2008 and before that it was referred to as Wal-Mart. The company is famous for operating chains of large discount departmental stores and warehouse stores. Presently, the company is the 18th public corporation in terms of size and the biggest in terms of revenue, private employment, and retailer (Walmart 2011 Annual report). Furthermore, the largest shareholders are the Walton’s with 48% shares; hence they control the company. The company has approximately 9000 stores in over 15 countries all operating under different names. For instance, in Mexico it is called Walmex, in UK Asda, and in Japan Seiyu. This article analyses Walmart in Japan through three phases. The three phases are: problem identification, analysis, and solution phases. Background Walmart bought 6.2% of Seiyu in May 2002 (Holstein 73). The shares of the company increased over time and in 2005 December, Walmart was the majority shareholder of 50.9%. In 2008, Seiyu was entirely owned by Walmart whose headquarters are in Tokyo. The company has 419 retail units that are inclusive of: Seiyu Hypermarket, Seiyu Supermarket, Wakana, and Seiyu General Merchendise. Setting operations in Japan was not an easy feat...
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...STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT MGMT E -5000 WALMART CASE ANALYSIS BY Indhu SEPTEMBER 19th, 2012 SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart: (2008- 2010) EXTERNAL ANALYSIS: Significant findings on the PESTEL analysis were:(Refer Fig 1 ) * Socio Cultural factor: One of the most important concerns among consumers during that period was price. Since its establishment Walton focused on Everyday low prices (EDLP) and always geared towards the low- income groups of the society. This provided Walmart better opportunities and helped them gain a competitive advantage in the industry. * Demographic factor: Another opportunity facing the industry was that Consumers (working Mothers and other American workers) wanted ease of shopping (fast, efficient and one-stop shopping). Walmart provided its customers with what they want in the Walmart supercenters combined with its wholesale unit “Sam’s Club”. * Technological Factor: Heightening of Internet users (70% of the population) and more people were comfortable shopping online. This yielded both favorable (lower over head costs and convenience to the customers with wide choices of items and prices that were appealing) and unfavorable (Walmart has invested heavily on the infrastructure like the EDI links and POS systems) circumstances. * Economic Factor: Domestically the U.S market had a very slow growth. Although the economy was said to be in recession it favored the growth of the organization because it offered consumers commodities at a...
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... From the beginning, Walmart did not have many threats. However, not only the competition is different, several global retailers such as Target, Carrefour, Costco, and Amazon, are working hard to keep efficiency. They are trying to work together to shrink the prices difference between them. Walmart has facing difficulties from every single angle. Not only the company has internal labor relation problems, but also it has some external threats from its competitors. The company must work hard to get possible solutions against its competitors, and to solve any internal problems regarding its labor relations. Even though Walmart does not have any problems with its good sales performance, it does not stop the company to have issues with sales. Walmart needs to pay attention because there are too many claims from women regarding the lawsuit discrimination for several reasons inside the company such as pay, promotions, and training. The company has no other recourses to re-evaluate the situation to make its employees feel better as far as the coverage is concerned. There are several companies in the United States that offer better health insurance coverage than Walmart does. As a result, a re-evaluation is necessary so that associates can pay less with a higher contribution of the company. Life insurance is important for every single employee within an organization. An employee with no good life insurance can be in trouble at any given time. Consequently, Walmart should make clear decisions...
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...Foreign Markets Executive Summary Walmart has grown into one of the largest retail stores in the world and has proven their operation is successful and effective. However, Walmart is being faced with understanding the symptoms of their domestic problems before being able to compete globally and face additional foreign challenges. This report documents the overview of Walmart and its key strategies. Then, Walmart is analyzed and evaluated. Finally, recommendations regarding Walmart competing in foreign markets is provided. Overview Walmart is the number one retailer in the United States and is at the top of the Fortune 500 listing. Wal-Mart operates in many countries worldwide and is pursuing market share in new countries. As Walmart grows, so do the number of people who have a stake in Walmart. Each year, more claims are made against Walmart by the unions, disgruntled employees and other advocacy groups supporting various interests. Additionally, Walmart is often able to undercut many other local industries forcing more and more local businesses to shut down when Walmart moves into town. As a result of Walmart's ever growing size and dominance, their reputation is becoming more important than before. Also, as Walmart expands into different markets, they will need to be aware of specific country regulations and cultural expectations. These issues need to be addressed by Walmart in order to make it possible for Walmart to build a positive reputation and continue...
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...Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates approximately 11,047 retail units under 69 banners in 27 countries. It has three segments: The Wal-Mart Stores, The Sam’s Club, and International. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes 4,759 Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States, as well as Walmart.com. It offers apparel for women, girls, men, boys, and infants; domestics, fabrics, and notions; stationery and books; shoes; housewares; hardware; electronics; home furnishings; small appliances; automotive accessories; horticulture and accessories; sporting goods; toys; pet food and accessories; cameras and supplies; health and beauty aids; pharmaceuticals; jewelry; and optical, as well as photo processing services. The Neighborhood Markets include dry grocery, meat, produce, deli, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, pharmaceuticals, photo processing, health and beauty aids, household chemicals, paper goods, general merchandise, and pet supplies departments. The Sam’s Club segment includes 624 stores and comprises the warehouse membership clubs in the United States and samsclub.com. It offers hard-goods, soft-goods, software, electronics, jewelry, sporting goods, toys, tires, stationery and books, institutional-size grocery items, and selected private labels. The International segment operates 6,288 various retail formats in countries to include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. This segment operated 261...
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...a plan that would help Kava recover from the disaster and bring some economic stability to the country with the help of the Walmart Corporation. Some issues that will need to be taken into consideration is that over 50% of the people are under 15 years old and many of the natural disasters threats that the area faces. The company will need make sure that the mix of language and ethnicity is also taken into consideration. Walmart is about saving people money so that they can live better and that is what Walmart is going to bring to Kava. Walmart as a company is dedicated to helping the community and would help Kava try to recover from all the disasters they have gone through. Today, Walmart International is a fast-growing part of Walmart's overall operations, with 5,366 stores and approximately 740,000 associates in 27 countries outside the continental U.S. (Walmart Corporate, 2012). Walmart is looking to make Kava another part of its international business but there are many obstacles that the company needs to do before opening its doors in Kava. At Walmart, we believe in a philosophy of operating globally and giving back locally. We know we can make the greatest impact on our communities by supporting causes that are important to our customer's right in their own neighborhoods (Walmart Corporate, 2012). In making the recommendation to put a Walmart in Kava we will start with the issues that are of the most urgency and importance and then move on to...
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...Financial Analysis of Target & Walmart Corporation Columbia College ABSTRACT This paper is a brief background and historical overview as well as financial analysis of Walmart and Target public incorporated companies operating in the retail industry. The financial analysis of both companies using current ratio, net income margin on sales and book value per share reflect relative stable companies with strong balance sheet and low exposure to equity investment risk. Although both companies appear to be fundamentally strong and stable, however, Target seems to be better than Walmart in the context of profitability, liquidity and equity risk exposure as reflected in the calculations. Between 2009 and 2013, Target consistently outperformed Walmart in terms of liquidity position, profitability as well as risk coverage measured by book value per share. INTRODUCTION Walmart is a well-known in the industry when it comes to retail business across the globe. It operates many retail stores in various formats around globally. The company was founded by ”Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and started trading as public quoted company on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972, and it currently has 30% market share in the America retail industry” (Reuters). It is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. Two of their fundamental operating principles are Everyday Low Cost (EDLC) and Everyday Low Price (EDLP). These two principles allowed the company to build a foundation...
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...Analysis of Walmart Jennifer Boykin Strayer University Professor Swinney BUS 310 July 17, 2014 Analysis of Walmart 1. Analyze the organization overall, its primary purpose, the customers that it serves, and its size. In 1945 a businessman named Sam Walton made the decision to purchase a branch of the Ben Franklin Stores with the idea of focusing on selling products at lower prices in order to earn higher volume sales at a lower profit margin. Once he was able to overcome a few obstacles, he gained the ability to locate lower-cost suppliers who allowed him with the opportunity to have a significant advantage over his local competitors. Over the next five years, Walton drastically increased his sales percentage and by the time his lease on the Ben Franklin stores were up, he opened a new franchise called “Walton’s Five and Dime”. This new franchise would eventually give birth to today’s most successful multinational retail corporation known as Walmart. By 1970, the company had 38 stores operating throughout Arkansas and within the next decade, they continued to grow rapidly with a total of 1,198 stores with sales totaling $15.9 billion Walmart has since opened thousands of stores throughout the United States and have also expanded internationally. The company currently operates over 11,000 retail units under 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries (“Our Business” 2014). Walmart...
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...WALMART Andrew Louis Webster University MNGT 5650 Kenneth Chapman Wal-Mart study Case#1 1. What threats and challenges is Wal-Mart currently facing? From the beginning, Walmart did not have many threats. However, not only the competition is different, several global retailers such as Target, Carrefour, Costco, and Amazon, are working hard to keep efficiency. They are trying to work together to shrink the prices difference between them. Walmart has facing difficulties from every single angle. Not only the company has internal labor relation problems, but also it has some external threats from its competitors. The company must work hard to get possible solutions against its competitors, and to solve any internal problems regarding its labor relations. Even though Walmart does not have any problems with its good sales performance, it does not stop the company to have issues with sales. Walmart needs to pay attention because there are too many claims from women regarding the lawsuit discrimination for several reasons inside the company such as pay, promotions, and training. The company has no other recourses to re-evaluate the situation to make its employees feel better as far as the coverage is concerned. There are several companies in the United States that offer better health insurance coverage than Walmart does. As a result, a re-evaluation is necessary so that associates can pay less with a higher contribution of the company. Life insurance is important for...
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...Since San Walton opened his first store in 1962, Walmart has grown into a global retailer with more than 4,000 store in the United States and more than 6,000 internationally. Walmart is comprised of three business segments, Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam’s Club. Walmart Global eCommerce works across all three segments. Walmart’s mission statement “We save people money so they can live better”, is not indicative of where its strategic focus areas are, but it does sound good for the average customer who has a limited budget. This mission statement leads directly into Walmart Global eCommerce goals which include combining online, social innovations with physical stores to give consumers “anywhere, anytime shopping experience” in addition to its organizational sustainability goal of creating zero waste, using only sustainable energy and selling products that sustain the environment which is important to all of Walmart’s segments including eCommerce. Walmart’s overall objective is to deliver shareholder value by increasing earnings per share, returns and maintaining strong stable returns on investment. According to Walmart CEO, Mike Duke, Walmart’s strategic focus areas are: •Making sure the company has the best retail talent at every level of the organization by recruiting, developing and retaining the best associates; •Delivering on the productivity loop that enables Walmart to operate for less so the company can drive prices even lower for its customers ...
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