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Report 5

Report 5

Brenda Gonzalez

OPMG-4353-KV1-International Business Seminar-CBE

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Introduction

Wal-Mart is a case study of a small company with humble beginnings that has grown to a

national and international behemoth. It has economic concerns in every state and territory in the

United States and even storefronts overseas. There are over 5,000 storefronts internationally in

over 23 countries outside the United States. It currently employs over 800,000 people

internationally which is assisting in not only sustaining the livelihoods of its employees but

pumps currency into the economies of the host countries that it resides in.

The Case

The concerns of Wal-Mart are examples that are ripe for study. Not only in the

development of businesses both domestically and internationally but also how to grow, thrive,

survive and thrive again in spite of changing economies and even global pandemics.

Facts

Wal-Mart was started in the 40’s when Sam Walton bought a simple five and dime store

with the intention of selling products with the smallest of markups. His strategy was to make a

profit by selling more items at a lower price markup and make his earnings in bulk as opposed to

selling fewer items with a higher markup. The strategy worked as it was more friendly to the

consumer. This led to massive increases in profit and soon growth followed nationally, and then

internationally.

What differentiated Wal-Mart from other competitors was that same principle applied

even today. To sell products that Wal-Mart had purchased with only the slightest of markups.

Thereby once again proving to be more friendly and economical to the consumer.
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This is not a market strategy that was adopted by one of Wal-Mart’s rivals. Specifically,

K-Mart. When Wal-Mart was able to thrive as its prices were more affordable to its consumers

K-Mart suffered as it did not implement Wal-Mart’s strategy (Chirinos, 2022).

Additionally, Wal-Mart’s low prices have made them largely unaffected by the online

shopping that also took a massive bite out of traditional brick and mortar stores. There are no

shipping costs incurred when shopping at Wal-Mart in person.

Wal-Mart has also found a way to counter the online shopping that has dominated the

commerce and consumerism market by also offering online shopping (Abhijeet, 2022). Wal-Mart

can ship items to the purchaser directly, it can have items at the store for pickup and then it also

offers curbside pickup. So instead of having itself handicapped by online shopping it has added

an additional feature to its shopping experience by offering online sales. It has shown an

incredibly ability to adapt to the market and to the needs of the consumer.

When the pandemic hit Wal-Mart started to offer curbside pickup. Meaning that a person

didn’t have to leave their vehicle to go into the store itself when COVID was rampant. An

employee would shop for them, based on a list that the customer had provided Wal-Mart with

beforehand, and deposit the items in the customer’s car. Meaning that there was no human to

human contact thereby decreasing the risk of transmitting COVID (Rivas, 2021).
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Additionally, Wal-Mart is performing well internationally, again, in a post

pandemic cycle. Its international sales aren’t as favorable as its domestic sales but it is

still showing signs of growth and increase internationally.

Analysis

Wal-Mart started with an innovative notion by providing consumers with a cheaper

alternative at a lower profit margin compared to everything else out there. It has maintained that

philosophy and has continued to have a loyal and steady base of customers.

It also adapted to the concerns over COVID with its curbside shopping. Not only helping

decrease the probability of spreading COVID in its stores but providing its customers with some

peace of mind.
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We can see that Wal-Mart sales has suffered some setbacks but has increased in sales post

pandemic. In fact, it has had the most significant increases in sales since the pandemic compared

to previous years (Keyes).

Conclusion

Seemingly as long as Wal-Mart continues to adapt and keep its prices low there will not

be a significant concern over Wal-Mart failing the way many of its competitors have failed in the

past and might continue to fail in the present and the future.
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References
About. Corporate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://corporate.walmart.com/about
Chirinos, C. (2022, March 1). Kmart's once-iconic empire has been decimated to only four U.S.
stores. Fortune. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from
https://fortune.com/2022/03/01/kmart-locations-still-open-in-2022/
Rivas, T. (2021, January 1). Walmart was a pandemic winner. how it can keep the momentum
going in 2021. Walmart Was a Pandemic Winner. How It Can Keep the Momentum in
2021. | Barron's. Retrieved December 2, 2022, from
https://www.barrons.com/articles/walmart-was-a-pandemic-winner-how-it-can-keep-the-m
omentum-in-2021-51609493401
Abhijeet Pratap. (2022, May 22). Walmart ecommerce sales. Statstic. Retrieved December 3,
2022, from https://statstic.com/walmart-ecommerce-sales/
Keyes, D. (n.d.). Walmart's US ecommerce sales hit 97% annual growth in its most recent
quarter. Business Insider. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from
https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-ecommerce-sales-reach-sky-high-growth-in-rece
nt-quarter-2020-8