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Walmart Retail Analysis

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UCLA EXTENSION - STRATEGIC MARKETING

Homework Assignment #1

Prepared by Basak Alemdag

WALMART RETAIL ANALYSIS

Business description

Walmart is an American retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores in various countries. It is currently the largest retailer in US and in the world and also the world's third largest public corporation according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2012. Today, Walmart operates in 15 countries with a total of 8500 stores. It is well-known for its low-cost structure.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, the company is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart is still a family-owned business, run by the Walton Family who has the 48% stake of the company. It also owns a chain of warehouse stores in North America, called “Sam's Club retail warehouses”.

Walmart has a wide range of product categories under the following departments:

Electronics, Auto&Tires, Apparel, PhotoCenter, Books, Sports/Outdoors, Home Improvement, Baby, Patio&Garden, Toys, Health, Pets, Grocery, Gifts, Beauty, Movies&VideoGames, Party/Occasion, Pharmacy, Jewelry.

Customer identification

Walmart essentially targets price-sensitive consumers as their regular customers. It offers overall medium-quality goods with lowest prices, and it is the main reason most customers shop from Walmart.

The average US Walmart customer's income is below the national average, and analysts recently estimated that more than one-fifth of them lack a bank account, twice the national rate.

A Walmart financial report in 2006 also indicated that Walmart customers are sensitive to higher utility costs and gas prices. A poll indicated that after 2004 US Presidential Election, 76% of voters who shopped at Walmart once a week voted for George W. Bush, while only 23% supported senator John Kerry. When measured against other

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