Nike and Walmart

In today’s world, Nike and Wal-Mart are two big corporations that play a vital role in many lives. They both started from humble beginnings and have become a big phenomenon not only in the United States, but globally as well. Through what I would call very smart business concepts both have been able to grow exponentially over the past few decades. Wal-Mart has been able to pretty much dominate retail while Nike has been able to pop up first in peoples mind when it comes to sports apparel. Wal-Mart’s idea of buying many items and selling them at lower costs than the competition has made them the most successful corporation today, and that most likely will not change any time soon. Nike’s unique way of advertising and endorsing big time and influential athletes is a major part in their success, making other brands such as Reebok and Adidas almost irrelevant to many. How were these two companies, now worldwide able to rise to the top and continue to dominate their markets? What goes on behind closed doors that will keep these corporations at the top and keep driving many of the individuals who are at the top of the corporate ladder?

Who would have known that a small store that started out in a small town would have grown to be the biggest and most popular retail store there is today. In a documentary, “Wal-Mart, High Cost of Low Prices”, viewers learn the history, culture and the driving force of Wal-Mart. It was definitely a shock for me. Sam Walton started Wal-Mart hoping that if he bought a bulk of goods and sold them at a cheaper price he would be able to make profit; turns out that he was absolutely correct. Today there are more than 8,000 stores worldwide. While many consumers get fascinated about prices on goods and whatnot, what about some of Wal-Mart’s corporate customers who have to sell to Wal-Mart to get their brands on shelves. Wal-Mart buys goods from companies to put goods of the shelves. What I learned was that for the most part Wal-Mart