Walmart
Wal Mart's position starts at two ends of the spectrum - make as many things as widely available to as many people as possible with small margins. So big turn over nets big profits but ots of sales need to be made to get that profit.
Next, because you have so many customers, SQUEEZE the life out of your suppliers - get them to give you even cheaper wholesale rates and advertising support - make them carry the cost of distribution and warehousing, force them to meet your IT needs. This reduces your own costs whilst forcing your suppliers to carry the can - the end result - greater margins for you.
Next, deny access to new suppliers who don't give you an even better wholesale rate. But keep them interested enough so that when one of your current suppliers goes out of business because you have milked them dry and they go bankrupt, you'll have a new supplier ready to step into the grave.
Its not a very wholesome way of doing business, essentially being more parasitical than participative but it works.
Another powerful part of the Wal-Mart market strategy is their use of information. They match the inventory of the store with the preferences of the customers by analyzing every sale. They look at sales volume, inventory turnover, packaging, price points, and a many other variables by product or group of products to create a profile of the buying habits of the customers at the store/site level.
Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, Wal-Mart followed an amazing pattern of success and growth, eclipsing all other U.S. department store retailers by the early 1990?s.? In early spring 2001, Wal-Mart enjoyed a huge market capitalization of over $230B, which was down from highs of nearly $300B in early 2000.? Over the last year, however, Wal-Mart ...