Submitted to- Prof. Pravin Patil

PRANJAL KUMAR DAS

08BS0002282

5/9/2009

Wal-Mart Retail Store

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Contents

Wal-Mart ............................................................................ 3

Company mission ...................................................................... 4

Saving People Money So They Can Live Better .................................. 4

Save Money ........................................................................ 4

Live Better.......................................................................... 5

Three Basic Beliefs & Values (in their own words) ................................... 5

Operating Divisions ................................................................... 6

Wal-Mart Stores, U.S............................................................ 6

Wal-Mart Discount Stores ......................................................... 6

Wal-Mart Supercenter ............................................................. 7

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market .................................................... 7

Marketside ......................................................................... 8

Sam's Club ......................................................................... 8

Wal-Mart International ............................................................ 9

Private label brands .................................................................. 10

Sam's Choice, ..................................................................... 10

Great Value .........................................................................11

Other brands ........................................................................11

Apparel.............................................................................11

Homelines .......................................................................... 12

Hardlines .......................................................................... 12

Departments- ........................................................................ 13

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Fig- Beauty product Classification and SKUs ...................................... 17

Store Design at Wal-Mart .......................................................... 18

Store Designed to Improve Customer Experience .................................... 19

Lighting ........................................................................... 19

Store layout of Wal-Mart ...........................................................20

Planogram ........................................................................... 24

SWOT Analysis Wal-Mart. ........................................................ 25

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200

million times per week at more than 8,000 retail units under 55 different banners in 15

countries. With fiscal year 2009 sales of $401 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2.1

million associates worldwide.

A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Wal-

Mart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine’s 2009 Most Admired

Companies survey.

Wal-Mart was founded in 1962, with the opening of the first Wal-Mart discount store

in Rogers, Ark. The company incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on Oct. 31,

1969. The company's shares began trading on OTC markets in 1970, and were listed on

the New York Stock Exchange two years later.

With the infusion of investor capital, the company grew to 276 stores in 11 states by the

end of the decade. In 1983, the company opened its first Sam’s Club membership

warehouse, and in 1988 opened the first supercenter -- now the company’s dominant

format -- featuring a complete grocery in addition to general merchandise. Wal-Mart

became an international company in 1991 when it opened its first Sam's Club near Mexico

City.

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Wal-Mart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as Asda, and in

Japan as Seiyu. It has wholly-owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and

Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart's investments outside North America have had mixed results: its

operations in South America and China are highly successful, while it was forced to pull

out of Germany and South Korea when ventures there were unsuccessful.

Company mission

Sam Walton said

“If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone…we’ll give the world an

opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.”

Saving People Money So They Can Live Better

Saving people money to help them live better was the goal that Sam Walton envisioned

when he opened the doors to the first Wal-Mart. Today, more than 40 years later with

operations in 16 markets worldwide, we continue to deliver that promise to families around

the globe. It’s the focus that underlies everything we do at Wal-Mart. And for the

millions of customers who shop in our stores and clubs around the world each week, it

means a lot.

Save Money

We know that price matters to our customers, whether they live in the United States, the

United Kingdom, Argentina or Japan. That's why we offer the best quality merchandise

at the lowest prices in all our stores, from school supplies, to household items and top

quality groceries. We also look at savings that go beyond the prices you see in our stores.

For example, we are working with our suppliers to introduce more energy efficient products

that can save customers money for years to come. And because every store or club is

designed to reflect the local community, our customers know they will find the lowest prices

around on the products that match their lifestyle.

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Live Better

Saving money is a means to helping our customers live better. By offering the best possible

prices on the products our customers need, we can help them afford something a little

extra. Whether it's a grandmother who can buy her grandchildren a special gift because

she saved money on her prescriptions, or a young family saving money to buy their first

home, we see our mission come to life every day.

Three Basic Beliefs & Values (in their own words)

Three simple things that make us great:

Our unique culture has helped make Wal-Mart one of the world’s most admired

companies. Since Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart in 1962, our culture has

rested on three basic beliefs. We live out these beliefs every day in the way we serve our

customers and each other.

1. Respect for the Individual

We’re hardworking, ordinary people who’ve teamed up to accomplish extraordinary things.

While our backgrounds and personal beliefs are very different, we never take each other for

granted. We encourage those around us to express their thoughts and ideas. We treat each

other with dignity. This is the most basic way we show respect.

2. Service to our Customers

Our customers are the reason we’re in business, so we should treat them that way. We

offer quality merchandise at the lowest prices, and we do it with the best customer service

possible. We look for every opportunity where we can exceed our customers’ expectations.

That’s when we’re at our very best.

3. Striving for Excellence

We’re proud of our accomplishments but never satisfied. We constantly reach further to

bring new ideas and goals to life. We model ourselves after Sam Walton, who was never

satisfied until prices were as low as they could be. Or that a product’s quality was as

high as customers deserved and expected. We always ask: Is this the best I can do? This

demonstrates the passion we have for our business, for our customers, and for our

communities.

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Operating Divisions

Wal-Mart's operations are organized into three divisions: Wal-Mart Stores U.S.,

Sam's Club, and Wal-Mart International. The company does business in nine different

retail formats: supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandise stores, bodegas (small

markets), cash and carry stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, soft

discount stores and restaurants

Wal-Mart Stores, U.S.

Wal-Mart Stores U.S. is Wal-Mart's largest division, accounting for 67.2% of net

sales for financial year 2006.[39]

It consists of three retail formats that have become

commonplace in the United States: Discount Stores,

Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets. The retail

department stores sell a variety of mostly non-grocery

products, though emphasis has now shifted towards

supercenters, which include more grocery items. This division

also includes Wal-Mart's online retailer, walmart.com.

On February 6, 2007, the company launched a "beta" version of its new movie download

service, mediadownloads.walmart.com, which sells 3,000 films and television episodes

from all major studios and television networks.[41]

This service was discontinued on

December 21, 2007

Wal-Mart Discount Stores

Wal-Mart Discount Stores are discount department stores with size varying from

51,000 square feet (4,738.1 m2) to 224,000 square feet (20,810.3 m

2), with an

average store covering about 102,000 square feet (9,476.1 m2). They carry general

merchandise and a selection of food. Many of these stores also have a garden center, a

pharmacy, Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait

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studio, a bank branch, a cell phone store and a fast food outlet. Some also have gasoline

stations.[43]

The first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962.

As of July 2009, there were 883 Wal-Mart Discount Stores in the United States. In

2006, the busiest in the world was one in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Wal-Mart Supercenter

Wal-Mart Supercenters are hypermarkets with size varying from 98,000 square feet

(9,104.5 m2) to 261,000 square feet (24,247.7 m

2), with an average of about

197,000 square feet (18,301.9 m2).

[39] These stock everything a Wal-Mart Discount

Store does, and also include a full-service supermarket, including meat and poultry,

baked goods, delicatessen, frozen foods, dairy products,

garden produce, and fresh seafood. Many Wal-Mart

Supercenters also have a garden center, pet shop, pharmacy,

Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo

processing lab, portrait studio, and numerous alcove shops,

such as cellular phone stores, hair and nail salons, video

rental stores, local bank branches, and fast food outlets

(usually Subway; several Supercenter and discount locations have also had McDonald's

locations, usually with reduced menus, beginning in the early 1990s). Some Dunkin'

Donuts or Blimpie restaurants can be found inside Walmart Supercenters. Some also sell

gasoline distributed by Murphy Oil Corporation (whose Wal-Mart stations are branded

as "Murphy USA"), Sunoco, Inc. ("Optima"), or Tesoro Corporation ("Mirastar").[43]

As of July 2009, there were 2,630 Wal-Mart Supercenters in the United States.[45]

The largest Supercenter in the United States, covering 260,000 square feet

(24,000 m2) and two floors, is located in Crossgates Commons in Albany, New York.

[46]

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market

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Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets are grocery stores that average about 42,000 square

feet (3,901.9 m2).

[39] They offer a variety of products, which include full lines of

groceries, pharmaceuticals, health and beauty aids, photo developing services, and a

limited selection of general merchandise.

Neighborhood Markets are used to fill the gap between Discount Stores and Supercenters.

The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998 in Bentonville, Arkansas. As of July

2009, there were 150 of them in the United States.[45]

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market now has the same logo as Wal-Mart does.

Marketside

Marketside is a new chain of grocery stores opened in October

2008, the stores are said to be less than half the size of a

conventional supermarket, as stated in the backgrounder found

on Wal-Mart's official homepage. Each of their stores is

open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sam's Club

Sam's Club is a chain of warehouse clubs which sell groceries and general merchandise,

often in large quantities. Sam's Club stores are "membership" stores and most customers

buy annual memberships. However, non-members can make purchases either by buying a

one-day membership or paying a surcharge based on the price of the purchase. Some

locations also sell gasoline.[43]

The first Sam's Club opened in 1983 in Midwest City,

Oklahoma under the name "Sam's Wholesale Club".

Sam's has found a niche market in recent years as a supplier to small businesses. All

Sam's Club stores are open early hours exclusively for

business members and their slogan is "We're in Business for

Small Business." In March 2009, the company announced

that it plans to enter the electronic medical records business by

offering a software package to physicians in small practices

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for $25,000. Wal-Mart is partnering with Dell and eClinicalWorks.com in this new

venture.

According to Wal-Mart's 2007 Annual Report, Sam's Club's sales during 2007 were

$42 billion, or 12.1% of Wal-Mart's total 2007 sales.[49]

As of January 31, 2008,

there were 591 Sam's Clubs in the United States.[45]

Wal-Mart International

Wal-Mart's international operations currently comprise 2,980 stores in 14 countries

outside the United States.[50]

According to Wal-Mart's 2006 Annual Report, the

International division accounted for about 20.1% of sales.[39]

There are wholly owned

operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico (although PR is part of the US,

the company's operations there are managed through its international division, and the

UK. With 1.8 million employees worldwide, the company is the largest private employer

in the US and Mexico, and one of the largest in Canada.

Wal-Mart has operated in Canada since its acquisition of 122 stores comprising the

Woolco division of Woolworth Canada, Inc in 1994. As of October 31, 2008, it operates

310 locations.

Sales in 2006 for Wal-Mart's UK subsidiary, Asda (which retains the name it had

before acquisition by Wal-Mart), accounted for 42.7% of sales of Wal-Mart's

international division. In contrast to Wal-Mart's US operations, Asda was originally

and still remains primarily a grocery chain, but with a stronger focus on non-food items

than most UK supermarket chains other than Tesco. At the end of 2007, Asda had 340

stores, some of which are branded Asda Wal-Mart Supercentres, as well as Asda

Supermarkets, Asda Living, George High Street and Asda Essentials stores.

In addition to its wholly-owned international operations,

Wal-Mart has joint ventures in China and several majority-

owned subsidiaries. Wal-Mart's majority-owned subsidiary

in Mexico is Walmex. In Japan, Wal-Mart owns about

53% of Seiyu. Additionally, Wal-Mart owns 51% of the

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Central American Retail Holding Company (CARHCO), consisting of more than 360

supermarkets and other stores in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and

Costa Rica.

In July 2006, Wal-Mart announced its withdrawal from Germany due to sustained

losses in a highly competitive market. The stores were sold to the German company Metro

during Wal-Mart's fiscal third quarter.

In November 2006, Wal-Mart announced a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises to open

retail stores in India. As foreign corporations are not allowed to directly enter the retail

sector in India, Wal-Mart will operate through franchises and handle the wholesale end.

The partnership will involve two joint ventures; Bharti will manage the front end involving

opening of retail outlets, while Wal-Mart will take care of the back end, such as cold

chains and logistics.

In January 2009, the company acquired a controlling interest in the largest grocer in

Chile, Distribucion y Servicio D&S SA

Private label brands

About 40% of products sold in Wal-Mart are private label store brands, or products

offered by Wal-Mart and produced through contracts with manufacturers. Wal-Mart

began offering private label brands in 1991 with the launch of Sam's Choice, a brand of

drinks produced by Cott Beverages exclusively for Wal-Mart. Sam's Choice quickly

became popular, and by 1993 was the third beverage brand in the United States. Other

Wal-Mart brands include Great Value and Equate in the US and Canada, and Smart

Price in Britain.

Sam's Choice,

Originally introduced as Sam's American Choice in 1991, is premium retail brand in

food and selected hard goods. Named for Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, Sam's

Choice forms the premium tier of Wal-Mart's two-tiered core corporate grocery branding

strategy that also includes the larger Great Value brand of discount-priced staple items.

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Compared to Great Value products and to other national brands, Sam's Choice is

positioned as a premium retail brand and is offered at a price competitive with standard

national brands. It typically offers either superior quality or unique products in a given

product category, or items in categories where the market leader is an "icon" (for example

Coca-Cola in soft drinks).

Great Value

Great Value was launched in 1993 and forms the second tier, or national brand equivalent

of Wal-Mart’s grocery branding strategy.

Products offered at Wal-Mart through the Great Value brand are claimed to be as good

as national brand offerings, but are typically sold at a lower price because of minimal

marketing and advertising expense. As a house or generic brand, the Great Value line does

not consist of goods produced by Walmart, but is a labeling system for items manufactured

and packaged by a number of agricultural and food corporations, such as ConAgra,

which, in addition to releasing products under its own brands and for Wal-Mart, also

manufactures and brands foodstuffs for a variety of other supermarket chains.

Other brands

Apparel

Athletic Works is a brand for athletic clothing, such as gym shorts. The brand is

also used for sports equipment.

Faded Glory is a brand for classic Americana clothing and shoes.

Kid Connection is a brand used for a variety of products targeted for children,

including toys and clothing.

Life is a brand of men's underwear styled by Jockey. The range includes briefs,

boxers, boxer-briefs, trunks, thongs, and undershirts.

Metro 7 is Wal-Mart's newest brand of women's apparel

No Boundaries, abbreviated on its labels as NoBo, is a line of apparel and home

furnishings targeted at teenagers and young college students.

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Puritan is a brand for basic clothing including tee shirts, undergarments, socks,

and others.

Simply Basic features family-oriented and Beauty department. These products to

some extent correspond to products already under the Equate brand, but are priced

lower.

Lei is a brand consisting of mostly girls' jeans.

Homelines

Get It Together products include furniture and house wares items.

Home Trends products include large and small furniture, small appliances, and

home office products.

Mainstays products include curtains, bedding, some small home furnishings, and

various other products, including office supplies.

Canopy is a new home product line that debuted in 2008 that features "timeless"

coordinated solutions for rooms - living, dining, bed, bath, home office, and other

domestic goods.

Hardlines

Color Place is the brand used for paint.

Durabrand is the name used for home electronics such as televisions, CD players,

surround sound systems

Equate is a brand used for consumable pharmacy and health and beauty items,

such as shaving cream, skin lotion, over-the-counter medications, and pregnancy

tests.

EverStart is the brand for automotive and lawn mower batteries. The brand is also

used for battery related accessories, such as jumper cables.

Holiday Time is used for Christmas items such as Christmas tree decorations,

wrapping paper, and cards.

Ilo is another brand used for electronics. It is used for LCD TVs, LCD

monitors, DVD players/recorders, and MP3 players.

Kid Connection is used for toys.

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Ol' Roy is a brand of dog food

Ozark Trail is a brand used for outdoor equipment.

ReliOn It consists chiefly of medical equipment in the following categories: blood

pressure monitoring, diabetes monitoring, and cough and cold-related products

Spring Valley is the brand for vitamins and other nutritional supplements.

Special Kitty is a brand of cat food and litter.

SuperTech is Wal-Mart's brand of motor oil that is found in the automotive

departments.

Departments-

All the wall-mart products are placed in 20 different departments-

Apparel

Accessories

Baby

Bags

Boys

Girls

Juniors

Maternity

Men

Men's Big & Tall

Shoes

Women

Women's Plus

Baby

Baby Registry

Bedding & Decor

Car Seats

Clothing

Diapering &

Potty

Feeding

Furniture

Gear

Gifts for Baby

Health & Safety

Maternity

Nursery

Strollers

Toddler Room

Toys

Travel Solutions

Books

Coming Soon

New Releases

Top 50 Sellers

Clearance

Electronics

Audio

Auto

Cameras &

Camcorders

Cell Phones

Computers

DVD & Blue-ray

Players

GPS &

Navigation

Home Office

Home Theater

iPods & MP3

Players

TVs

Video Games

For the Home

Appliances

Bath

Bedding

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Crafts

Decor

Furniture

Gifts &

Celebrations

Heating &

Cooling

Home

Improvement

Kids' & Teen

Rooms

Kitchen & Dining

Luggage

Massage & Spa

Mattresses

Outdoor Living

Personal Care

Pets

Storage &

Organization

Gifts &

Celebrations

Crafts

Gift Baskets

Gift Cards

Gifts by Recipient

Gifts for Baby

Greeting Cards &

Invitations

Party Supplies

Personalized Gifts

Plants &

Artificial Flowers

Wedding

Grocery BETA

Bakery & Bread

Baking

Beer, Wine &

Spirits

Beverages

Canned Goods &

Soups

Cereal &

Breakfast Foods

Condiments, Oils

& Salad Dressing

Cookies & Snacks

Dairy, Eggs &

Cheese

Deli

Frozen Foods

Grains, Pasta &

Sides

Home Care

Infant &

Childcare

Meat, Seafood &

Poultry

Produce

Sauces, Spices &

Herbs

Health & Beauty

BETA

Beauty,

Cosmetics & Skin

Care

Diet & Nutrition

Home Medical

Infant &

Childcare

Massage & Spa

Medicine Cabinet

Personal Care

Pharmacy

Vitamins & Herbs

In Stores Now

Ahorra Mas,

Vive Major

Auto Care

Baby & Me

Beauty Center

Food & Recipes

Center

FREE Samples

Health & Wellness

In-Store Events

In-Store

Rollbacks

New In Stores

Pets Center

Save & Live

Green

Jewelry

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Bracelets

Earrings

Jewelry Storage

Pendants &

Necklaces

Rings

Watches

Movies

Blu-ray

Coming Soon

DVD Store

New Releases

TV Shows

Music

CD Store

Coming Soon

MP3 Music

Downloads

New Releases

Top 100 CDs

Outdoor Living

Grills & Outdoor

Cooking

Hot Tubs &

Saunas

Lawn & Garden

Gardening

Outdoor Decor

Patio Furniture

Pets

Birds

Cats

Dogs

Fish

Horse Supplies

Livestock Feed

Small Animals

Photo Center

Calendars

Exclusive Card

Designs

Memory Books

Prints

Rollbacks

Sports & Fitness

Bikes, Scooters &

Skates

Camping

Exercise & Fitness

Fishing & Boating

Game Room

Golf

GPS &

Navigation

Hunting

Optics

Outdoor Play

Sport Fan Shop

Team Sports

Tennis & Racquet

Toys

Action Figures

Bikes, Scooters &

Skates

Dolls & Stuffed

Toys

Games & Game

Room

Kids' Electronics

Learning Toys

Outdoor Play

Party Supplies

Preschool

Pretend Play

Riding Toys

Vehicles & Radio

Control

Video Games

Video Games

Game Boy

Advance

GameCube

Nintendo DS /

DSi

Nintendo Wii

Other Consoles

PC Gaming

PlayStation 2

PlayStation 3

PlayStation

Portable

Xbox 360

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Fig- Beauty product Classification and SKUs

beauty products

hair careskin care products

moisturiser

herbal medical regular

with SP-15

lakme brand X blue lizard lietusequate

(private label)

100 ml 150 ml 200 ml

without SP-15

body oil sunscreen body lotion body cream

Classification

Department

SKU

Categories

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Fig- classification of Apparels

Apparel

Menswear

t shirt formal shirt trouser

Accessories

Gym Kitwomens gift

hamperwomens

money purse

womenswear

Classificatio

n

SKU

Categories

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Store Design at Wal-Mart

Store Designed to Improve Customer Experience

In recent months, Wal-Mart has taken major steps to refresh its stores, merchandising

and customer experience. The improvements have all come together in the company’s newest

stores, such as the Madill Wal-Mart.

The new Wal-Mart features wide aisles, enhanced service and a layout designed to make

the shopping experience more convenient for customers. Wal-Mart aligned the departments

that customers shop most frequently. The pharmacy, for example, is located at the front of

the store making it easier for customers to pick up their prescriptions.

The layout of the store is easy to navigate, which will save the customers time as they

shop for everyday necessities. By grouping the products that customers most often purchase

including health and beauty and pet supplies, they are making one-stop shopping even

easier.

A bright interior color palette creates an inviting shopping experience and helps define the

store’s merchandise areas. Lower shelving creates an improved

sightline and directional signage on every aisle helps customers find

what they are looking for quickly. Wal-Mart also combined the

customer service desk, site to store pick-up location in one area

near the entrance. Customers now have easy access to these

services, as well as associates on hand to help meet their needs.

All the typical wal-mart stores have a well planned exterior. In

all the centers they have a large parking area outside the store. The entry to the store is

through multiple gates at different sizes of the store.

Lighting

Wal-Mart basically use attractive colors for different part of the stores. This is aimed at

attracting the customers to that part of the store. For the parts presenting the products for

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the youths and the child they basically use bright and strong color and the same type of

color is also used for the grocery and other fmcg products.

The lighting of the Wal-Mart stores are also very bright. Recently they have planned to

change the lighting systems of 500 of their stores. For that they have selected the LED

lights instead of the conventional lights. Again in many stores they use transparent or

semi transparent roof for the natural light to come inside the stores.

Store layout of Wal-Mart

A well-planned retail store layout allows a retailer to maximize the sales for each square

foot of the allocated selling space within the store.

Store layouts generally show the size and location of each department, any permanent

structures, fixture locations and customer traffic patterns.

Each floor plan and store layout will depend on the type of products sold, the building

location and how much the business can afford to put into the overall store design.

The Wal-Mart store are of different layouts depending upon the local needs and the type

of the retail format. These are basically the combination of both the grid as well as the

race track layout depending upon the products on display and the part of the store. For

example some of the layouts of the stores are given-

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Fig- A standard store layout of Wal-Mart supermarket

In Wal-Mart they apply different store layout for the different departments.

For the vegetables and the fmcg products they apply the grid layout.

Fig- vegetable on display

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In the selection of the layout special stress on the visibility of the products is given and

also at the movement of the customers though the grids. For that special grid systems are

arranged.

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For the apparels and the electronic products they basically apply the free form layout

where the products are arranged in a spacious and

relaxing environment.

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Planogram

The planogram is a visual diagram, or drawing, that provides in detail where every

product in a retail store should be placed. These schematics not only present a flow chart

for the particular merchandise departments within a store layout but also show on which

aisle and on what shelf an item is located. A planogram should also illustrate how many

facings are allocated for each SKU.

Some of the planogram of Wal-Mart available in the net are provided here

Fig- Planogram of fmcg products

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Fig- Actual arrangement in the shelves

SWOT Analysis Wal-Mart.

Strengths

Wal-Mart is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money,

convenience and a wide range of products all in one store.

Wal-Mart has grown substantially over recent years, and has experienced global

expansion (for example its purchase of the United Kingdom based retailer ASDA)

The company has a core competence involving its use of information technology to

support its international logistics system. For example, it can see how individual

products are performing country-wide, store-by-store at a glance. IT also

supports Wal-Mart's efficient procurement

A focused strategy is in place for human resource management and development.

People are key to Wal-Mart's business and it invests time and money in training

people, and retaining a developing them

Weaknesses

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Wal-Mart is the World's largest grocery retailer and control of its empire, despite

its IT advantages, could leave it weak in some areas due to the huge span of

control

Since Wal-Mart sell products across many sectors (such as clothing, food, or

stationary), it may not have the flexibility of some of its more focused competitors

The company is global, but has a presence in relatively few countries Worldwide

Opportunities

To take over, merge with, or form strategic alliances with other global retailers,

focusing on specific markets such as Europe or the Greater China Region

The stores are currently only trade in a relatively small number of countries.

Therefore there are tremendous opportunities for future business in expanding

consumer markets, such as China and India

New locations and store types offer Wal-Mart opportunities to exploit market

development. They diversified from large super centres, to local and mall-based

sites

Opportunities exist for Wal-Mart to continue with its current strategy of large,

super centers

Threats

Being number one means that you are the target of competition, locally and

globally

Being a global retailer means that you are exposed to political problems in the

countries that you operate in

The cost of producing many consumer products tends to have fallen because of

lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturing cost have fallen due to outsourcing to

low-cost regions of the World. This has lead to price competition, resulting in

price deflation in some ranges. Intense price competition is a threat.

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Analysis

Wal-mart is the biggest retailer in the world with thousands of retail shops in different

formats. This retail giants has got to this position because of the cheap process and the

locations and the quality of the service and the ambience at the Wal-Mart stores.

Wal- Mart contains low priced goods. As a result, people can save their money because

they can find many items cheaper in Wal-Mart than other supermarkets, especially; the

basic needs for families such a sugar, soda, vegetables and fruit. For example, the box of

Coca-Cola in Wal-Mart is 6.00 dollars but in other supermarkets are almost 7.00

dollars. In addition, because it is cheap, Wal-Mart is good for a big family. People

can buy more quantities of their basic’s needs. For example, 2 bags of bread cost 2.00

dollars but in other supermarkets 1 bag of bread cost almost $ 1.49. So by these ways

people can save a lot of money when they decide to buy from Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is convenient. People can find everything for their needs in Wal-Mart.

Actually, American’s can find most of their basic needs such as milk, bread, fruit and

vegetables or their secondary needs such as perfumes and watches in Wal-Mart because

the branches of Wal-Mart are usually big. Also, they can find Wal-Mart in many cities

and towns in America. That means Wal-Mart is available in big cities like New York,

middle cities like Kansas City and small cities like Carbondale. As a result, people when

move to another city because their change their work or their university, they can find big

supermarket that contains their needs.

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Wal-Mart has good services. For example, people can return any item that they bought.

So if someone bought a vacuum and it was not appropriate for him or for her, he or she

can return it. Also, Wal-Mart has enough parking. For Example, if people come to the

Wal–Mart in the afternoon on Sunday, at time which a lot of people go shopping, people

can find easily parking for their cars. Also, the employers spread in many situations in

Wal-Mart, so if people have any questions, they can ask them and the employers will

help them. As a result, when people visit Wal-Mart, they do not worry about finding

parking or about returning inappropriate products or about finding employers to ask them.

In addition to these features Wal-Mart stores are centrally located to attract everyone

and in fact the retail chain has presence in almost all the US cities and towns . The

ambience of the stores is also so that they most use of the store space is possible in terms of

the display of the products and the continence of the customers at the stores.

Wal-Mart gives special attention on the display of the products. It applies the different

layouts to different products. Like for the fmcg and the grocery products the grid layout is

applied so as to display more and more items to the customers at the given space. But for

the apparels or the electronic products they apply the free form layout. Overall the wall

mart stores apply both the grid and the free form layouts to their stores. The layouts of

the Wal-Mart supermarkets are basically of the race trace where the different parts have

different layouts according to the products. The lighting of the stores are also bright and

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there is always mild music on the background. Wal-Mart hypermarkets use natural light

as much as possible in the stores. Recently they have applied the LED in their stores.

Wal-Mart plays a huge role in the lives of millions of Americans. For

some of them, Wal-Mart is the source of grocery and every day supplies, for others a

saver during hard time and disasters. Certainly, Wal-Mart brings a lot of benefits to all

those people. By shopping in big Wal-Mart stores, people get more than they expect:

wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed

satisfaction with what they bought; friendly knowledgeable service and confidence in the

bright future of those people, who are and will be supported by Wal-Mart until the

constant loyal customers keep on doing big or quick stop shopping in Wal-Mart stores as

often as possible.

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Reference

http://vmsd.com/content/walmart-s-sales-decline

http://www.walmart.com/

http://www.economywatch.com/credit-card/company/walmart.html

http://www.oppapers.com/subjects/store-design-in-wal-mart-page1.html

http://www.livemint.com/2009/08/13172558/WalMart-posts-flat-Q2-

profit.html

Retail management

Indian retail sector(2007)