...1. Do you think Walmart could translate its merchandising strategy wholesale to an other country and succeed? I do think Wal-Mart could translate its merchandising strategy to another country, but it would depend on the country. While Walmart might be able to successfully operate in some countries, it might fail in some. For instance, Wal-Mart translated its merchandising strategy whole sale to both Mexico and China and succeeded and yet they failed in South Korea and Germany. To succeed in a certain country, Walmart needs to understand the country’s culture, their customer’s purchasing habits and preferences as well as do some research on their competitors in that country before they enter into a new market. Without taking all these into consideration and adjusting their strategy to the particular market, Walmart could fail in that country. 2.Why do you think Walmart was successful in Mexico? When Walmart hit some headwinds in Mexico, they quickly discovered the differences between shoppers in Mexico and the US which is why WalMart adjusted its strategy to meet the country’s local conditions, first by hiring local managers who understood Mexican culture, and then letting those managers control merchandising strategy, building smaller stores that people could walk to, and offering more fresh produce. At the same time, the company believed that it could gradually change the shopping culture in Mexico, educating consumers by showing them the benefits of its American merchandising...
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...1. Compare and contrast Wal-Mart’s efforts in Germany and South Korea with its operation in China? After more than a decade, Wal-Mart left Germany failing to become the popular “Everyday Low Prices” all in one shopping spot as it is in the U.S. Walmart has also failed abroad in other countries such as South Korea. There were only 16 stores in South Korea and was eventually sold out to a Korean discount chain, Shinsegae, for $882 million dollars. Reasons why Wal-Mart fails in these countries occur from the lack of strategic plan, other than the duplication of the U.S. strategy. The strategy of low prices, keen inventory control, and a huge selection of goods was not a success in German and Korean markets. The culture was also a factor that Wal-Mart needed to consider and alter their strategy before entering Germany and South Korea. For example, in Germany the company had American managers that like in the U.S. offer to bag groceries while Germans like to bag their own groceries. Also, the customer service was translated into being overly friendly with customers where smiling and greeting is not a norm in Germany. In addition, Wal-Mart never established relations with labor unions. In Korea, the racks were taller than that of competitors which raised a problem for people having to use ladders to reach items and the infrastructure also turned customers off with ceilings that showed pipes while their competitor E-Mart had decorated ceilings. Having failed to the tastes of South Korean...
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...Management Across Cultures 1 March 2015 Abstract Walmart is one of the world’s largest and most well-known retailers in the world today. It has achieved great success in areas like Mexico and Canada; however it has also seen failures in other areas like Germany and Hong Kong. This paper will discuss a brief history of Walmart’s global expansions and the strategies it chose to enter these markets. It will answer the following specific questions: When did Walmart enter the global expansion? What international markets did Walmart enter? What cultural challenges has Walmart faced? How did Walmart overcome these challenges? Where future expansions and opportunities are possible? To answer these questions, this paper will have four basic sections: A brief history of Walmart’s global expansion, what was their strategy with each expansion, cultural differences they faced, and where is Walmart going in the future. This paper will attempt to examine the strategies of its global expansion and how it used the challenges to continue success in future expansions. Walmart is the most well-known and largest retailer in the world today; with sales worth more than $200 billion, $35 billion of that from Walmart’s International Division. The company grew incredibly fast both in the United States and abroad. By tweaking entry modes, and studying the cultural differences and local threats, the core business strategies Walmart chose to build its business on in America would...
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...1) Walmart has already shown the ability to translate its merchandising strategies to other countries successfully. Mexico is a perfect example. This, however, takes time to do. They learned that in order to succeed initially they need to make adjustments to their merchandising strategies to fit the culture of the country they are in. Once they have done so, they can educate consumers about the benefits of the American merchandising culture. Some countries will not be willing to change their culture. But if Walmart continues to approach change the way they have they will continue to find success in countries willing to open up to change. 2) Walmart was successful in Mexico because it adapted to the Mexican culture and over time introduced them to the benefits of the American culture. When they first opened and tried to operate the American way without understanding the Mexican culture they quickly realized that when international businesses are ill-informed about the practices of another culture they are likely to fail. (1) They had to play by the Mexican rules if they wanted to succeed. International businesses need to consider employing local citizens to help them do business in a particular culture. (2) They hired managers who were familiar with the Mexican culture and allowed them to control the merchandising. This was extremely beneficial to their success. They learned that smaller stores within walking distance and changing the things they offered that best...
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...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 formats to the communities that need them, Walmart are creating opportunities and bringing value to customers and communities around the globe. Today, Walmart operates over 11,000 retail units under 65 banners in 28 countries. Employ 2.2 million associates around the world –1.3 million in the U.S. alone. (Walmart Store Inc., 2015). II. Case Analysis - Walmart’s Expansion in Africa:...
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...International Analysis of Walmart 8/11/2013 International Operations Walmart is a Multinational Entity (MNE) that has 10,800 stores in 27 countries. The countries of China, Japan, India, UK, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, US, and Canada represent Walmart’s influence globally. Walmart employees 2.2 million people worldwide with 1.3 million in the US alone. At the end of fiscal 2013, Walmart’s domestic sales were $466.1 billion and international sales were 135 billion making Walmart number 2 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies by revenue (Walmart, 2013). Walmart’s internationalization ratio is 29%, outlining the percentage of international sales of total sales. International sales, as a percentage of total sales, are up roughly 5% since 2010 when international sales were 24.7% of total sales (Walmart, 2010). Walmart’s international presence is growing through expansion and a more multinational mindset. Walmart espouses a multinational mentality. Although the company realizes the need to have an efficient business model, the thought is “we sell what customers want” meaning that Walmart treats the different regions of the world as local domestic markets (Pennsylvania State University, 2013). As Walmart enters emerging markets, obstacles arise with integration and expansion...
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...Global Expansion Expanding PPQ globally can be a great opportunity in terms of profits. There are also many things to consider before making the decision to expand. Diversity, cultural issues, political issues and economic issues can all occur. It is important to research all these issues and decide which country is best for PPQ to expand to. When contemplating expanding a business globally, it is important to consider how it affects the business and how it affects the foreign country that you are trying to expand to. There are many things for a foreign country to consider before making the decision to expand to that country. With the business being based out of the United States, the people from the foreign country may face some conflict with the people from the foreign country because of the new people coming into their country. This expansion would affect communities and schools where PPQ decides to start up their global business. The foreign country would also have to evaluate the use of the land and water that PPQ would need in order to start the business in their country. This would also have an effect on the foreign country especially is clean water is already hard to come by. The new site for the global PPQ may also run off the local wildlife in which the population may use for hunting or recreational use or even to live off of. This would also cause conflict for the foreign country. PPQ may encounter many cultural and diversity issues when expanding globally. There...
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...companies, including the US Marines, Dutch company C&A, American company Walmart and Hong Kong company Li & Fung. The Tuba group is a major exporter of garments from Bangladesh to the U.S., Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, whose clients include Walmart, Carrefour and IKEA. According to Tazreen Fashions' web site, the factory was flagged in May 2011 with an "orange" grade by a Walmart ethical sourcing official for "violations and/or conditions which were deemed to be high risk". The notice said that any factory receiving three such assessments in two years would not receive Walmart orders for one year. The orange rating was the first the company had received, and was followed by a "yellow" medium risk rating the following August, which pertained to the factory where the fire occurred. On November 25, a Walmart spokesman said he was "so far unable to confirm that Tazreen is a supplier to Walmart nor if the document referenced in the article is in fact from Walmart"; the company subsequently terminated its relationship with Tazreen, stating that "The Tazreen factory [in Ashulia] was not authorized to produce merchandise for Walmart. A supplier subcontracted work to this factory without authorization and in direct violation of our policies." Walmart critics claim that the company knew about unsafe conditions and blocked efforts to improve them. According to The New York Times, Walmart played a significant role in blocking reforms to have retailers pay more for...
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...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 and spoke distribution system,...
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...WAL-MART IN GERMANY The case features in David Needle (2010), Business in Context, 5th edition, Cengage/South-Western, pp. 159-62. The Wal-Mart Success Story The first Wal-Mart store was established by Sam Walton in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. At first expansion was steady with 24 stores by 1967. The initial focus for Wal-Mart operations was small town, rural America. The company grew to 276 stores by 1980 and the Wal-Mart empire reached 640 stores by 1984. The company currently has around 4,100 stores in the USA and by 2003 it was the world’s largest retailer, three times as large as its nearest rival, the French company, Carrefour. It was also the world’s largest employer with 1.9 million employed worldwide in 2007. In terms of revenue, it remains the world’s largest company and in 2002 it was ranked number one in the Fortune 500. Wal-Mart is noted for its large and diverse product range, which includes food, clothing, electrical goods, homeware, pharmaceuticals and so on. The USA business comprised four types of operation, ‘supercenters’, ‘discount stores’, ‘Sam’s Club’ and a small number of convenience stores. The ‘supercenters’ carry the full range of goods, including food and a large variety of other types of merchandise. The ‘discount stores’ are like the ‘supercenters’ without the food and ‘Sam’s Club’ is a membership discount warehouse for bulk purchases. According to Knorr and Arndt (2003) the success of Wal-mart is based on four factors. • Low prices. • A focus on...
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...These weaknesses include; failure to control the respondents’ environment in providing the answers to the survey questions. It does not encourage the progressing and continuous investigation of a research phenomenon. Further, quantitative research fails to give the researcher information on the situation’s context where the phenomenon under study occurs. There are limited outcomes to the ones outlined in the original research proposal because of closed type questions and structured...
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...Walmart: Global Strategic Expansion - Executive Summary Since introducing its first international store in 1991, Walmart has transformed itself from an American retail giant into a global one, leveraging a wealth of resources to strategically expand operations. Although Walmart must contend with several formidable competitors, the retailer has successfully opened thousands of stores across the globe; most frequently, it has added international units through the acquisition of foreign retailers, which simultaneously reduces its competition and furthers its dominance. Walmart has differentiated itself by coupling its understanding of political, economic, legal, and cultural systems within target markets with its low-cost, high-quality approach to mass retail. Utilizing simultaneous strategic multiple thrusts, Walmart has developed layers of competitive advantage to establish itself as the world’s leading retailer. Focusing on strategic expansion, Walmart currently operates 9,826 stores across twenty-eight countries, allowing it to capture global scale efficiencies by creating a coordinated and integrated network of interdependent stores. Each unit within its network is regarded as a source of ideas and capabilities, and innovation is diffused across the company through initiatives such as a market-by-market training program that helps increase the company’s responsiveness to local demands and preferences. Thus, Walmart has established itself as a transnational corporation by developing...
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...Wal-Mart Financial Analysis Well everyone knows the history of Walmart, the great American success story, or do you? Let me fill you in. In 1950s Sam Walton opened his first store in Arkansas with the believe in fair play and providing American produce goods at low prices and undercutting his competition by keeping his profit margin even lower. Mr. Walton was able capitalize on this philosophy through cultivate his business and leveraging capital by means of encouraging managers and associates to take advantage of his situation and become stakeholders thereby inspiring the manager’s and associates to improve their skill sets and take ownership and pride in the business. In the 60’s, the first true Wal-Mart open its doors permanently. By the 80’s Walmart was a billion dollar company with stores operating across 28 states. (http://walmart1percent.org/) Today Wal-Mart is the largest corporation in the world employing 2.3 million people (Dun & Bradstreet, 2014, para. 1) However todays Wal-Mart does not share Sam Walton visions or his values. Today Wal-Mart does whatever it needs to maximize revenue at the expense of its employees and customers. Today’s Wal-Mart has little or no respect for their employees. For the majority of their employees’ wages lower than their closest competitors (Costco and Target) since Wal-Mart encourage their employees to get on government funded programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, and public housing thereby passing some of their overhead...
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...Walmart’s Global Expansion 1.How does expanding internationally benefit walmart? Wal-Mart needed international expansion critically to remain a successful company. The main reason Wal-Mart needed to go global was because they could no longer achieve the growth needed in the US. This market was saturated. The United States represents only four percent of the world’s population, which meant Wal-Mart was missing out on ninety-six percent of the world’s potential customers. (Govindarajan, par. 7) Also, Wal-Mart needed to continue to make their US employees satisfied. With Wal-Mart’s aggressive stock purchasing programs, this meant that employee satisfaction was directly correlated to their stock prices. Walmart also realized that there were many emerging markets with lower levels of disposable income, which offered a large potential for discount retailers. (Govindarajan, par. 7) Therefore, Wal-Mart’s only option to achieve the growth needed was to enter the global environment. After its beginning in 1962 Walmart ever since had constant growth rates and successfully gained market share in the merchandise and food retailing markets. “By 1990, however, Walmart realized that its opportunities for growth in the United States were becoming more limited”. To keep steady growth rates and profits the company decided to expand globally. The core competency of Walmart is the price. Selling merchandise and food for low prices made them earn market shares and continue the growth...
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...IMPORT An import is a good brought into a jurisdiction, especially across a national border, from an external source. The party bringing in the good is called an importer. An import in the receiving country is an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited by import quotas and mandates from the customs authority. The importing and exporting jurisdictions may impose a tariff (tax) on the goods. In addition, the importation and exportation of goods are subject to trade agreements between the importing and exporting jurisdictions. "Imports" consist of transactions in goods and services to a resident of a jurisdiction (such as a nation) from non-residents. The exact definition of imports in national accountsincludes and excludes specific "borderline" cases. A general delimitation of imports in national accounts is given below: * An import of a good occurs when there is a change of ownership from a non-resident to a resident; this does not necessarily imply that the good in question physically crosses the frontier. However, in specific cases national accounts impute changes of ownership even though in legal terms no change of ownership takes place (e.g. cross border financial leasing, cross border deliveries between affiliates of the same enterprise, goods crossing the border for significant processing to order or repair)...
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