Tesco V Walmart
BA. Honours
Business Management
BUSINESS MATTERS
Business Issues:
Tesco v Walmart
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
1. Introduction 3
2. Business Issues in the Retail Sector 3
3. Financial Health 5
3.1 Tesco 5
3.2 Walmart 7
4. Cultural Style & Leadership 9
4.1 Tesco 9
4.2 Walmart 10
4.3 Ethical & Environmental Issues 12
5. Conclusions 12
6. References 13
7. Bibliography 14
1. Introduction
In 2009 the grocery market in the United Kingdom was worth 146.3 billion pounds, an increase of 4.8% on the previous year [see Figure 1]. Groceries account for fifty-two pence of every pound in retail spending [Newbold, 2010, online].
Figure 1: UK Grocery Market Performance 1998 - 2009
Source: IGD Research 2009
This report looks at contemporary business issues in the grocery sector and then compares the financial health, leadership, cultural style, ethical initiatives and environmental values of two of the biggest business names in the industry – Tesco and Walmart.
2. Business Issues in the Retail Sector
At the expense of small, specialist shops, supermarkets increasingly manage the supply chain from farm to shelf. Technological improvements in stock control and checkout scanning, for example, have lowered costs and attracted customers. Loyalty card schemes provide these superstores with an insight into consumer preferences, enabling them to better match products with
Business Management
BUSINESS MATTERS
Business Issues:
Tesco v Walmart
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
1. Introduction 3
2. Business Issues in the Retail Sector 3
3. Financial Health 5
3.1 Tesco 5
3.2 Walmart 7
4. Cultural Style & Leadership 9
4.1 Tesco 9
4.2 Walmart 10
4.3 Ethical & Environmental Issues 12
5. Conclusions 12
6. References 13
7. Bibliography 14
1. Introduction
In 2009 the grocery market in the United Kingdom was worth 146.3 billion pounds, an increase of 4.8% on the previous year [see Figure 1]. Groceries account for fifty-two pence of every pound in retail spending [Newbold, 2010, online].
Figure 1: UK Grocery Market Performance 1998 - 2009
Source: IGD Research 2009
This report looks at contemporary business issues in the grocery sector and then compares the financial health, leadership, cultural style, ethical initiatives and environmental values of two of the biggest business names in the industry – Tesco and Walmart.
2. Business Issues in the Retail Sector
At the expense of small, specialist shops, supermarkets increasingly manage the supply chain from farm to shelf. Technological improvements in stock control and checkout scanning, for example, have lowered costs and attracted customers. Loyalty card schemes provide these superstores with an insight into consumer preferences, enabling them to better match products with
References: Associated Content, (2010), International Grocery market, [online] available at http:/ www.associatedcontent.com, [Accessed March 24th, 2010]. Atrill, Peter and Melaney, Eddie, (2004), Accounting and finance, for non-specialists. Enfield, J., (2009), Innovation in the Grocery Market, [online] available at http:/ www.energymatters.com, [Accessed March 29th, 2010]. Fishman, Charles, (2006), The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World 's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It 's Transforming the American Economy (Hardcover). Foley, L. (2009), [online] available at http:/ www.online-business-entrepreneur.co.uk.financial report.pdf, [Accessed March 21st, 2010]. Forbes Corp. (2009), The Retail Industry, [online] available at http:/ www.forbes.com.finance news/retail, [Accessed March 29th, 2010]. I.G.D. (2010), Global Supermarket Trends, [online] available at http:/ www.igd.com.grocery market, [Accessed March 24th, 2010]. I.S. [International Supermarkets], (2010), Recent Supermarket Growth, [online] available at http:/ www.international supermarketnews.com.pdf [Accessed March 24th, 2010]. Luce, Stephanie, (2005), Welcome to Wal-Mart: Always Low Prices, Always Low Wages. Monthly Review, Vol. 56, April 2005. Miner, J Newbold, T, (2010), Feb, 22nd The UK Grocery Market is Booming, [online] available at http:/ www.guardian.co.uk, [Accessed March 29th, 2010]. Salaman, G. (Ed.). (2001). Understanding Business Organizations. London: Routledge. Tesco (2009), Annual Turnover, [online] available at http:/ www.tesco.com/market.report, [Accessed March 29th, 2010]. Walmart (2010), About Us, [online] available at http:/ www.walmart.com/statistics.pdf, [Accessed March 25th, 2010]. Wiener, Jon, (2009), The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business. 7. Bibliography Atrill, Peter and Melaney, Eddie, (2004), Accounting and finance, for non-specialists. Buchanan, D & Huczynski, A., (2004), Organisational Behaviour: An introductory text. 5th Ed., Prentice Hall. Child, P. (2002) "Taking Tesco Global: David Reid, Deputy Chairman of the United Kingdom 's Largest Grocer, Explains the Company 's International Strategy." The McKinsey Quarterly. p135. Competition Commission, (2000), Supermarkets: a report on the supply of groceries from multiple stores in the United Kingdom. Cooper, D., (2003), ‘Findings from the Competition Commission’s inquiry into Supermarkets’, Journal of Agricultural Economics Fishman, Charles, (2006), The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World 's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It 's Transforming the American Economy (Hardcover). Furman, Jason. Wal-Mart: A Progressive Success Story. November 28, 2005. www.americanprogress.org. Gurdijian, P., Kerschbaumer, G., Kliger, M., and Waterous, P. (2000) “Bagging Europe 's Groceries.” The McKinsey Quarterly. pp68. Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM), (2004), Assessing the productivity of the UK retail sector. Salaman, G Seth, A. and Randall, G., (1999), The grocers: the rise and rise of the supermarket chains. Tesco PLC (2006) Tesco Annual Review, 2005 Wiener, Jon, (2009), The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business.