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Wal-Mart, 2005

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Submitted By Kerankin
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Group Assignment 3: Wal-Mart, 2005
MKTG 6301.PI1: Marketing for Managers
Saturday, 4 August 2013

Summary
“Give me a W! Give an A! Give me an L! ...” If you just listen close enough, you just might hear this cheer echoing in a neighborhood near you. The likelihood of this happening has increased right along with Wal-Mart’s growing global presence to 4,900 U.S. stores along with a global presence to 11 countries around the world. Lee Scott, CEO Wal-Mart, was quoted as saying, “Could we be two times larger? Sure. Could we be three times larger? I think so.” The question then becomes, is this healthy for the U.S. business climate as well as for Americans in general? Wal-Mart’s growth is two fold. First is their “Everyday low prices”(EDLP) model combined with their low-wage and little to no benefits model. Through maximizing these models, Wal-Mart has grown into the super giant they are today. This has created a reputation for them as the corporate bully or the wimpy rich kid who owns the bat and ball. Either way they control the game and the output. Which leads to our discussion today, where we will take a look at the company from a variety of angles and viewpoints, some of their key issues, review a SWOT analysis that will guide us to our decision and why we believe this is the best path forward for Wal-Mart. Questions to keep in mind as we go along are: “Does Wal-Mart know what’s best?” and “Do consumers even care?” Whether one is a fanatic of Wal-Mart, or resents the image that they portray, this company and what they are doing can’t be ignored.

The Company
A few short decades ago, in the early 1960’s a small company was founded in the rural Arkansas that would blossom into one of the most powerful global corporations, Wal-Mart. On July 2, 1962, Sam Walton opened the first of now over 4,900 worldwide stores in Rogers, Arkansas. (Walton and Huey)

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