GLOBAL MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Global Market Opportunities

Executive Summary

Wal-Mart is the largest retailing business worldwide. Outside the US, the largest retailer of world scores numerous staggering stats: every week 103 million customers; 6,165 retail units in 26 countries; and $126 billion in annual sales. This paper addresses the internationalisation potential of Wal-Mart in India as companies from all over the world have decided to invest in India and take advantage of cheap workforce, sophisticated infrastructure, and continuous strong economic performance of India. Therefore, it is proposed in this paper to understand and evaluate whether the Indian market is a promising entry-point for Wal-Mart. This paper discusses issues associated with the expansion of Wal-Mart including; the status of India with respect to the international trading and financial systems; opportunities and risks offered; and an analysis of the business and management practices along with the retailing business environment in India. It is concluded by the study that both risks and opportunities exist in Indian market for Wal-Mart. It is very important for organisations expanding their operations in a foreign country must not overlook their core business. It is also recommended to Wal-Mart to understand local demographics and culture, legal variances and business operations in India before setting up a strong presence in her markets.

Global Market Opportunities

Introduction

Bagri (2013) has indicated in her article “Wal-Mart Drops Ambitious Expansion Plan for India”, that the biggest retailer of the world Wal-Mart was seemingly trying its luck in the India by tapping the massive potential of the markets of India. However, the company soo droped its plans amidst a wide range of threats to entry. Bagri (2013) indicated that according to a report in the New York Times, Wal-Mart was thought to be on the brink of making its first acquisition in India. Even executives from Wal-Mart were reported to visit India for exploration of potential targets. BigIndia, which is valued at a staggering $27 billion, was seen as a possible candidates for the acquisition plan. For this assignment, we have chosen Wal-Mart with the intention to expand it into India. However, there are several issues associated with the expansion of Wal-Mart including internationalisation potential of Wal-Mart in India; the status of India with respect to the international trading and financial systems; opportunities and risks offered; and people issues in the country. This paper will discuss also these above stated issues. Furthermore, this paper will also discuss specific actions required to implement international expansion, an analysis of the business and management practices along with the retailing business environment in India.

Discussion

A Description of the Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart store, Inc. is an American retail company. Headquarter of Wal-Mart is located in Bentonville, Arkansas. It is one of the most valuable corporations of the world. Wal-Mart has several chains of warehouse and discount department stores. As stated by Fortune Global 500 list of 2012, Wal-Mart is the world's third largest public company. Wal-Mart is the largest private employer of the world having more than 2 million employees. As of January 31, 2012, ...