Wal-Mart’s global expansion strategy
Coursework MT 1039A
Daniela Meinert
0803739
13th March 2009
Table of content
1. Introduction p.3
2. Corporate Strategy and the Company “Wal-Mart” p.3
3. Strategy execution p.4
3.1. Differentiation Strategy p.4
3.2 Cost-Leadership-Strategy p.5
4. Cost reduction and Product Replenishment p.5
5. Global expansion p.5
5.1 Global Movements p.6
5.2 Quick expansion ' a successful approach for Wal-Mart? P.7
5.3. FDIs and a slower pace p.8
6. Market research p.8
7. Conclusion p.9
Reference List p. 10
1. Introduction
After leading very successful operations in the United States, the world’s larges retail chain Wal-Mart started to conquer other markets on the globe. Founder Sam Walton paved the way for an international movement, when he expressed the thought to raise the standard of living worldwide by offering merchandising to low, affordable prices and quick services.
After being successful in Mexico and North America in the early 90ies, the retail chain also started to penetrate markets worldwide. They operate now in 15 foreign countries (www.walmartstores.com), managed by the International Division, but have not been everywhere successful.
Nevertheless, Wal-Mart is today one of the largest retail chains, one of the largest companies and one of the biggest employers worldwide.
2. Corporate Strategy and the Company “Wal-Mart”
A corporate strategy is the fundamental orientation of a company, developed for a long-term period (Homburg, Ch and Krohmer, H., 2006). It explains the company’s direction and is important for the company’s credibility and success (Koopman, J., 2001). Besides defining objectives, a corporate strategy usually involves an investigation of existing and potential factors for a company, as their clientele, competitors and the company itself. Created policies, philosophies,...