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similarities between walmart and target
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Company Selection Paper Team B's assignment this week was to select two different publicly traded companies in the same industry. The two companies will serve as the basis for subsequent team assignments. The two companies chosen for study are Wal-Mart and Target. This paper will provide an overview of each of the selected companies. Date of Company Establishment Wal-Mart was established in 1962 by Sam Walton. The first Wal-Mart store was built in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart's were gradually put up around the United States and then moving to other countries such as Japan. Marshall Fields & Company was started in 1881, which moved to starting Dayton Dry Goods Store into the Dayton Co. The Dayton Co. enters into to the world of discount merchandising starting the first Target. Targets grew all over the United States. Company's Products and Services Wal-Mart has two brands of stores, the regular Wal-Mart and the Super Wal-Mart. The difference being that the Super Wal-Mart has a grocery store inside as well as all the other products. Products offered by Wal-Mart vary from automotive needs to Compacts Discs and DVD's. Family's can get households goods for kitchens, bedrooms, or patios. Wal-Mart's offer products for every household need like vacuums, mops, and brooms. Wal-Mart is an example of a one-stop shop; parents can get clothes for the kids or for adults. Target offers products like household goods and sporting equipment. Target and Wal-Mart are similar in the items that are sold. Target offers products for families for kids of all ages, plus has shopping for adult clothing. Target offers movies, CD's, and DVD's. Target also offers vacuum cleaners, bed and bath supplies, and kitchen supplies. Target is another example of a one stop shop. Auditing Firms Wal-Mart and Target both had their annual audits performed by the Ernst & Young Organization. Ernst & Young performed an audit on the consolidated balances sheets and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ending on January 31, 2006 for the Wal-Mart Stores, Inc and on January 28, 2006 for the Target Corporation. The responsibility of Ernst & Young is to express an opinion on the financial statements given by Wal-Mart and Target holding both corporations responsible that the statement being audited is accurate and true. The audits have to be in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which require that the audit must have sufficient evidence that the financial statements do not contain any false material.
Unlike Walmart which has tapped into other businesses such as retailing fuel, Target has not tapped into businesses such as financial services and fuel filling stations among others
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats around the world. Wal-Mart is committed to growing by improving the standard of living for our customers throughout the world. Wal-Mart earns the trust of its customers every day by providing a broad assortment of quality merchandise and services at every day low prices while fostering a culture that rewards and embraces mutual respect, integrity, and diversity. In 2006 the net sales were $312.4 billion versus in 2005 were $285 billion.
Year over year, Target Corp. has been able to grow revenues from $51.3B to $57.9B. Most impressively, the company has been able to reduce the percentage of sales devoted to cost of goods sold from 69.64% to 69.29%. This was a driver that led to a bottom line growth from $2.4B to $2.8B. Target outperformed (corporate governance quotient) 85.5 % of S&P 500 companies and 97.7 % of discount retail stores. The corporate governance quotient incorporates the values of transparency, accountability, integrity, and responsibility towards maximizing shareholder value. Yahoo analysts opinions mean recommendation is currently a 2.2, indicating moderate buy to hold (a 1.0 is a strong buy and a 5.0 is a strong sell).
This report will be based on the Target Corporation, and will consist of two sections: 1) long-term financing policy and capital structure, and 2) an acquisition analysis. The first section will include: Target's most recent long-term financing decision; an analysis of the economic, business, and competitive background in which the financing occurred; Target's book value and market value; possible changes that would occur to Target's finance policy and capital structure if it was forced to consider re-organization and bankruptcy strategies; and finally discuss Target's international investment and financing opportunities, as well as foreign exchange risks.
The first Walmart was located in Rogers, Arkansas, it was founded in 1962, by Sam Walton, he called it simply “Walton’s”. At first it started as a small town mom & pop store, and then it grew, the original store is actually now the location for The Walmart Museum.
The first area to be observed is the products that Wal-Mart sells compared to Target. Wal-Mart offers products in the areas of: Apparel, Baby, Books, Electronics, Garden and patio, Gifts and Flowers, Home, Jewelry, Pets, Sports, Toys, Video Games, Automotive, as well as groceries, and cleaning supplies.
The first thing that must be understood is the type of marketing structure that Target is in. Since Target is most like a perfect competition market structure, which is described by five criteria a company must meet. The first criterion is all firms sell an identical product, which is true of Target in comparison to stores like Walmart, Amazon, and K-Mart. The second criterion is all firms are price takers, which means that they are unable to control the prices of the products they sell. The next criterion is all firms have a relatively small market share. The fourth criterion is that the buyer has complete information about any product being sold and the prices of these products. The final criterion is that the industry allows for freedom of entry and exit (Investopedia, 2014). All of these criteria, Target meets, because there are several dozen other discount stores that exist in which Target must compete with (Hoovers, 2014).
Wal-Mart initially began its operations in 1945, when Sam Walton leased a ‘Ben Franklin’ franchise variety store in Newport, Arkansas. After relocating to Rogers, Arkansas in the early 1950s, Sam Walton’s ‘Ben Franklin’ became ‘Walton’s 5 & 10’. By 1962, Walton found himself the chain owner of 11 different Walton’s stores across Arkansas. He then decided to rename the chain ‘Wal-Mart’, after himself. On October 31, 1969, after further expansion across the state, the chain was incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Three years later, Wal-Mart was approved and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Target hosts a variety of well known brands to stock diverse assortment of quality products for its customer base. Some of the more renowned brands would be top companies such as Apple, Disney, Dyson, Fisher Price, and Johnson and Johnson. The stores carry a huge selection of products that consists of everything from baby clothes to high end electronics and furniture.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats in the United States and Internationally. It has two segments: The Wal-Mart Stores and The Sam's Club. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States, as well as Walmart.com. It offers apparel for women, girls, men, boys, and infants. They also offer hardware, electronics, home furnishings, small appliances, automotive accessories, sporting goods, toys, pet food, cameras, health and beauty aids, pharmaceuticals, jewelry, optical department and photo processing services. The Neighborhood Markets include dry grocery, meat, produce, deli, bakery, frozen foods, pharmaceuticals, photo processing, health and beauty aids, household chemicals, general merchandise, and a pet supplies departments. The Sam's Club segment comprises the warehouse membership clubs in the United States and samsclub.com. It offers electronics, jewelry, sporting goods, toys, tires, books, grocery items, and selected private labels. As of July 31, 2005, Wal-Mart operated 1,276 Wal-Mart stores, 1,838 Supercenters, 92 Neighborhood Markets, and 556 Sam's Clubs in 50 states in the United States. The company operates various retail formats in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. It operates 261 Canadian Wal-Mart stores and Sam's Clubs, 11 units in Argentina, 150 units in Brazil, 88 units in Germany, 16 units in South Korea, 697 units in Mexico, 54 units in Puerto Rico, and 292 units in the United Kingdom, as well as 48 units in China under joint venture agreements.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in the discount, variety stores industry. It was founded in 1945, Bentonville in Arkansas which is also the headquarters of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart operates locally as well as worldwide. It operated 1209 discount stores, 1980 super centers, and 567 Sam’s Club by January 31, 2006. It has also extended its operations to many international countries. It runs its retail stores in two forms: Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Stores. The Sam’s Club sells assorted product lines such as hardwares, electronics, jewelry, and to mention a few. The Wal-Mart stores also offer similar products in addition to the following: health and beauty products, apparel for women, men and children, household appliances etc (www.yahoo.finance.com). The Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values and Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance: Directors, Executive Management, Committees and Stakeholder will be the key elements that will discussed in this report as it relates to Wal-Mart. In addition to that, the major trends in the general/macro environment and industry will be analyzed.
Professor David Soberman describes his disappointing experience, “I have gone into Target stores looking for things, and the product line is not where it needs to be. You want certain things, but you can’t find them. You can find them at Wal-Mart. I just took my child down to school at Queen’s, and I was trying to buy things. I got 95 per cent of what I wanted at Wal-Mart. The other five per cent I got at Canadian Tire. I did go into Target, but I couldn’t find what I needed”
Wal-Mart and Target are two similar global corporations. If one asks each of these store’s customers why they shop there, somewhere in their answer one will find them saying that they can find everything. The difference between these two corporations is their mission, marketing, and quality. Each of these stores are looking to offer a different experience despite selling similar goods. So, when profits are not changing in the United States, they’ve opted for an expansion into other countries. They have opened stores and provided services outside of the United States.
Target Corporation is the biggest discount retailing business in the US which comes just after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The headquarters are located in Minneapolis in Minnesota in the USA. George Dayton founded it. It initially started as a family business with a regional retailer shop and later grew into a national full retailer store. The company’s main aim is to offer retail services at friendly rates and, its main attracting feature is discount rates offed on different products in the business. The company has indicated tremendous growth in the retail business. It has a target to outgrow its market and achieve competitive advantage over its competitors. This essay seeks to discuss the competitive analysis and
To do a true evaluation of Wal-Mart Stores, the environment surrounding the market it is in must be observed. In doing so, the firm can neutralize threats or jump on opportunities that affect it in any way. “The goal is to identify and evaluate trends and events that will affect strategy either directly or indirectly” (Aaker, 1985).