Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Introduction

Wal-Mart stores (Wal-Mart) are the world's largest retailers. At the end of January 2008, when the company operated 971 discount stores, 2447 supercentres, 591 Sam's Clubs and 132 Neighborhood Markets in the United States. Wal-Mart also operates several international markets, but these are the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and China. The company sells a number of retail goods and services at low prices. This product range includes both national and private-brand manufacturers. These distribution centers primarily serve the operating segment called Wal-Mart Store.

Mission and Values

“Saving people money so they can have a better life” Wal-Mart's mission on which its business model based on. Wal-Mart's mission set to be the best retail store with a wide range of high quality and low prices both in the U.S, which has the largest number of branches, as in any of the nine countries where it operations. There values include

High Quality

Honestidad Honesty

Innovación Innovation

Mejora Continua Continuous Improvement

Neutralidad Neutrality

Pragmatismo Pragmatism

Profesionalismo Professionalism

Transparencia Transparency

Wal-Mart's Business Model

Wal-Mart's success based on its business model, which focused on satisfying its customer needs with low-price products. However, due to the environmental changes and some factors of the business model that can be easily imitated by its competitors, Wal-Mart has to modify continuously its competitive strategy and to develop its business model to maintain its competitive advantage in the global market (Parnell, 2008).

Alliance with Its Value's

Wal-Mart establishes a customer relationship depending on self-service and automated and towards co-creation of some products once it is possible. Wal-Mart tends to reach the mass market toward mass customization. Wal-Mart's customers can be divided into three groups: “brand aspirations”, people with low incomes who obsessed with brand; “price-sensitive effluents” wealthier shoppers who love deals; and finally “value-price shoppers” who like low prices and cannot afford much more.

SWOT Analysis

Strength

Wal-Mart's technological edge is in its inventory control, ...