...Introduction In 1997, Wal-Mart Inc had acquired 21 units of a well known chain of stores in Germany named Wertkauf. One year later, another acquisition deal involving 74 units of the market chain Interspar was negotiated between Wal-Mart Inc and Spar Handels AG. (Arndt, Knorr, 2003) The negotiations were a success, and through the acquisitions Wal-Mart had quickly evolved into one of the biggest operators in the German hypermarket industry. Though the first acquisition was considered to be a wise investment because of Wertkauf’s previous success, Interspar was not looked at the same way. The Interspar hypermarket chain was in serious need of financial reformation as the business itself was unprofitable. Wal-Mart did manage to improve the line of former Interspar hypermarkets; however other factors played a role in the failure of our expansion. This report will disclose non-financial aspects of Wal-Mart’s failure to succeed in Germany. Problem Statement Wal-Mart needs to adjust its business plan in a way that facilitates cultural understanding and adheres to the laws and regulations of Germany. Measurable Objective and Long-term Goal With a very small market share at 1.1%, (Sundarji, 2012) turnover of 2.9 billion Euros and further losses of 1 billion Euros, (Arndt, 2003) a long-term goal would be to make the business profitable, increase employee satisfaction and. An increase of the market share, elimination of debt, reversal of employee cuts and an increase in...
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...Wal-Mart: The Challenges of Dominance There are few companies that have become household names all across the Americas and many parts of the globe. One such company is Wal-Mart. Since its’ birth in 1962, there have been over 4,700 company locations opened, employing over 1.4 million people in the continental United States alone. (WALMART STORES.COM 2011) Wal-Mart was founded by Sam and Bud Walton as a department-sized store targeting small rural towns throughout the Midwest. It has immersed itself in a rapid amount of growth and success over the first few years by offering among the best levels of customer service, as well as “Every Day Low Prices.” After several decades of extreme growth, Wal-Mart began to finally shift its focus from targeting rural areas to that of urban areas all across the United States with its adaptation of the larger supersized centers that could offer a wide array of products and services. A great example to show its rapid movement would be to compare its growth to that of several of its’ competitors. It was founded the same year as corporate moguls Target and Kmart, and in 2011 it grossed revenues of more than four times that of both of these companies combined. (WALMART 2011) Retailing is the second largest industry in the U.S. and one of the most sizable in the world, and Wal-Mart is larger than the next four global giants combined. Wal-Mart’s capabilities in the Retail link-system, as well as its innovations in developing the hub...
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...Strategic Initiative Paper A major part of a company’s success is planning. A business needs effective strategic planning to remain competitive and grow financially. For a company to reach its full financial potential, a planning process must exist. Strategic planning serves as the roadmap for a company’s financial efficiency. Wal-Mart developed the strategic planning initiative of Every Day Low Price (EDLP), which prices it products at low, affordable prices. Wal-Mart’s strategic planning has made the store one of the best known organizations and industry leaders in low prices. The strategic planning initiative effects costs and the sales within the organization that can also create risks; however, if managed effectively can make the discount giant even more profitable. Strategic Planning Initiative, Financial Planning Wal-Mart has grown from modest beginnings to become one of the most recognizable store chains in the world by operating almost 11,000 stores in 27 countries with more than two million employees (Wal-Mart, 2012). With such a large, well-known organization the company strives to remain competitive within a global market. To succeed, the company used strategic planning to identify an aggressive strategy within their 2012 annual report. Wal-Mart management entitled the strategy“Delivering Everyday Low Price (EDLP). According to Wal-Mart’s 2012 annual report, the EDLP strategy represents an essential component of its message of delivering the lowest prices...
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...Board Mr. William S. Simon CEO, Wal-Mart U.S. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 702 S.W. 8th Street Bentonville, AR 72716 Dear Messers, Walton and Simon: Thank you for your interest in our firm and for meeting with us on September 8th to discuss how we can assist you in analyzing certain aspects of Wal-Mart U.S. based operations. This letter serves as confirmation of our discussions and the agreements made between us at the meeting. Background 1, 2, 6 Wal-Mart is considered one the largest global retailer with $419 billion in annual revenues and more than 2.2 million employees throughout the world. Wal-Mart is successful in its consumer commitment to offer “Every Day Low Prices” (EDLP) thanks to its aggressive cost management concepts. Wal-Mart also serves as a leader on social issues. Their focus on global responsibility has made worldwide changes in how products are procured, packaged and shipped. Wal-Mart’s U.S. business unit is the largest of the three reportable business segments and operates in a very unique environment, supporting the largest economy in the world, the United States of America. U.S. segment revenues and gross profit margin have been stagnant over the last year and the company has implemented a four-point plan to improve comparable store sales. The U.S. reporting unit has been working through several class action lawsuits that could have a tremendous impact against future financial standings if Wal-Mart does not prevail. In particular,...
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...Unit 6 Case Analysis Wal-Mart Stores: “Everyday Low Prices” in China GB520-14M Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction The following paper analyzes the Wal-Mart case study regarding the position of their stores in China. It also provides a thorough examination of the struggles faced by the organization to secure their position of their stores in China through an HRM perspective, as well as a set of recommendation. Wal-Mart’s strategies to retain and attract customers are based on a set of fundamental premises envisioned by its founder Sam Walton. These premises are: to provide excellent customer service to its clients, make every effort to attain excellence at all levels, and to always respect the individuals. To accomplish these goals Sam Walton established a rule for its organization, the 10 foot rule, in which every employee is expected to engage with every customer that they find within a 10 feet distance with the purposes of providing assistance with their purchases and provide the best possible customer service experience. The analysis of this case study attempts to point out and explain the challenges experience by Wal-Mart in China and to provide a series of possible recommendations for the organization to overcome such challenges. The goal is to provide them a series of strategies for the organization that will allow it to successfully compete in this market. Analysis of the Situation and Pending Decision Problem Wal-Mart’s founder strongly believed...
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...November 9, 2009 Thomas Johnson University of Phoenix Internal and External Factors When Wal-Mart first opened in 1962 the store was not the retail giant that it has grown to be in the past few years. Today Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,159 retail units. Wal-Mart employs over 2.1 million associates worldwide and had sales of $401 billion during the 2009 fiscal year (Wal-Mart, 2009). Based on the annual sales and new locations constructed annually, the Wal-Mart management team must be doing something more than just clever marketing. Wal-Mart is an interest topic among management students because although it is a relatively young company it has already achieved tremendous success. Furthermore, the company boasts a desirable corporate culture where everyone is treated as family. The readers can’t help but think that this company is an advocate of diversity and encourages decision making among employees. This essay evaluates internal and external factors and how they affect the four functions of management. By exploring these topics, the readers will be able to see how the organization handles its operation and how it deals with its staffs. One of the biggest impacts on management in Wal-Mart would have to be planning and organizing on how they will price all their items in the store. Wal-Mart has to look at all their competitor’s prices and see how they can be more affordable. Not only do they...
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.............................15 References………………………………………………………………………………………..17 Q – 1) Compare Wal-Mart experience in countries such as Germany and South Korea on one hand, and China on the other. What determine Wal-Mart's success or otherwise in these markets? What lessons should Wal-Mart learn from these experiences? Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is an American public corporation that runs a chain of discounted stores throughout the world. Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. The main head office of Wal-Mart is in Bentonville, Arkansas. Approximately 2,100,000 employees work in the Wal-Mart stores around the world. About 100 million customers each week visit the stores; Wal-Mart provides its customers low prices for their products. The slogan for Wal-Mart stores was low prices always. Now the new slogan is saving the people’s money so that they can have better lives. This slogan basically shows the 3 groups 1) Hispanics, 2) African-Americans and 3) rural residents of the country, which makeup of the 100 million customers who visit the stores each week. (Wal-Mart, 2010) Wal-Mart in Germany Wal-Mart is not a success in Germany. The organization is having communication problems with its employees. It has been speculating in the retail market that Wal-Mart is still not quite able to understand the $370 billion German market. It’s being 15 years since Wal-Mart has entered the German retail market (i.e. in 1997), and still the company has approximately 2 percent...
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...INTRODUCTION Recently, Tesco announced that the firm was ending its US venture. Indeed, Tesco appears to be the most recent British retailer to have encountered with failure in the US. Indeed, over the past decades, several major firms such as Sainsbury’s have been compelled to review their overseas ventures (Butler, 2012). These firms have incurred significant deficits in their quest for a new market. However, there seems to be evidence that some of these companies have been able to establish themselves in some foreign markets. For example, Tesco has failed in Japan but has proved to be a success in South Korea. Over this past century, there has been an evident emergence of multinational retail corporations. The general philosophy of these companies has been economically driven, that is, to prosper in terms of sales revenue and to expand globally while acquiring maximum market shares. The most dominant firm in this aspect is U.S. based Wal-Mart that leads with sales revenue exceeding $466.1 billion in 2012, followed by French based Carrefour with income of $112.6 billion (Forbes, 2013). They are trailed by U.K based Tesco at $96.8 billion and by Germany’s Metro in fourth place with sales of $90.5 billion (Forbes, 2013). The common strategy of these stated firms has been to target their marketing efforts towards rapidly emerging countries by investing in the establishment of foreign branches. An emerging market can be defined as an economy which is in the process of a shift...
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...Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, Wal-Mart followed an amazing pattern of success and growth, eclipsing all other U.S. department store retailers by the early 1990�s.� In early spring 2001, Wal-Mart enjoyed a huge market capitalization of over $230B, which was down from highs of nearly $300B in early 2000.� Over the last year, however, Wal-Mart had suffered a number of failures in its Internet-based operations, as it tried feverishly, along with many other traditionally �bricks-and-mortar� companies, to make a transition to the Internet.� As much of the commotion in the markets relative to the Internet subsided due to a slowing economy and a number of high-profile �dot-com� failures, Wal-Mart continued to experiment with it�s Internet presence and corporate strategy.� In this paper, we discuss Wal-Mart and its technical transition to the Internet.� First, we examine the company from a value chain and core competency perspective, to gain insight on what value the company brings to the table, both in its traditional and Internet operations. We give a synopsis of Wal-Mart�s recent and current online philosophies, and then turn to Wal-Mart�s strategy as it relates to the transition.� Finally, we provide an analysis of Wal-Mart�s prospects and recommendations for the future. Sources of Value�������� Wal-Mart had always invested heavily in infrastructure.� They were among the first to use point-of-sale Uniform Product Codes (UPC) scanning, and intra-store radio frequency (RF) transmission...
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... Pages 1. Executive summary..................................................................................... 3 2. Introduction................................................................................................ 3 3. Company overview..................................................................................... 3 4. Importance of business strategy................................................................... 4 5. Mission of Wal-Mart.................................................................................. 4 6. Objectives of Wal-Mart.............................................................................. 4 7. SWOT analysis of Wal-Mart...................................................................... 4-5 8. Application of Porter’s five forces in Wal-Mart............................................ 6-7 9. Wal-Mart Focus on Low-cost..................................................................... 8 10. Conclusion................................................................................................ 8 11. Recommendation....................................................................................... 9 12. References................................................................................................ 10-11 Executive Summary: In contemporary...
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...Problem Statement: Wal-Mart is one of the world’s largest companies and largest retailer in the world, with over 5,000 stores around the world and nearly 2 million employees there is no reason for this company not to be highly successful. Although Wal-Mart as whole is a highly successful company, they still have problems like every other company. Through Wal-Mart’s history they’ve encountered many obstacles and complications on the way to the top. Most of these problems have found a solution but Wal-Mart still has major and minor problems. Whether new problems or past ones still lingering, either way with a problem you must have solution. Especially with a multi-billionaire company such as Wal-Mart you want to be as efficient and eradicated of as much problems as you possibly can. Major Problem: Wal-Mart International In the highly successful world of Wal-Mart they face a problem most companies also have trouble conquering and that is going international. Wal-Mart International is a success in its own right, as it still is the world’s largest retailer but it’s just not successful on its own standards. Wal-Mart conquered North America with successful ventures in Canada and Mexico but not so successful in some countries over seas such as Germany and Japan. Wal-Mart expanded to Germany & Japan in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and for a long time was unprofitable in both regions. Whether its Wall-marts approach on new markets or forcing their culture too quickly, something...
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...| Financial Terms and Roles | Individual Assignment | | FIN/370 | May 7, 2012 Kristopher Karazassis | | Financial Terms and Roles Finance is concerned with how individuals, such as managers, lenders, businesses, firms, investors, and borrowers allocate money over a specified period. This paper lists the definitions and roles of financial and accounting terms provided in the course design. The terminology that follows explains and interprets the concepts and elements relevant to the first week’s objectives and topics in Finance 370. Emphasis is placed on types of securities, markets, finance, equity, liability, ratios, and assets. Finance is the study of how people and businesses evaluate investments and raise capital to fund them. The key role of finance is the management of cash flow in deciding on investments, how to fund them, how to allocate money for day-to-day operations over time, and the interpretation of financial concepts, which is the central focus of finance. Efficient Market is a market price unbiased of the investments true mean value. The fact that...
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...Executive Summary When you think of the discount retail industry there is no bigger name than Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has built them into the industry leader in a very competitive market, and they continue to set the bar for every company. But as of late Wal-Mart’s sales growth rate has been slipping, which is causing a major problem for them. For the past few years Wal-Mart has grown accustom to double digit sales growth rates, but recently they have been unable to match their previous success. Now Wal-Mart is faced with the challenge of regaining the success that they once had. In order to recapture these high growth rates it is important to understand what lead Wal-Mart to these high growth rates in the first place. When analyzing Wal-Mart externally you find that its 5 forces tend to have a positive effect on the company. The company has high barriers of entry, a moderate threat of rivalry with Target and Kmart due to its expansion of super centers, and it’s...... Business strategy Business Strategy Analysis of Wal-Mart Sam Walton, a leader with an innovative vision, started his own company and made it into the leader in discount retailing that it is today. Through his savvy, and sometimes unusual, business practices, he and his associates led the company forward for thirty years. Today, four years after his death, the company is still growing steadily. Wal-Mart executives continue to rely on many of the traditional goals and philosophies that Sam's legacy left behind...
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...International Business Strategy | Wal-Mart Case Study | | Aneesha Radia | | 09466782 | 1/28/2013 | | Contents 1. How attractive was the discount retailing industry in the USA when Wal-Mart first began operations in the 1950s? 3 THE THREAT OF ENTRY 3 THE DEGREE OF RIVALRY 3 THE THREAT OF SUBSTITUES 3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS 4 SUPPLIER POWER 4 2. With reference to the key components of its Business Model, describe the sources of Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage in the USA 4 FIRM INFASTRUCTURE 4 HUMAN RESOURCES 5 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 5 PROCUREMENT 5 INBOUND LOGISTICS 5 OPERATIONS 5 MARKETING AND SALES 6 3. How sustainable is Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage in discount retailing in the USA? 6 IMITATION 6 SUSTITUTION 6 SLACK 7 HOLD-UP 7 4. With reference to Dunning’s Eclectic Paradigm of foreign direct Investment (FDI), compare and contrast Wal-Mart’s entry into the German market in 1997 with it’s subsequent entry into the UK market in 1999. Why was Wal-Mart unsuccessful in Germany, withdrawing in 2006, and relatively successful in the UK? 7 FIRM SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES 7 LOCATION SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES 8 INTERNALIZATION 9 APPENDICIES 10 APPENDIX 1 10 SOURCE: GOOGLE IMAGES 10 APPENDIX 2 10 SOURCE: GOOGLE IMAGES 10 APPENDIX 3 11 SOURCE: GOOGLE IMAGES APPENDIX 4 11 SOURCE: GOOGLE IMAGES 11 REFERENCES 12 1. How attractive was the discount retailing industry in the USA when Wal-Mart first began operations in...
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...retailing: the case of Wal-Mart’s failure in Germany Susan Christophersonà Abstract Wal-Mart’s exit from the German market in 2006 after 10 years of attempting to achieve sustainable competitive advantage contributes an interesting case to the small but expanding literature on ‘failure’ in international investment. The work on the disinvest decision in all its forms has been critical to a re-conceptualization of the international investment process as dynamic rather than static, linear and inexorable. An important segment of the work on investment and disinvestment as dynamic processes focuses on the environment in which investment and disinvestment decisions evolve. While the environment of the host country market has begun to be examined, the market environment of the country in which the retail transnational corporation (TNC) originates also affects the international disinvestment process. To explore this ‘home country effect’, I examine the resources Wal-Mart brought into the German market and their ability to use those resources in the German context. WalMart’s resources were shaped by the market governance regime in which the firm evolved, and not insignificantly, over which it had and has influence. Within this theoretical frame, Wal-Mart’s reliance on the resources of network dominance and autonomous action that made for its success in the USA contributed to unsuccessful strategies in the German retailing market. Keywords: lean retailing, Wal-Mart, Germany, corporate...
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