Notably, the three aforementioned organizations do not encompass the plethora of stores nationwide. In fact, in 2014, there were 37,716 traditional and nontraditional grocery stores in the United States (Food Marketing Institute, 2016). Hence, with the number of competitors in the industry, there are sure to be price wars, advertising battles, new product introductions, modifications to their business plan, and increased customer services (Parnell, 2014). Thus, rivalry factors include: high fixed or storage cost structure and the extent to which capacity is added in large increments (Bethel,
In today’s market, Walmart and Target are two of the top competing companies within the market system. According to Loudenback and Lee (2015) research on Walmart and Target stated, “We just released a list of the 50 most powerful companies in America, and Walmart came out on top as the most powerful company in the nation with Target a close second”. Walmart was founded 60 years after Target was founded. The two companies have found different ways and techniques to stay a top of their competitors. Within my SWOT analysis, I plan on pointing out each company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Walgreens is more expensive in buying grocery items, than Wal-Mart. Also, the location of these stores are different. Wal-Mart is located where all the businesses are in Vincennes. It is also on the higher end of town.
Walmart was founded in the summer of 1962 by Kingfisher, Oklahoma native Sam Walton. Although Walton’s original vision for the store was relatively modest, the half century since its founding has seen Walmart morph into one of the biggest companies in the world. Today headed by one Doug McMillon, Walmart boasts more than 5000 stores in the United States of America alone and employs more than 1.5 million people. Walmart is undoubtedly an American institution, yet each Walmart store feels like its own little country. Walmart seems to have its own laws and customs and the people who shop their on a regular basis appear almost primitive in their behavior as they go about raiding the store’s shelves and wrestling with fellow customers for discount flat screen televisions and bulk packages of two-ply toilet paper.
Wal-Mart has been one of the largest discount stores in the country in recent years surpassing all others with their discount prices and availability of multiple items and brands. In 2006, Wal-Mart Stores saw their performance fall to numbers never seen before since their beginning (Ferrell, Hirt, Ferrell, 2009). Increased competition from Kroger, Safeway, and Costco challenged Wal-Mart for the middle-income customers that they had long serviced. Top competitor, Target, emerged with a more appealing store presence and fashionable merchandise than that of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart thrives in a recessionary economy due to grocery products making up around 40% of its overall sales. In a recession, consumers eschew convenience and luxury purchases in favor of must-have items and savings. In times of economic uncertainty, consumers focus on necessities such as groceries and personal care items. In a healthy economy, a consumer may decide to make a modest home goods purchase, like a lamp for a guest room, for example. If the consumer’s retailer of choice for chic, inexpensive home products is Target, they may stop at a Target store for the lamp, and pick up additional personal care or household goods in the same trip.
The most threatening competitor is Walmart. Walmart currently offers three grocery-shopping options, providing customers a choice and convenience. Walmart’s
Wal-Mart is accepting control over the lives of Americans and the American economy. With more than 9,700 stores in 28 unmistakable countries, Wal-Mart is the most sizably voluminous retailer in the Coalesces States and is well ordered surmounting comprehensively. Wal-Mart was instigated in the desires of offering minimal expenses to purchasers and stocking the most-required stock. Wal-Mart makes sense of how to keep a low supply of their things and clear the racks inconceivably quick. Their arrangement of activity has transformed into the surge without limits of America, regardless, Wal-Mart is stripping America of its minute associations and driving families from jobs.
Overall, majority of the members consider the price at warehouse clubs and the exceptional deals played foremost factors of keeping their willingness to shop there. Many customers mentioned they are loyal to the warehouse membership club because of their reputation for great quality merchandises and they enjoy the simple layout shopping environment in stores; hence, members gradually increase their trust in those organisations and satisfy with the good shopping experience, and spontaneously establish loyalty with warehouse clubs. Furthermore, most of the customers that have been interviewed think they not only enjoy the external shopping experience of warehouse membership club, at the same time they receive emotional connection with the employees; which always provide positive shopping experiences by interacting with them and make their experience go beyond to meet their satisfactions. In addition, most of the interviewees have a big family mostly beyond five people, or some of them go there to buy stuffs for a party or gathering; it is incredible that most of the customers shop a whole shopping car of items and they all satisfied with the sell in bulk
As Walmart is one of the laggiest retail stores in the world, there are many security implementation and policies need to be configure and apply in order to ensure the high quality of services. Walmart provide various types of services to its customers, it corresponds with many suppliers in the world to provide almost everything to its customers. Walmart network designed as a top down network design, which starts from the end user, moving up to the distribution layer up to the core layer. The network was designed to ensure the three CIA confidentiality, integrity, and availability to their customers. In order to apply each one of the CIA, Walmart network is built to prevent outside, and inside attacks against the network.
Wal-Mart is a monopoly that excludes any competition. As presented in the documentary Wal-Mart:
Plans for starting up some new locations, such as the two stores in Washington D.C., have been revoked. Many Americans fail to realize that the increase in the minimum wage is not the only factor that is causing the decrease in Wal-Mart’s profitability. As Wal-Mart is facing these cuts in the number of stores, it is also competing with other companies, like Amazon (Puzder). As online retailers are becoming more convenient for shoppers, saving customers the hassle of driving to and from the store, the amount of purchases made at stores, such as Wal-Mart, has also declined. Pressure from the increase in minimum wage (and outside competition) may prove to be more detrimental than beneficial to the employees of huge retailers, whose profits were already made on the
Not too long ago, groceries have adopted a different strategy to capture a larger size of market share. Many of them are offering a vast selection of products, services and merchandise all in a single location. In order to offer an all-and-one experience for their customers. People will no longer need to go elsewhere to buy clothes or even a TV set while shopping for their regular groceries. The concept of supermarket has taken a rise in North America, where stores diversified their main business activities into other streams of revenue.
I would love to be the CFO for Walmart founded in 1962 by Sam Walton with its very first store located in Rogers, Arkansas. Since, then has expanded as a discount store that sells more items than most of their competitors for less, which has grown into one of the largest retailers worldwide. In today’s market, there are around 11,500 stores located in 28 nations and e-commerce sites in eleven of them. Uniquely, a one-stop shop at Walmart one can shop and buy just about everything from grocery to clothing and some furniture, just about all daily item in demand can be purchased at Walmart at a discounted price. There are five key financial ratios that I would watch on a daily base vs. a monthly base.
I. Introduction Walmart Stores, Inc. - the American corporation which was established in 1962, is well-know for the globe’s largest multinational retailer (Walmart 2016). Walmart owns a chain of grocery stores, discount department stores and hypermarkets with about 11,500 retail stores over 28 countries. In 1998, Walmart entered Germany with the acquisition of Wertkauf and Interspar chain (Louisa 2006). Despite having the strongest economy in Europe and the third largest retail market in the world, Germany was not an ideal place for Walmart to achieve its ambition (Knorr and Andt 2003). After nearly a decade struggling to grow, Walmart decided to pull out of German market in 2006 with the loss of one billion dollars (Mark 2006).
