Sem walmart

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SOME KEY POINTS

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was not only the largest retail organization by sales volume in the U.S. in 2006, but also the largest company in the world. As of January 31, 2006, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was structured into three business units, Wal-Mart Stores USA, SAM’S CLUB, and Wal-Mart International. The Wal-Mart Stores unit had 3,289 locations and included the company’s Supercenters, discount stores, and Neighborhood Markets in the U.S., as well as Walmart.com. The SAM’S CLUB unit had 567 locations and included the warehouse membership clubs in the U.S. plus samsclub.com. Wal-Mart International had 2,285 locations in 10 countries. Sales and profits for the year ending January 31, 2006 were a record high $312.4 billion and $11.2 billion, respectively.

Of special concern to management was the behavior of the company’s stock. Contrary to the upward direction of the firm’s sales and profits, the price of Wal-Mart’s stock had fallen from $56.98 in January, 2002 to $46.11 in January, 2006 and to $45.06 in March, 2006. Even though the board of directors had both repurchased stock and continually raised dividends, the stock had failed to respond.

The case ends with CEO Lee Scott seeking an expansion program to grow both sales and profits, both at home and abroad. The company also needed a strong program to pre-empt its social critics, instead of always being on the defensive. Scott realized that Wal-Mart could not allow itself to emphasize social over business objectives.

CASE OBJECTIVES ➢ To discuss the growth and competitive strategies that made Wal-Mart the largest company by sales in the U.S. ➢ To analyze Wal-Mart’s international growth strategies. ➢ To identify the impact of the founder upon Wal-Mart’s corporate culture. ➢ To consider the impact of Wal-Mart’s corporate culture upon management decision making and actions. ➢ To conduct a stakeholder analysis of Wal-Mart’s task