Business analysis for Wal-Mart, a grocery retail chain, and improvement proposals

Abstract

[EN] This study consists on the analysis of a very big grocery retail chain and the proposal of a serial of improvements I consider that can help the company to grow in the future. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is a multinational retail corporation that runs large discount superstores and warehouses. It was founded less than fifty years ago by Sam Walton and his brother Bud in Bentonville, Arkansas (USA). With sales over $300 billion a year, Wal-Mart is considered one of world´s most valuable companies. It is the world biggest employer, having more than 1.5 million workers around the globe. It has more than five thousand stores worldwide, 80% of those are in the United States. This giant corporation makes more business than its direct competitors Target, Home Depot, Sears, Kmart, Safeway and Kroger combined. In order to address this business analysis, it is necessary to study the economic environment in which the company operates. Due to the fact that this corporation works worldwide, deep macro analysis and micro analysis are necessary. Furthermore, operational strategies are important to get to know how the company is being run. Location, plant layout and quality of products are ultimate to understand the business. Also, the study of the marketing mix of Wal-Mart is crucial. The four factors of price, product, place and promotion tell us a lot about both sides, Wal-Mart successes and failures. Next, I study how the human resources of this huge retailer are managed. There have been many criticisms in this field and after many studies, still experts do not agree whether Wal-Mart is doing fine with employees or not. Another very important part to analyze is the financial situation. A company of the size of Wal-Mart is so difficult to study, so only a brief view into its financial statements is done. Worldwide is known that this company is very stable and rewarding. Later, before recommending some proposals to improve the company’s future ventures, a SWOT analysis is done. It is necessary to have a look into the company’s failures and criticisms in order to know which steps to follow in subsequent occasions. A specific case will be studied: Wal-Mart failure in Germany. This country was one of the few places were Wal-Mart wasn´t successful at all and quit the try to achieve a place in the German market. The last step is a final conclusion, where there is a summary of the proposals made and their profitability.