Walmart has a global presence with retail stores in 28 countries. Every week, 245 million Walmart members and customers are visiting 65 different Walmart brands with total 11,000 Walmart stores. Walmart also has an online presence in 11 countries. The Walmart pricing strategy includes is called Every Day Low Pricing (EDLP) and has become a very popular throughout the world. This pricing strategy and the wide range of products offered under one roof is their competitive advantage. The Chinese retail market is presents a challenging but highly profitable opportunity for Walmart as the country’s population of more than 1.3 billion gives the company the opportunity to generate massive revenues. With the opening up of the Chinese market and several foreign companies entering China, the Walmart presents an enterprising growth opportunity for their business. It would be a big challenge for Walmart as the Chinese customer show immense loyalty to their local stores and Chinese retailers.
The selected target market in China would be major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, etc. These cities are densely populated with a burgeoning middle class with spending power to make Walmart’s entry successful. The promotion policy will include using local search engine advertising (Baiudu, Youku, etc.), social media and television advertising to reach out to the potential target market. Walmart’s pricing strategy helps the company to target customers coming from different income groups and provides customers with ability to purchase all products of their necessity in one location. Walmart would need to modify their employee treatment strategy and ensure they learn from their experiences in the German retail market where they undermined the German cultural practices. Prior to entry, Walmart will conduct market research on the Chinese cultural practices and understand their competition and business strategy utilized by them.
Product positioning and modifications, Pricing strategy, Distribution strategy and Promotional strategy.
What are the key factors determining success in marketing the product and any specific constraints which impede the marketing effort.
