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Walmart Competitive landscape
Corporate and business strategy of walmart
Marketing strategies of walmart
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Recommended: Walmart Competitive landscape
Identify and evaluate the marketing strategies that Wal-Mart pursued to maintain its growth and marketing leadership position? What factors should a firm consider in the development of its marketing strategy.
In my analysis of the article, the marketing strategies employed by Wal-Mart are;
I. Cost Leadership
Wal-Mart commits to deliver quality products with the lowest price.
Wal-Mart’s prices are up to 15% cheaper than other stores. Wal-Mart’s store managers are given authority to lower prices based on the local competition.
Wal-Mart stores are built in the outskirts of large cities and communities with the warehouse appearance that giving them the competition advantages in low leasing and maintenance costs.
From my evaluation, the cost-leadership strategy helps Wal-Mart to fulfill the market niche of costumers looking for quality goods at a bargain price. This was the market-penetration and market-development strategy that helped the company penetrates and expands in its target market. Wal-Mart is somewhat protected from industry competitors by its cost advantages. If the rivalry within the industry competes on price, Wal-Mart is withstanding better then other companies because of its lower overhead costs and advanced inventory system.
II. Differentiations and Operation Effectiveness.
Apart from the cost leadership, Wal-Mart’s philosophies of excellence in the workplace, customer service, warmer feeling store and its core competencies in unique product inventory systems helped Wal-Mart gains a quality leadership that placed Wal-Mart in the competitive advantage against its competitors.
From my analysis, the danger still exists for Wal-Mart is the competition can easily imitate Wal-Mart’s method. This is already apparent with Target and Kmart building new stores resembling the supercenter format and emulating Wal-Mart ways by introducing people greeters, upgrading interior, developing new logos and signage, and introduce new inventory response system.
In order to fight this threat, Wal-Mart needs to exploit its bargaining power over its suppliers and pass the benefits on to its customers in the form of quality brand name items available at lower than competitive prices.
Wal-Mart follows the everyday low prices “EDLP” strategy, which proved to be one of the most successful pricing strategies. Wal-Mart achieves that through an efficient supply chain management that tracks all goods from manufacturers to suppliers to end customers. LU, C. (2014)
When Wal-Mart establishes itself in a town, it makes its competitors to close their businesses since they cannot compete in the current market. There are several businesses that go out of business when this company sets up a branch in the town. However people don’t agree with this since customers are the ones who go to purchase goods from Wal-Mart. If there are people who should be blamed are the customers since they flock into the retail market to buy from them. This is the reason why these retail businesses are out of business. The reason that makes customers go to shop at Wal-Mart is that, there is ample parking, low prices and they also provide superior goods and services to the customers.Down town destruction started earlier before Wal-Mart was established. Wal-Mart is trying to bring with it new technologies that are aimed to cope with the current technologies. We ought to find new ways of doing things and this is exactly what is happening with Wal-Mart. For instance, Wal-Mart might be embracing technology to supplant it. Internet shopping might be some of the new business technologies that they are trying to embrace.
I don't see Wal-Mart as a huge retailer trying to take over the world with cheap prices. I see Wal-Mart as business that has played their cards the way they were dealt. Our economy is poor right now; banks are hurting because people a...
Thirdly, there are areas both domestic and abroad relatively untouched by Wal*Mart: large cities. Though it may seem like untapped potential in these markets, it is not recommended to expand in these highly populated areas. The axiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” applies: If Wal*Mart were to do an about-face and start expanding in this form, it would send mixed signals about not only changes in the corporate strategy, but also about the future of this conglomeration of stores. This is especially poignant at this volatile time in the price of their stocks. They should also be extremely cautious in the acquisition of existing discount retailing companies. As the industry becomes more concentrated, Wal*Mart’s selectivity in large acquisitions extends beyond just profits. Many times, Wal*Mart could better spend their resources by improving existing stores or building new ones because they can build them around their ideologies at a much lower cost than through purchasing other companies. Again, this is not to say they should not expand in this manner, just that they need to be extremely selective when doing so.
After looking at the Business practices, marketing, products, and services of Wal-Mart I no longer have a doubt that we can compete with Wal-Mart, but the new question is do we want to? In order for Target to be a competitor with Wal-Mart, Target would have to lower its store standards, treatment of employees, and target market. Along with these things Target would also have to go against one of its store standards, and start buying products that were made using slave and or child labor. A few ways that Target could improve by imitation would be through increasing its in store services. The recent addition of the clinic in store is a new and innovative idea a step ahead of Wal-Mart.
There are several key competitive edges that keep Wal-Mart successfully maintaining its leading position in the industry. First of all, Wal-Mart’ multiple store formats allows Wal-Mart to extend their customer base. Since Wal-Mart opened its first store in Rogers, Arkansas, July 2 1962, it has extended its store number from 9 stores to a total 4,906 throughout the four types of store: (Discount stores, Supercenters, Sam’s club, and neighborhood markets) Wal-Mart is able to embrace more customers to fulfill all kinds of demand such as live supplies, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and entertainments. As a result, Wal-Mart’s sales and profit increase significantly. Backward expansion strategy is another key for its success. Unlike other retail stores, Wal-Mart opens its stores in small town first before entering into metropolitan area.
In general merchandise retailing, Wal-Mart’s primary competitors are Target and Kmart. Retail superstores such as Circuit City and Bed, Bath, and Beyond, also provide retail competition. A survey found that the majority of respondents favored Wal-Mart over stores like Target and Kmart. Respondents claimed Wal-Mart offered lower prices, better variety and selection, and good quality. The needs of consumers is an important economic feature in all competitive environments. What attributes (price, variety, quality, etc.) prompt buyers to choose one retailer over another is very important in the competitive landscape.
By keeping their prices low, Walmart can easily pass that savings on to their customers and in return, their buyers are able to have a higher income and can spend their money on more products, preferably Walmart’s.
According to Smithson, Walmart can expand its markets to new and emerging markets especially in the third world countries, which can significantly increase its revenues. Secondly, the company can reform is employment practices and improve the quality standard and in doing so, attract more customers and improve its brand image. On the other hand, the company faces threats such as the rising healthy lifestyle trend I that the company in most cases does not provide customers with healthy goods. At the same time, the company can capitalize on this aspect and increase its revenues. Aggressive competition from other discount retailers such as Target creates a great threat to the company (Smithson, 2015).
... and each division to have a different manger to work both for his store and for the company. They can increase there overseas branches by having a different strategic plans. They can even divide the products into different categories such as very high or low end products. Need to use new technologies with different approaches so that can ready to use new technologies with in a short span of time. The main generic strategy is to have over all cost leadership by which the Wal-Mart can control the cost. The supply and distribution system has to be more effective in present one so that they can save both time and money while doing distribution of there products from ware house to the stores.
In other words, it wants to offer lower prices than a competitor like Target in order to drive foot traffic and sales. Wal-Mart has been effective in its quest, but Target has an edge in one area, and it 's an area that has the potential to grow. Target 's secret weapon is its REDcard. For Target customers using the REDcard, Target is actually cheaper than Wal-Mart. This is because Target REDcard members save 5% on most purchases. Plus, Target REDcard members visit the store more often and buy more items. Target is also offering free online shipping for REDcard members, which has led to significant online penetration. Wal-Mart has the edge, but not when you include Target 's
The key issues for K-Mart strategies are finding the right cost level for an opportunity to be aggressive, and differentiating the product for consumer in terms of different consumer and different intangible product attributes. K-Mart and Sears should be combined with a new overall corporate competitive strategy using a cost focus. This may turn out to be the only sensible strategy, and the one which best describes the strategy adopted. Strategies of cost leadership and product differentiation are often described as if they were mutually exclusive you can either pursue one or the other, but not both.
Wal-Mart is known to beone of the best supply chain companies in the world. Throughout the years Wal-Mart has adapted strategies that keep up to their name. Unlike many retailers, Wal-Mart purchases goods directly from manufacturers, skipping a few steps of the supply chain cycle. Buyers use advanced negotiation skills to make sure they are receiving the best price on purchases. Wal-Mart also has their own trucks picking up from warehouses, reducing the price significantly on transportation. Long term relationships with vendors are extremely emphasized to understand prices and cost structure. These practices build Wal-Mart to its name and keeps low prices for retail customers all over the world. Supply Chain studies have shown that in 1998, Wal-Mart would fill up stock in 2 days compared to their competitors which would complete it in 5. Part of the reason Wal-Mart would replenish so
Wal-mart has a reputation for caring for its customers, of course their employees, and for the prospective public. So Wal-Mart can be an industrial leader for the world of shoppers with an eye for lower affordable prices, company decision makers would continue it's systematic strategies that it's founder and president established years ago. Sam Walton believed in three guiding principles in his strategy planning they were to provide the customer with good value and service, to have a good relationship with its associates, and to be involved with the community.