CHAPTER 13 COMPANY ANALYSES
Group member name:
- COMPANY’S NAME: WAL-MART
Analysis years: 2012-2013
Summary of the company: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., d.b.a. Walmart /ˈwɒlmɑrt’/, is an American multinational retail corporation that operates chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969. It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under 71 total different banners
Although Wal-Mart is in logistics management, global sourcing, information technology and so on with advanced experience, its grasp of the market still lacks a lot. Through analysis, study other countries and culture of market environments such as Chinese market environment, extensive research in various regions (especially, Shanghai and Beijing, representing different consumer regions) consumer spending habits, providing consumers with satisfactory shopping service entry point, repositioning the division of their target consumer groups according to the needs of the target consumer groups, the adjustment of product structure and business strategy, and only so, Wal-Mart will be able to truly realize that they have many years of shouting "localization”, and to able to compete in intense competition of the retail market.
- THE HISTORY OF COMPANY
In 1950, Sam Walton purchased a store from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened Walton's 5 & 10. Thus, the Ozark Mountain town of 2,900 residents would become the headquarters for the world's largest retailer.
The company's first stock split occurred in May 1972 at a market price of $47. By this time, Walmart was operating in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma, and expanded into Tennessee in 1973, and Kentucky and Mississippi in 1974. As the company expanded into Texas in 1975, there were 125 stores with 7,500 associates, and total sales of $340.3 million.
In 1985, with 882 stores with sales of $8.4 billion and 104,000 associates, the company expanded into Wisconsin and Colorado, and the first stores opened in Minnesota in 1986.
In 2000, Lee Scott was named president and CEO and US sales had doubled to $156 billion since 1995
THE MAJOR PRODUCTS：Retail Corporation
THE FUTURE GOALS OF THE COMPANY：Localization
HOME OFFICE LOCATION: Bentonville, Arkansas
.
- CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I would rate the Walmart as an investment grade company with potential for producing slightly above average returns (~5%) in the long term. Based its global reach, size and economies of scale, the company is well positioned to compete in the globalized economy and hence I would invest in Walmart.
