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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3
Walmart's Mission Statement & Vision Statement, Generic & Intensive Strategies ............. 3
Walmart's Mission Statement .................................................................................................. 4
Walmart's Vision Statement .................................................................................................... 4
Walmart's Generic Strategy And Intensive Strategies .......................................................... 5
How Walmart Is Responding To Covid-Related Challenges.................................................... 5
Walmart Bucks The Trend ...................................................................................................... 6
Not Immune From Challenges ..................................................................................................... 6
Keeping Workers Safe .............................................................................................................. 6
Shifting Working Conditions ................................................................................................... 6
Walmart Adopted Its IoT Strategy For The Pandemic. ........................................................ 7
Micro And Macroeconomic Theory: Walmart Stores .............................................................. 7
Global Presence ......................................................................................................................... 8
Strong Brand ............................................................................................................................. 8
Strengths .................................................................................................................................... 9
Weaknesses ................................................................................................................................ 9
Opportunities ........................................................................................................................... 10
Threats...................................................................................................................................... 10
Leadership Styles In Walmart ................................................................................................... 10
Improvement Proposals.............................................................................................................. 12
Proposals: ................................................................................................................................. 13
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 14
3
Introduction
Walmart, originally Walmart shops, inc., is a global discount retailer. Bentonville,
Arkansas, is the headquarters. Sam Walton created Walmart in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, to avoid
rivalry with sears and Kmart. As the firm grew, it established Sam's club (1983) and Walmart
supercenters (1999). (2008) (1988). Walmart became one of the biggest US Grocery shops by
integrating food and retail supercenters. Walmart became the top retailer in the US In 1990 by
emphasizing consumer attention (direct mail advertising), cost restrictions (low-priced imports),
and distribution network efficiency (e.g., regional warehouses).
It entered global markets a year later by launching a store in Mexico and proceeded by
creating new stores or acquiring existing merchants in Canada, China, Germany, and the UK.
Revenues dropped after Walton's death in 1992 but regained with the excellent value brand in
1993. After Walton's death, the company became less economically conservative, quickly accruing
debt to finance imaginative ideas like establishing new supercenters. By 1995, Walmart's sales had
doubled, making it the world's biggest private employer. By 2001, its revenues had overtaken
Exxon Mobil's, making it the world's largest business.
Walmart acquired jet.com (2016) and Moosejaw in the 2010s (2015). (2017). (2017).
Walmart was renamed in 2018. Its expansion was criticized. Local retailers that couldn't compete
with Walmart's economies of scale are blamed for urban development. Walmart's low salaries are
due in large part to its anti-union attitude. Other stores have watched its marketing.
Walmart's Mission Statement & Vision Statement, Generic & Intensive Strategies
4
Wal-overall mart's approach provides a competitive edge against amazon.com inc. And
whole foods market. Walmart's mission and vision were realized via market penetration and
growth.
Walmart's Mission Statement
Walmart's corporate mission is
"To Save People Money So They Can Live Better."
According to Sam Walton's remark. "save money. Live better" is the company's motto.
According to this remark, Walmart uses pricing to entice people. Several company tactics highlight
the value of this marketing attribute. Walmart's 4p marketing mix emphasizes cheap pricing. Other
divisions of the organization must keep expenses low to remain competitive (Alsharari 2021).
Low prices satisfy Walmart's "save money" goal statement. If you purchase the same or
similar things from the company's outlets, you'll save money. It's uncertain whether the company
is fulfilling its objective to "live better." Walmart's low pay and other human resource management
concerns have been criticized. The company's large purchases of cheap items are also questioned.
Walmart's Vision Statement
Walmart's vision is to
"Be The Destination For Customers To Save Money, No Matter How They Want To Shop."
During the company's 2017 investor community meeting, the company's goal was formally
outlined. In the past, the firm had a vision statement.
"To Be The Best Retailer In The Hearts And Minds Of Consumers And Employees."
5
Walmart has updated its mission statement to reflect the evolving retail scene. The former
corporate objective was industrial dominance. Walmart's vision statement emphasizes flexibility
to serve consumers better." whatever people choose to shop," says the company's strategic goal is
to lead in-store and online retail transactions. Walmart's new vision statement no longer includes
"workers". This may limit certain workers' benefits. According to Walmart's CSR strategy,
workers constitute an important stakeholder group.
Walmart's Generic Strategy And Intensive Strategies
Walmart's generic competitive strategy is cost leadership, according to Michael porter. For
a competitive edge, this technique needs to minimize expenses. Profit maximization and reduced
pricing are benefits. To achieve this aim, the company needs cut costs drastically. Walmart's
generic competitive strategy focuses on cheap pricing, expressed in its purpose and vision
statements.
According to Ansoff's growth matrix, Walmart's key growth strategy is market penetration.
This technique increases sales to existing customers to develop the company's markets. Walmart
wants to sell more online to Americans. As e-commerce grows, the company's internet sales should
boost income. Despite other, more complicated techniques, the company's worldwide growth
depends on market penetration. These aggressive initiatives aim to expand the company's
consumer base to become the top shopping destination.
How Walmart Is Responding To Covid-Related Challenges
Covid-19 has challenged Walmart and corporate America. As the issue looked to be over,
a delta-like train raced into the tunnel. In a politically charged environment that has sparked
unprecedented corporate activity, executives must excite employees and maximize profits.
6
Walmart Bucks The Trend
Forbes has announced America's best firms by state 2021 list, which covers healthcare,
education, and retail sectors. Retail sales fell 16.4% in April 2020, and 2.1 million individuals lost
their jobs. This pattern has multiple variances. Walmart's e-commerce sales rose 74% over the
period because of customer demand for groceries pickup and delivery and the company's 235,000
retail workers (Ashby & De Leon 2019).
Not Immune From Challenges
Despite its popularity, the nation's biggest private employer faces competition for top
talent. Walmart will fund college tuition and books for 1.5 million part-time and full-time
employees to recruit and retain talent. Unlike in previous years, Walmart will be closed on
Thanksgiving to thank the staff for their dedication throughout the epidemic.
Keeping Workers Safe
Safety is the most critical job. Concerned about harmful working conditions during the
pandemic, the firm installed plexiglass barriers at registers and restricted the number of clients in
each store. Walmart now requires vaccines for all corporate and management-level employees and
masks for all retail workers in high-risk locations. Monetary incentives and paid time off have
been offered to promote non-required vaccines, including up to three days of leave in case of
inadequate responses. The FDA's clearance of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine may modify this
strategy.
Shifting Working Conditions
2021 had the fastest pay growth in 35 years. Walmart workers' hourly pay ranges from $13
to $19, depending on the region.
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Walmart Adopted Its IoT Strategy For The Pandemic.
Due to newly integrated internet of things (IoT) technologies that improved food quality
and decreased energy consumption, Walmart's first fiscal year sales climbed from $514,4 billion
to $559 billion during the covid-19 pandemic. Walmart says its IoT solutions are unrivaled in
retail. Over 1.5 billion communications and one terabyte of data are processed every day (Blunt
2017). This unique software includes a cloud-based dashboard to monitor volume and recognize
unexpected occurrences, such as refrigeration failures, so they can be remedied more immediately,
conserving ice cream and improving company profit.
Micro And Macroeconomic Theory: Walmart Stores
Walmart store Is a public limited corporation in the US. It has a long chain of discount
retail stores and warehouses located in various countries worldwide. In terms of revenue, the
company is deemed the largest globally by Forbes magazine (2010 rankings). In 2009, the
company recorded net sales of $258 billion from groceries alone, and 51% of this revenue was
realized from its US stores alone.
The company has been trading on the new york stock exchange since 1972 with various
trademark
names
like Asda in
the
UK, Walmart in
North
America,
Walmex
in
Mexico, Walmart in Puerto Rico, Seiyu in Japan, and best price in India. The company's
operations outside the US have not been consistent because some markets have proved to be
successful investment destinations while others have been unsuccessful. For example, its
operations in the UK, South America, and China have been successful. However, its operations in
South Korea and Germany have been largely unsuccessful. Covid has even forced the company to
8
pull out. In this respect, the company's successes and failures have been caused by its internal
strengths and weaknesses concerning its microeconomic analysis (Blunt 2017).
These factors are discussed below:
Global Presence
The company operates over 4,000 stores in 14 countries (out of the US) (Gupta, 2008, p.
14). Its worker base is over 664,000. Some countries like the UK, Argentina, Brazil, and Canada
are home to its wholly-owned operations. The government has a strong presence in Canada after
it acquired 122 stores in 2004, but as of 2010, the company operates more than 300 stores with
more than 100 supercenters which were part of its global strategic plan of having additional
supercenters in Hamilton, UK, and aurora in Ontario.
In addition to these markets, Walmart is currently involved in a retail chain partnership
with some Chinese retail stores. In Japan, the company owns 53% of the Seiyu and 51% of the
significant American retail holding company in Guatemala, El Salvador, and other South
American countries. Other chains are located in Brazil and India, while prospects are rife to venture
into the Russian market (Su, Rungtusanatham & Linderman 2021).
Strong Brand
Walmart has a strong brand internationally. In North America, it is the most significant
retail business in the grocery market. The brand "Walmart" has taken many forms; close to 40%
of the store's products go by local label store brands produced by the company through contracts
made with local contractors. Sam's choice was the first private label brand. The company created
this brand in 1991. It was a local drinks brand that was produced by cot's beverage. In addition, it
was exclusively to be sold by Walmart's retail stores. It was one of Walmart's most extensive
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business successes because the brand slowly grew in popularity by the end of 1993 to be the third
most popular beverage brand in the US (Blunt 2020a).
The company still has popular business brands like the brilliant price in the UK. The
company also produces excellent value and equates in the US and Canada. These brands increase
the company's operational revenues. Due to the success of the company's brands, Walmart is set
to increase its marginal profits due to customer loyalty and increased sales, which are expected to
sustain in the long run (TİFTİK 2020).
Walmart's economic factors are further summarized in the swot analysis below:
Strengths

Strong brand in the retail market sector

Strong reputation for giving clients value for money

Excellent services to its customers

Convenience

High product variety

Strong global presence

Superior inventory management due to the adoption of supply chain inventory technology
(RFID).

Excellent distribution network
Weaknesses

Inflexible due to varied product investments
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
Overexpansion
Opportunities

Mergers with other global retail giants worldwide

Growing economic opportunities in developing economies

Supercenters pose increased opportunities for more revenues
Threats

Local and global competition

Vulnerability to economic, social, and political setbacks in the country of operation
Leadership Styles In Walmart
The leadership styles of Walmart's CEOs might be the key to understanding the company.
Sam Walton established Walmart, and its CEO is Lee Scott. The firm trusts employees. It has been
accomplished via Sam Walton's profit-sharing plan.
According to Amanda Giuliano, profit-sharing plans give workers a stake in the company
and tie their pay to its success. Employees might care about the business. He still employs profitsharing as a retention strategy for his staff members. According to his profile, Mr. Lee Scott is an
admirer of his coworkers.
Lee Scott is a firm believer in treating workers as equal partners in the company's success.
Lee Scott observed, "we can't develop if we don't have a terrific workplace." autocrats aren't
something that Sam Walton or Scott lee are. According to time and business biographies, both
executives value employee input. Rather than making decisions in a vacuum, these leaders prefer
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to work with others to make them. According to Emporia state university, Sam Walton was a
forerunner in collaborative work (Blunt 2020b).
Walmart has several groups working on various projects. Workers in the team all work for
the same department and have the same management. Its mission is to deal with issues in that
region to attain its objectives. CNBC quoted jack welch saying that everyone's opinion is essential
at Walmart. You may fly to New York from Arkansas. The place buzzes. Managers and staff at
Scott lee's company were urged to perform well, take chances, and concentrate on business
objectives. In the corporate sector, Sam Walton was a transformative leader. His leadership style
is transactional. According to his biography, Scott lee uses knowledge-based control (Sudrajat
2020).
He is a firm believer in cooperation, yet he remains in charge of the company's overall
direction. There should be no hierarchy in his organization. Sam Walton and Scott lee used to visit
their rivals to understand more about their rivalry. CNN Money states that Walton spends his
family weekends brainstorming. Scott lee behaved in the same way (Trujillo 2017).
After seeing Walmart as a global company, Scott lee decided to open stores in North
America, Europe, and Asia. As a result, Walmart gained a worldwide reputation. Both leaders have
a role in bringing about change. The corporation was founded by Sam Walton and thrived under
his leadership. It was Sam Walton who advocated for profit-sharing and collaboration. That
changed when Scott lee took over. He pondered going into manufacturing if he continued to grow
internationally (Chen 2017).
Even though Scott lee's Walmart leadership has been criticized, he is still seen as a leader.
A company's success isn't only a result of its leadership. A healthy level of employee-manager
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involvement has developed as a result of the efforts of the workforce and the corporate culture.
Sam Walton and Scott lee founded the firm.
Improvement Proposals
After analyzing Walmart's performance, we may provide advice for boosting the
company's growth or avoiding Germany's failure when Walmart enters a new nation. Future
international business goals Walmart shouldn't exclusively buy wholly-owned subsidiaries to enter
new markets. A worldwide organization may invest in greenfield factories and shops, license an
asset to a foreign firm, franchise its trademarks, trade names, and know-how, or form a joint
venture with a local partner. Licensing, franchising, and regional alliances are other options
(establishing a new entity in the host country by sharing equity and resources with the local partner
firm) (Su, Rungtusanatham & Linderman 2021).
First, other offered techniques don't reflect the organization's principles. Greenfield
investments are likely to raise company expenditures, resulting in higher product pricing.
Licensing and franchising are unlikely to work since Walmart outside the US is inferior. A joint
venture with a local partner may provide the business with a competitive advantage by providing
access to a local supplier and a more excellent grasp of customer demands and culture. Choosing
the right partner is crucial for a joint venture (Pippert & Zimmer Schneider 2018). Walmart must
carefully select business partners to retain its reputation. Walmart should preserve its technological
advances. As soon as Walmart entered the German market, competitors imitated it, and Walmart
lost its experience advantage. Walmart's logistics whole infrastructure is not necessary for
collaborative ventures. Technology may be used to avoid an opponent's advantage. Walmart’s
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reforms may have saturated the growth market, but it still confronts challenges. To increase the
firm, reduce liability, improve its reputation, and eliminate social problems.
Proposals:
Supercenters are more lucrative and expected to increase sales faster than bargain retailers.
Supercenters' NPV will increase if sales rise, making them more profitable. Cannibalization occurs
when a new Walmart site pulls consumers from existing locations. More Walmart supercenters
generate income by drawing new customers and selling to current ones. Walmart shoppers made
less than a quarter of purchases. Therefore, new supercenters need to be built. Increasing product
and service options is another way to boost revenue.
Innovation is key to the company's long-term success since it allows it to provide
competitive pricing and improve operational efficiency. Walmart's supremacy cost leadership
model hinges on low costs. Banking might boost growth. Wal mart's financial offerings will
complement the company's many others. This technique is easy to implement, given the company's
circumstances. Given its extensive network, the company has to make minor changes to its present
facilities to provide this service. Due to the organization's cost-saving technologies, financial
assistance must be supplied quickly. Walmart stores may provide banking and shopping services
concurrently to enhance shoppers' experiences. RFID helps Walmart save costs and boost profits.
This technique improves distribution chain efficiency by reducing unloading and inspection time.
This technique might minimize supply chain costs by 6% (Pippert & Zimmer Schneider 2018).
Walmart's internet revenues are soaring. The enormous retail chain's sales climbed by 30
% to $10 billion, surpassing amazon's 20 % growth. Walmart should seize this chance. Walmart
should spend more abroad to expand its global reach. It's important not to repeat Germany's
failures, where consumer research was lacking. A variety of entry tactics should be explored since
14
an approach that works well in one market may not be acceptable for another, even if the markets
are nearby. Europe, China, and India provide Walmart's highest sales growth potential. If the
company wants to develop and succeed in overseas markets, it must make political connections
and acquire companies. Community organizations, unions, worker lawsuits, and environmental
groups may all sue the corporation.
Walmart should support local nonprofits to improve the neighborhood. The small company
offers Walmart development opportunities. Many people are angry that little businesses are forced
to leave the market when a large store opens. Instead of competing, the industry could provide
cheap merchandise and assist its growth. Walmart's reputation will improve when it becomes a
trusted small-business supplier. Walmart should create an inclusive business culture. Labor
lawsuits and an aggressive stance toward suppliers have tarnished the retailer's reputation. Instead
of buying enterprises to enter new markets, the corporation should make it easier for others to do
likewise. It will boost the reputation of Walmart locally and abroad. Walmart's reputation as one
of the companies that give the least to charity will be strengthened by its charitable contributions.
The company should utilize its influence to remedy the issue. When a new business opens, locals
can expect an improvement in quality of life. Walmart may grow more quickly into overseas
countries and use these ideas to boost its brand and image (Seale 2019).
Conclusion
Walmart is the world's largest retailer and employer. The company is in more than 27
countries and expanding. The company's size gives it economies of scale. Due to its logistical
expenditures, Walmart is the most cost-effective retailer. The business has reduced shipping,
inventory, and time, lowering customer prices. Walmart's leadership has been a competitive
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advantage for years, but its market strategy is equally important. Its resources are used in retail
companies to analyze clients' buying habits and personalize items to each market segment's needs.
Walmart now sells groceries, petrol, electronics, and car service. As Walmart expands, labor
unions and out-of-business businesses continue to protest. Walmart's cheap pricing force many
small companies to close. Its sales growth stagnated last year after growing steadily since its 1962
start in Arkansas.
Market saturation, cannibalization of sales inside the company's shops, greater
competition, and the current economic crisis have hurt the company's profitability. Retailers will
face additional challenges when the economy recovers and people have more disposable cash. As
a result, demand for luxury items will rise, and buyers won't buy just on price. Walmart must adapt
quickly and change its operations to preserve customer interest in lower-priced products as more
costly ones become more available. The firm must build a unique approach and boost its reputation
to compete. Walmart’s, reputation differentiation strategy, global problems, and competition are
all poor. Businesses should donate to charity and local merchants, invest in renewable energy,
reduce supplier aggressiveness, enable workers to join unions, develop worldwide with local
partners, and continue e-commerce. Inflation and consumer purchasing power shift, and Walmart
risks losing customers and collapsing if it doesn't become more modest and human. When Walmart
and target pricing are identical, shoppers examine other factors. When market prices are low,
Walmart will have dug its coffin.
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