Assignment task:
Walmart, a discount retailer, was started by Sam Walton in the small town of Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. By 2014, Walmart had become the world's largest retailer, with more than $476 billion in revenues and 10,000 stores. As the new century began, Walmart faced new competitors and new challenges. Walmart's success in the future would require responding effectively to the growing trend toward online purchases and the emergence of Amazon as a major competitor.
This case will explore Walmart's evolution and how its unique approach to retail and operations management has enabled it to be successful, even as new challenges come its way.
As you read the case below, consider how you'd answer the following questions:
1. Why has Walmart been successful? What is the single most important factor that has contributed to Walmart's phenomenal success?
2. Why exactly are Walmart's costs lower than its competitors? Examine each element of the cost structure (e.g., Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), labor, rent, advertising, distribution, technology, etc. as a percentage of total sales) and assess where Walmart's costs are lower than competitors-and why.
3. What should Walmart do to respond to the emerging trend of online purchases, and more specifically to the threat of Amazon as the dominante. Walmart Stores: Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage