It is easy to become enamored with a company when it has enjoyed so much success over the years. What are Wal-Mart’s weaknesses?
Although Walmart has been number one in the fortune 500 list of companies over the years. It has certain areas of concern. There have been a lot of labour issues where labour demand wage increase and cases of sex and race discrimination have also been reported (Quinn 89-115). Another problem has been from the local retailers whose business has been at stake due to Wal-Mart’s expansion. These issues have challenged the company’s reputation a number of times.
Does Wal-Mart’s new neighbourhood store format run counter to the cost-cutting emphasis that is at least partially responsible for the success of its traditional stores? Explain.
I don’t agree with the above statement.
Wal-Mart’s one of the major strategies have been expansion not only geographically but also in terms of the products and benefits it offer to the customers. Out of current 1636 retail stores 31 are the neighbourhood stores which have been successful in terms of business as well as beating the local competition. (www.walmart.com). With its latest expansion into grocery sale with the help of these neighbourhood stores Wal-Mart has been able to offer its customer a one stop solution for grocery, pharmaceutical and general electronic appliances at equal affordable prices. The success of these stores can be measured by a lot of those similar and smaller competitors which have been pushed out of business (Mike Pereira)
What challenges can Wal-Mart expect with its international expansion efforts?
Wal-Mart has been aggressively expanding its business across the globe.it has been successful and accepted as supermarket stores however not all countries have been equally profitable. Stores in Germany, England and South America have not performed well and some of them have been closed. The major challenge for Wal-Mart with its global expansion is to adapt to country specific business techniques by consulting the business leaders world-wide. Another challenge is that Wal-Mart should work closely with the international governments to understand pricing and other economic policies to avoid law suits and public unrest (Quinn 135). The company will have to be sensitive to needs of different cultures for a long term success world-wide.
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