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Case Study : Detail The Growth Of Walmart And Its International Experience

Satisfactory Essays

1. Detail the growth of Walmart and its international experience. Sam Walton’s unique strategies drove Walmart to success. Their key focus was customer satisfaction and relied on three principles: respect for the individual, service to customers and to strive for excellence. As part of their customer centric initiatives Walmart had set up a unique pricing strategy. They would offer customers their daily needs at the lowest price possible. The Everyday low price strategy, special buy and roll back policies contributed to Walmart’s growth in the United States. Their pricing strategy was different than other major retailers in the U.S at the time; this provided an advantage towards rapid success and expansion. Walmart used different entry strategies depending on which region they were looking to do business in. In Mexico, they set up a joint venture with Group Cifra SA de CV, and it was then called Walmex. The success of Walmex was due partly because of the similarity of customer interest. Mexico customers enjoyed Walmart’s business model of EDLP. Although localization strategies were still applied, they virtually had the same interests concerning pricing strategies and demand of products. Where Walmart faced challenges were countries in Asia, such as Japan and China. In China, not only was culture an issue, but also language and major local changes would have to be made. They would further face stiff competition from other retailers. Importantly, in Japan the low-price strategy was not attractive to consumers because they linked with low quality. In this case it is difficult to be successful in countries that do not culturally support their business model. Furthermore, they failed in Germany and Korea because there was not a need for Walmart in their markets. They were already filled with retailers and were not ready to adapt to the American style of business. Their international experience was a learning experience for Walmart, being able to see where their business model fits in with different cultures around the world. The basis of Walmart’s growth and success will rely on entry strategies, and cultural understanding in numerous regions. 2. Describe the growth strategies of Massmart in the African

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