Walmart business strategies and competitive positioning

Wal-Mart

What Smart Business Truly Means

It has taken Wal-Mart a few decades to become the multi-billion dollar conglomerate it is today. Surely, this time did not come without trials for the corporation, but it is worth asking what exactly made Wal-Mart the monetary powerhouse it has become. This question will be examined in the following paragraphs, which will employ a more detailed focus on strategies, competition and expansion, in the goal to answer the above, and will further include conclusions as to how Wal-Mart strategies may be otherwise applied.

According to the company's website, Wal-Mart serves customers "more than 200 million times per week at more than 9230 retail units under 60 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs 2.1 million associates worldwide." These statistics are quite overwhelming, and one cannot help but question how Wal-Mart operates; in other words, what is the company's strategy? [1: "Walmartstores.com: About Us." Walmartstores.com. Web. 24 July 2011. . ]

From watching television advertisements, it becomes apparent that a big factor of the company's strategy focuses upon saving people money, through efficient technology, low overhead and good salesmanship on the company's side, and providing these people with economic opportunity around the world. In fact, Wal-Mart claims, according to its "Our Purpose" section, that it has had a huge impact on how business is conducted globally by stressing the importance of consumer empowerment and American-born competition. Thus, its strategy, according to the profits mentioned in the paragraph above seems to work, for now.

One must wonder, however, how Wal-Mart might be able to change its strategy in order to stay as competitive and profitable in the future. Savings may not be enough in a future where people can save money in any of the other million discount online stores popping up. With new technology in place to print various coupons, especially smart phone applications, for example, one must wonder if Wal-Mart's emphasis will be enough. In today's economic climate, however, it certainly seems to be. Wal-Mart can thus continue its "savings" motto, well into the future, and well into the world through its constant expansion.