Marketing analysis of Wal-Mart

Authors Avatar by aroobjanjua (student)

Keele University

Marketing Management

MAN 20058

Resit Assignment


Marketing Planning

Introduction

According to Drucker (1955), planning invloves the development of strategies based on an organization’s evaluation of the marketplace and understanding of managerial expectations and organizational capability.Marketing planning is a critical management process on which the success of a company depends. A company's efforts especially marketing efforts are included in Marketing plans.Through marketing plan it is easy to organize and coordinate the efforts used in direct marketing. Companies tend to be successful who are keen in understanding their potential customers along with their potential competitors , such companies tend to have good customer services too.

Discussion

Marketing plan of Wal-Mart is decribed here.With annual revenues exceeding US$400 billion, Wal-Mart is a retail colossus and at present the world's largest corporation. Wal-Mart is a budget retailer that sells an unusually wide range of consumer goods in its enormous big-box stores, which first appeared in the U.S. South and Midwest in the mid-1960s. Since then, they spread rapidly across North America and, in various guises; Wal-Mart now operates throughout Europe, Asia, and in certain parts of Africa.

The founder of Wal-Mart was Sam Walton. This company was created in 1962 in Arkansas. Walton pursued a budget retail strategy from the outset, sourcing from only the cheapest suppliers and locating Wal-Mart stores outside regional centers. Wal-Mart's organizational culture bore the mark of its founder and its rural origins. Wal-Mart praised small-town and (to some degree) Christian values, including loyalty, hard work, conformity, and patriotism, and it maintained a gendered division of labor such that most service-oriented employees were women while most managers and executives were men. Although it has changed significantly since its establishment, Wal-Mart continues to reflect important features of its early beginnings.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

  • Biggest Retailer in the entire World
  • Faithful Customer Base
  • Low Pricing Daily
  • Renowned Brand Name
  • Supply Chain and Logistics Capability
  • Broad Network of Stores
  • Caters to a Great Range of Needs
  • Opening of New Stores Constantly

Weaknesses

  • Growth in the Cost Structure
  • Large number of Inventories
  • Bad Reputation Related to Treated of Employees
  • Overhead Expense Increased
  • Lackluster Sales
  • Selective Purchases of Middle Class Customers
  • Crowded/ Cluttered Store

Opportunities

  • Fashion Goods Groups: Potential for Higher Margins
  • Economies of Scale
  • Sustainability and Wealth of the Middle Class on Increase

Threats

  • Expansion Expenses On Rise
  • Great Energy Costs
  • Increasing Competition

Competitive Assessment

Join now!

Wal-Mart has various competitors in the industry namely: Target, Costco, Kroger, Walgreens and Kmart. Discount competitors Kmart and Target had paved the way for low-cost fashion items with their respective lines of designer labels.

Wal-Mart has been very keen in providing the individual bargains despite of how they fit with the rest of the store’s merchandise . But nowadays, consumers expect more than just great items. Target, which is one of Wal-Mart’s closest competitors, has eluded Wal-Mart in terms of developing a storewide aesthetic look and left it vulnerable since Target is more fashion-oriented.

Marketing ...

This is a preview of the whole essay