Walmart Globalization
Walmart globalization faults.
Walmart is not only struggling at domestic level but also at international level. For instance, in 2013, Walmart realized a mere 1% growth rate because of the struggles it experienced in the countries such as Brazil China, Germany, Korea, Indian and China. The revenues per square feet in the same year declined by 4% due to the various challenges in these countries (Forbes.com, 2017. Some of these countries do not contribute much to the revenues of the Walmart but have greater potential due to the massive size of their emerging market. Therefore it is important for the Walmart to address the challenges facing various markets at international level. Despite Walmart being in China for more than 18 years, it has only established 408 stores only. The main problem for such small growth is a failure of the company to fully understand the factors determining the consumer’s purchasing patterns (Walmart.com, 2017). In China, for instance, customers are more oriented towards tailor-made goods and a shopping environment that considers the culture of locals.
Goals: come up with a sales plan that considers the culture and economic patterns of a particular country.
Key characteristics
- Be aware of the competition from both the local and international companies and investigate the strategies they are using to attract more customers.
- Offer the services that consider the customers’ needs and provide a pleasurable shopping experience.
- Make sure that Walmart consumers are aware of the products the company is selling.
Action plan
- Walmart must investigate the cultures and economic trends in any country they intend to establish a new retail store.
- The company should study the competition trends both from local and international companies. This can be achieved through interviewing the customers who shop at these retails shops to get reasons why they prefer shopping in this shops.
Metrics
- Monitor the digital marketing KPIs such as incremental sales, social sentiments, web traffic sources and end action rates.
- Offer the sales team with the right indicators of performance such as product performance, sales growth average purchase value, and average profit margin.
Stakeholders faults
Stakeholders play a crucial role in a particular company, therefore pushing the company to put into consideration their interest. Presently, Walmart has many stakeholders because of its massive organizational size and capacity to operate internationally (Meyer, 2017). Nonetheless, only a few stakeholders have a considerable impact on the company. Walmart has four categories of stakeholders in 27 countries it operates in, and they include, investors, customers, employees, and suppliers. Investors in the countries Walmart operates still remain unconvinced about the retailer’s sustainability turnaround complaining that the value of shares has been going down rather than increasing. On the other hand, Walmart employees worldwide have been complaining about the low wages offered by the company in comparison with other business within the same field (Meyer, 2017). There has also been a tense relationship between Walmart and its suppliers. For example lately, Walmart is exerting more pressure on suppliers to cut the prices on their products in an effort to re-establish its famous low-price strategy and improve its poor performing United States sales.
Goal: Establish a plan that will ensure harmony between Walmart and its stakeholders.
Action plan
- Make a slight but noteworthy wage increment in almost every sector to avoid discrimination sentiments from some sectors.
- Strive to improve the relationship between the company and the suppliers by at least meeting the suppliers in the middle and abandon its stance on suppliers selling their product at excessively low prices.
Metrics
- improve the customer experience all over the world by proving the quality services
- Build a harmonious relationship with the stakeholders including customers, suppliers, investors and employees.
References
Forbes.com, (2017). Challenges Wal-Mart Faces In Mexico and China forbes.com. Retrieved 10 April 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/04/02/challenges-wal-mart-faces-in-mexico-and-china/#6868299b17d4
Meyer, P. (2017). Walmart’s Stakeholders: Analysis & Recommendations – Panmore Institute. Panmore Institute. Retrieved 6 April 2017, from http://panmore.com/walmart-stakeholders-analysis-recommendations
Walmart.com (2017). Our Story. Corporate.walmart.com. Retrieved 6 April 2017, from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story