WAL-MART STORES

Wal-Mart Stores

[Writer's Name]

Wal-Mart Stores

Introduction

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is a U.S. multinational company specializing in retail, founded by Sam Walton and now headed by his eldest son, S. Robson Walton. As a retail company, Wal-Mart offers a wide array of products to consumers.As of Jan 31 2009, Co.'s International segment comprised of its wholly-owned subsidiaries operating in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and the U.K. Its majority-owned subsidiaries operating in five countries in Central America, Chile and Mexico, its joint ventures in India and China and its other controlled subsidiaries in China (Michael 2006, p.66). Wal-Mart Company operates retail stores in different formats worldwide. In United States of America, the retail formats implemented by the company include supercenters, discount stores, neighbourhood markets, and Sam's Clubs. In the global arena, the company operates in El Salvador, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Brazil, China, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Japan, Puerto Rico, Mexico, India, Nicaragua, and the United Kingdom.

Discussion

Products & Services

Wal-Mart sells a number of retail goods and services at low prices. This product range includes both national and private-brand manufacturers. The product range tends to stretch from groceries, toys, apparel for women, men and children, jewellery as well as hard goods. All other products are generally sold at reasonable and affordable prices. However, it won't be wrong to state that the Wal-Mart is the business world. The data showing the size of giant Wal-Mart do not miss its great contribution in the retail industry. Wal-Mart is the world's largest company, the largest private employer in the world, the eighth buyer of Chinese products (to Russia and the United Kingdom). It is a very unique company in Arkansas that, in the space of 40 years, has revolutionized the old Fordist models of work organization and largely reconfigured friend reports producers and retailers the entire U.S. Wal-Mart Company operates retail stores in different formats worldwide. In United States of America, the retail formats implemented by the company include supercenters, discount stores, neighbourhood markets, and Sam's Clubs (Soderquist, 2005). As of today, the company employs nearly 2.1 million people.

Wal-Mart always strives to “provide quality products at an everyday low price and with extended customer service”. In order to achieve this, they have adopted a series of strategies which range from loyalty programs for customers to e-tailing. Some of the major strategies include building divisions, which include: smaller stores built in small communities with a population of less than 5000 people; this strategy allows Wal-Mart to give special attention to customers in smaller markets in rural America. Another division is the Sam's Club which is basically a membership only cash and carry operations, in which only wholesale operations are carried out.

Customers have to pay a membership fee to be a part of the club in which they get to buy goods in bulk. Supercenters are another division in Wal-Mart whereby groceries, are combined with general merchandise “giving customers a one-stop shopping experience” this “one-stop” convenience has appealed to a large number of customers thereby making the ...