Wal Mart Stores Inc
Abstract
Explores the marketing strategies employed by Wal-Mart Corporation and their efforts to compete in the "new" economy.
Includes an assessment of Wal-Mart's expressed and apparent positioning and value proposition based upon internal documents, public relations statements, web page and advertising.
Includes an assessment of Wal-Mart's competitive position and strategy.
Includes an assessment of Wal-Mart's marketing mix.
Introduction
The new economy, characterized by sophisticated technology, global communication and "knowledge as a commodity" demands a great deal from organizations that intend to remain competitive. Wal-Mart corporation does not just compete in their field, they dominate it.
Wal-Mart is the largest retail operation in the world today. According to the Wal-Mart corporate website at http://www.walmartstores.com, the company's net sales totaled $191.329 billion for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2001. This makes Wal-Mart the fourth largest company in the United States of America. The size and consistent profit generation of Wal-Mart Corporation make it a logical choice for the study of marketing techniques employed by successful businesses.
Definitions
Marketing mix:
How much is spent and what percentage of marketing dollars go to advertising instead of other types of more highly targeted marketing communications. (Hill and Rifkin, 1999)
New Economy:
The way that business is conducted, characterized by a dozen or so themes: a) knowledge as a commodity b) digitalization c)virtuality d) molecularization e) networking f) disintermediation g)hyper media h) innovation i) customer as product designer j) immediate, k) global and l) discordant. (Tapscott, 1997)
Organizationa ...