Wal-Mart International Success and Failure :: Business, Culture, Language

Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton (1). Wal-Mart grew to two hundred seventy-six stores in their first decade of service (1). Wal-Marts plan was to sale products at low cost while delivering on outstanding service and client relations (1). Wal-Mart also felt that they could target more than customers if they offered convenient hours of business (1). Wal-Mart currently operates in fifteen countries around the world, supplying different needs, preferences and services depending on local anaesthetic retail habits (2). By servicing to each one geographic location in its own way and supplying the needs of a particular area they seem to do very well (2). Wal-Mart adjusts and adapts to local culture and serves the community in a way that the customers are accustomed to being served (2). Wal-Mart usually enters a foreign coun filter by purchasing an brisk chain and simply changing the name to Wal-Mart while retaining key personnel such as management who already know the culture ( 2). Wal-Mart spends lots of clock researching and planning before entering a new market. It sometimes takes years to open in a new market overseas (Class notes).First they try to learn the culture, language, and habits of the citizens of a certain culture. Then they study the products which seem to do well in each different are and try to target these products for these cultures at low prices ecumenic (Class notes). In the past two decades Wal-Mart has taken advantage of the internet technological advances to change the way many companies do business worldwide (3). The sheer size of Wal-Mart enables the company to buy in bulk at lower prices allowing the discount retail prices given to customers (3). Wal-Mart is able to by all products in great volumes and in return their supplier cuts some of the cost due the amount of product sold. Wal-Mart has great marketing and management plans before entering a market which allows the company to do very well in many different countries and c ultures (3). Wal-Mart has also had a hand in helping manufactures realize the advantages of customer satisfaction through quality (3). Despite all of Wal-Marts international success they have also learned some valuable lessons, mainly in South Korea and probably the biggest debacle of all, Germany (Class notes). When Wal-Mart originally decided to move into Germany in 1997 the potential for success seemed quite promising (4). The company made their entrance into the German market by purchasing Wertzkauf which included twenty-one locations (4).