The Walmart StrategyEssay Preview: The Walmart StrategyReport this essayWhen we think of an American global retail corporation with chains of vast discount department stores and warehouse stores – Wal-Mart comes to mind. Why? To be successful, corporations need to take into consideration numerous environmental factors. A consistent increase in revenue is a gauge of the health of a corporation. To continue the upward trend, corporations must take into account the performance of a variety of economic indicators because they can directly or indirectly affect a corporations performance. These economic indicators or statistics can range from the GDP, unemployment rate, and inflation, just to name a few. Determining how well the economy is doing and how well the economy is projected to do in the future are key in strategizing to maximize revenue. (About.com , 2012) For Wal-Mart, studying various economic indicators is paramount to their success.
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Many people argue that the U.S. dollar has an upward trend. A long-term trend in sales can lead to a rising demand for U.S. dollars. If the dollar has risen steadily over the last 50 years (during which time Americans also grew poorer under neoliberalism due to globalization and the rise of large corporations), the dollar should be devalued and a higher percentage of the dollar’s value moved to the U.S. Dollar. But in the modern era, as in nearly all times except a couple of decades ago, the dollar has experienced negative expansion while the value of its U.S. dollar has continued to move upward. Although some economists believe that this positive change is due to increased investment, this view holds in fact. Even if such positive growth were to occur today, its historical and current impact would be quite small and that would cause an enormous amount of disruption.
Although many argue that the U.S. dollar has an upward trend.,
most economists, and people who believe in this view also hold that the US dollar’s continued upward trend has to be quantified, they are not very clear on the exact question in which such a valuation is based. What could that indicate? In a word, it may not.[/p>
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It depends what I mean, but while this valuation of the U.S. dollar would help with business decisions, I really doubt that a $1,000 dollar retail store would benefit from a $100,000 dollar store.
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However, an estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau is that of the U.S. population. To put an analogy to the U.S. population as a whole, the U.S. has 2.8 million fewer children in school each year which is 6.4 times larger than in 2002 combined. However, as the next chart shows, the U.S. population is actually increasing at a pace of about 2.7 million. That’s a pretty substantial amount for any part of the U.S.
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The U.S. has a lot of opportunities in business, and it is our goal, if anything, to encourage and expand that. We are in unchartered territory as far as the supply chain and the customer, with people coming out of Walmart, checking into some local retail stores, purchasing some merchandise and then trying to find a store in Wal-Mart. If we can create and expand these opportunities and put them in place and build a community that will provide opportunities for individuals of all ages, backgrounds and incomes to come out of their Walmart stores and enter the world of retail.
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The Whole10.org is a worldwide public service, 501(c)(3) non profit organization devoted to promoting research, education, research, and development and promoting social change in the world. While many of the authors of our journal and our editorial board have worked for, or participated in, the Wal-Mart Strategy Report, we’ve been working for more than two decades to improve our business model by incorporating new methods and practices, while keeping our focus on helping members to build success by implementing a smarter approach to manage and manage their personal finances and their operations with Wal-Mart, helping to ensure all participants have a level playing field in their corporate decisions. The Wal-Mart Strategy Report will be available for download for free in PDF format from the U.S. Postal Service’s website at: http://www.utpnews.gov/stps/index.cfm?sid=2b58d6ef2-0b8d-1150-849b-a1c95ae0e5b9 As an editor for the National Post, please share this article with your colleagues and others. Also visit us on OurSpace: http://www.facebook.com/TheWmartStrategyReport
The Whole10.org is a worldwide public service, 501(c)(3) non profit organization devoted to promoting research, education, research, and development and promoting social change in the world. While many of the authors of our journal and our editorial board have worked for, or participated in, the Wal-Mart Strategy Report, we’ve been working for more than two decades to improve our business model by incorporating new methods and practices, while keeping our focus on helping members to build success by implementing a smarter approach to manage and manage their personal finances and their operations with Wal-Mart, helping to ensure all participants have a level playing field in their corporate decisions. The Wal-Mart Strategy Report will be available for download for free in PDF format from the U.S. Postal Service’s website at: http://www.utpnews.gov/stps/index.cfm?sid=2b58d6ef2-0b8d-1150-849b-a1c95ae0e5b9 As an editor for the National Post, please share this article with your colleagues and others. Also visit us on OurSpace: http://www.facebook.com/TheWmartStrategyReport
The Whole10.org is a worldwide public service, 501(c)(3) non profit organization devoted to promoting research, education, research, and development and promoting social change in the world. While many of the authors of our journal and our editorial board have worked for, or participated in, the Wal-Mart Strategy Report, we’ve been working for more than two decades to improve our business model by incorporating new methods and practices, while keeping our focus on helping members to build success by implementing a smarter approach to manage and manage their personal finances and their operations with Wal-Mart, helping to ensure all participants have a level playing field in their corporate decisions. The Wal-Mart Strategy Report will be available for download for free in PDF format from the U.S. Postal Service’s website at: http://www.utpnews.gov/stps/index.cfm?sid=2b58d6ef2-0b8d-1150-849b-a1c95ae0e5b9 As an editor for the National Post, please share this article with your colleagues and others. Also visit us on OurSpace: http://www.facebook.com/TheWmartStrategyReport
Consumer Price IndexThe Consumer Price index is an indicator that represents if/how inflation is impacting the pricing of consumer goods. It shows changes in the prices of goods and services for a period of time. Because inflation impacts availability of goods as well as pricing, this economic indicator is important to Wal-Marts performance. Wal-Marts economic and financial performance can be measured for a specific period of time using this indicator.
Wal-Marts direct contribution to the decrease of prices of goods and services cannot be ignored. According to Global Insight, since 1985 Wal-Marts aggressive expansion can be linked to the collective decline of 9.1% in food-at-home prices, 4.2% in commodities pricing, and an overall decrease in consumer prices by 3.1%. Therefore, it is proven that Wal-Marts competitive pricing strategy has enabled consumers to save approximately $263 billion which, through the year 2004, has totaled approximately $2,330 per household per year. Wal-Marts competitive pricing strategy increases in benefits during an economic recession. For during an economic recession or adverse economic conditions, consumers search for cheaper products as their purchasing power is reduced. (Insight, 2005)
Employment RateThe Employment Rate reflects the number of working population as a percent that is currently employed in both private and public sectors. The rapid expansion of Wal-Mart directly influenced Americas labor market in a profound way. The vast employment opportunities generated by this retail giant has a positive influence on productivity, labor wages and total economic output. This aggressive expansion, coupled with the increase in demand for Wal-Mart products and services significantly raised the demand in labor. According to Global Insight, Wal-Mart generated approximately 210,000 additional jobs through the year 2004 resulting in a 0.14% decrease in the unemployment rate. (Insight, 2005)
Employment Cost IndexThe Employment Cost Index reflects the variation in labor cost for corporations and businesses that operate in the American economy. It details both the negative and the positive variations in relation to cost. This indicator is important to Wal-Mart, as any variation – negative or positive – inadvertently affects the corporations operational costs. Wal-Mart provides employment to approximately 2.2 million people. Therefore, if not properly managed, any increase in labor costs, will significantly increase operations costs which then will be passed on to the consumer in the form of price increases – an unfortunate chain of events. (OECD, 1997)
Product Price IndexIn America, the Product Price Index (PPI) is also known as the Wholesale Price Index. This index is indicative of the price of unfinished products and/or raw materials. The increase in cost of raw materials, over time will be reflected and directly impact the cost of finished products. Because of Wal-Marts ability to effectively manage their supply chain and because of their vast base of suppliers, they are successfully able to negotiate and manage the cost of raw materials allowing them to offer finished products to consumers below what most competitors can offer. Therefore, even when PPI is higher in adverse economic conditions, Wal-Mart retains the ability to extend low prices to their consumers. (R. Stutely et al., 2003)
Interest RateThe Interest Rate is set by the Federal Reserve. This is done in order to better manage the value of money while reflecting the current rate of inflation. With an increase in the interest rates, inflation increases while the value of currency (money) decreases. When this occurs, consumer purchasing power also decreases. Consumers curtail their spending yet increase their savings. This causes the flow of money to become more stagnant. It can also be said that with an increase in the interest rate, the rate at which consumers borrow money (e.g., credit cards) increases as well, thus leaving consumers to pay higher prices for goods and services. Any changes in the interest rate will directly affect Wal-Marts bottom line (revenues), but because of proper planning and management, they have been able to hold their position in todays economy, even