- Agenda
1. A Retrospective on its Growth
2. Innovative Business Model
How Did Sam Walton Get These Ideas?
3. Wal-Mart Today: The Challenges
Retreat from Germany in 2006
Sluggish Growth in the US Market
Clamour at Home: The Price of Becoming Big
4. Wal-Mart’s Response
Dr. Lakshmi Mohan
Global Ambitions
Re-thinking “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach
Flexible Workforce
1
How Wal-Mart Got There
- A Retrospective on Its Growth
The Numbers: How “Big” is Big?
IT: The Driver of the EDLP strategy
Management Process
… Partnership with Suppliers
… Partnership with Employees
… Obsessive Focus on Costs
Dr. Lakshmi Mohan
2
Wal-Mart: A Behemoth …
1962
: Sam Walton launched his first store
Location : Bentonville, a backwater in Arkansas,
“a state where chickens outnumber people” Today : World’s Largest Retailer
Four times as big as #2 Retailer, Carrefour
5,482 stores in 14 countries as of Oct 31, 2005
Revenues: 285B vs GE: $152B
Second-largest Company after ExxonMobil ($298B)
Workforce: 1.3 M
Dr. Lakshmi Mohan
3
Walton’s Business Model was Different…
Located stores in small towns since big retailers such as Kmart and Sears dominated large towns
Kept overhead low
Offered incentives - Profit-sharing for staff
Partnerships for suppliers
Large investment in IT … To keep inventory low
Customers got friendly service
AND, “Everyday Low Price”
Dr. Lakshmi Mohan
4
Wal-Mart after 40 years …….
Lord of the Things
•
Annual 2001 sales: $220 billion – Pre-text Profits: $9.3 Million
….. 60% of U. S. Retail Sales
• #1 Food Retailer in the U.S.: $56 billion in 2001
….. Opened since 1985 over 1000 massive dept./grocery supercenters, at 200,000 sq. ft., bigger than 4 football fields
• # of employees worldwide: 1.28 million
….. More than the US Postal service ; # in China : 4,000
• # of Suppliers : 30,000 ….. In every continent but Antarctica
• Value of 100 shares bought in 1970 @ $16.50 per share: $11.5