Case Study Analysis of “Wal-Mart: the Main Street Merchant of Doom”
Case Study Analysis of “Wal-Mart: The Main Street Merchant of Doom”
Issues/Problems:
The rapid and enormous expansion of Wal-Mart and its market share have changed the landscape of Main Street in towns and cities across America. By 1981, Wal-Mart became Americas largest retailer. It has approx. 6,700 stores worldwide, $345 billion in net sales (2007), and roughly 100 million weekly customers.
Wal-Marts massive footprint has had three primary areas of concern:
1) Putting local small business merchants out of business
2) The creation of urban sprawl
3) Traffic congestion
• Largest purchase made from overseas which forced local manufacturers out of business.
• Oppositions from labor unions and activists organizations regards to low wage, low benefits and taking advantage of illegal immigrants.
• Gender discrimination against women.
• Most sued company in America in respect of lawsuits.
In the mid 1980′s, Wal-Mart was becoming responsible for the loss of American jobs due to the sheer volume of foreign purchases from its overseas vendors. The company was contacted by then Gov. Bill Clinton and he requested that they devise a plan to support American manufacturing. Wal-Mart responded with a “Buy American” program to support American manufacturers, but the plan was eventually abandoned. Wal-Mart is currently the largest purchaser of Chinese products. This shift in policy caused the loss of American manufacturing jobs once again. The aggressive marketing of Wal-Mart, its purchasing power and intent to provide very inexpensive goods to the consumer has shut down many local merchants. Even with continued resistance in many communities, Wal-Mart has continued to expand worldwide in brute force. The varying cultures across the globe that Wal-Mart attempts to move into have also proven to be very resistant. There have been cases of Wal-Mart not respecting the language or culture of the respecting community and they have closed their doors or taken a
Issues/Problems:
The rapid and enormous expansion of Wal-Mart and its market share have changed the landscape of Main Street in towns and cities across America. By 1981, Wal-Mart became Americas largest retailer. It has approx. 6,700 stores worldwide, $345 billion in net sales (2007), and roughly 100 million weekly customers.
Wal-Marts massive footprint has had three primary areas of concern:
1) Putting local small business merchants out of business
2) The creation of urban sprawl
3) Traffic congestion
• Largest purchase made from overseas which forced local manufacturers out of business.
• Oppositions from labor unions and activists organizations regards to low wage, low benefits and taking advantage of illegal immigrants.
• Gender discrimination against women.
• Most sued company in America in respect of lawsuits.
In the mid 1980′s, Wal-Mart was becoming responsible for the loss of American jobs due to the sheer volume of foreign purchases from its overseas vendors. The company was contacted by then Gov. Bill Clinton and he requested that they devise a plan to support American manufacturing. Wal-Mart responded with a “Buy American” program to support American manufacturers, but the plan was eventually abandoned. Wal-Mart is currently the largest purchaser of Chinese products. This shift in policy caused the loss of American manufacturing jobs once again. The aggressive marketing of Wal-Mart, its purchasing power and intent to provide very inexpensive goods to the consumer has shut down many local merchants. Even with continued resistance in many communities, Wal-Mart has continued to expand worldwide in brute force. The varying cultures across the globe that Wal-Mart attempts to move into have also proven to be very resistant. There have been cases of Wal-Mart not respecting the language or culture of the respecting community and they have closed their doors or taken a