Company Analysis
Wal-Mart
Joe Jones
Capella University

Wal-Mart is one of the most successful businesses to date; it has a unique cost leadership strategy that has placed the company at a competitive advantage in their industry. Wal-Mart has grown rapidly in the last ten years not only throughout the nation but worldwide. One of the questions that arise is, how can the company be so successful? Throughout the paper we will talk about the company’s internal and external structure. The opportunities the company took advantage of and as well as the weaknesses they encounter.
Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. Sam Walton was a former J.C Penney employee who had a vision to sell products at the lowest price possible. He opened up his small store in Bentonville Arkansas in 1962 under the name “Walton’s Five and Dime”, later that year he opened the first store under the Wal-Mart brand. Within five years of business, Wal-Mart expanded outside of its home state to Missouri and Oklahoma. Sales sky rocketed and owner Sam didn’t hesitate to expand even further. By its twenty fifth anniversary there were 1,198 stores. In 2012, “Wal-Mart and the Wal-Mart Foundation gave more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions around the world. This includes $1 billion in cash and in-kind gifts in the United States and $82.2 million in cash and in-kind gifts in international markets. In addition, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and Logistics associates volunteered more than 2.2 million hours, generating $18 million to U.S. nonprofits” (Wal-Mart 2012).
To give you an idea of what Wal-Mart is all about I plan on breaking it down to a smaller business and not focusing on the business as a whole, but the internal work of it all. Wal-Mart maybe too large and worldwide to talk about in one paper, so I plan to make it smaller and give you an idea of what they are up