STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF WAL-MART

Strategic Analysis of Wal-Mart

Table of Contents

Executive Summary1

Introduction2

Discussion2

History2

Corporate Strategy3

Business Strategy4

Internal Analysis5

Porter's Value Chain analysis5

Inbound and outbound logistics5

Marketing and Sales6

Support Activities6

External Analysis7

PESTEL Analysis7

Political factors7

Economic factors8

Socio-cultural factors9

Technological factors9

Environmental9

Legal10

Evaluation of strategy10

Consistency10

Consonance11

Feasibility11

Advantage11

Conclusion12

References14

Executive Summary

The paper is about the largest retailer of the world and how it has operated effectively in every market that it entered through a cost-effective leadership strategy. The firm has expanded globally and is extracting profits from every market. It has the biggest sales figures in the market. The paper discusses the corporate strategy of the firm and how the founder of the firm started it with a vision that was carried forward by his successors. The business strategy has also been discussed. The PESTEL and Value chain analysis has been done in order to identify the strengths of the company and the opportunities that it should opt for.

In the paper, an analysis of the overall factors has been done. The analysis suggests that it is the holistic integration of the processes and an organizational philosophy that has made the company successful even in the face of economic crises. The company has successfully operated in every market that it has entered throughout the years. An overall analysis of the strategy is also done in the paper. The high-volume strategy has worked for the company and today it stands as the largest retailer of the world with revenues of more than $500 billion.

Strategic Analysis of Wal-Mart

Introduction

Every firm exists to extract profit from the market. In order to extract profits, the organization has to offer something unique and can be differentiated from the competition. If a company cannot offer distinct products then it should offer quality products at a lower price. Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers in the world, which is famous for providing good quality products at a cheap rate. Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton, a visionary leader, who is seen as the one that inspired the retail industry. The paper will discuss the history, corporate strategy and business strategy of the company and the extent to which it has expanded internationally. The paper will also examine the success of the company and how it has sustained its operations through a simple low-cost-high-volume strategy.

Discussion

History

In 1962, the first store was opened in Rogers, Arkansas. It was seen as one of the most rapidly growing companies in the world as there were 276 Wal-Mart stores by the end of 1980. Wal-Mart was earning more than $1.2 billion in revenues by then. In 1987, Wal-Mart would open one of the biggest hypermarkets in the United States, which was known as “Hyper mart”. It was as big as 200,000 sq. ft. and was opened in collaboration with Cullum Companies (Brunn, 2006, p. 6). SAM's whole sale club was also started in 1983. Cullum and other companies like McLane and Woolco of Canada was acquired, when David Glass stepped in as a CEO. Wal-Mart continued to expand internationally in the leadership of David Glass. It expanded its operations to China, Germany, Brazil ...