Wal-Mart Case Study Essay

Words: 1229
Pages: 5

Steven Kruid
005311499
Wal-Mart Case Assignment

What impresses you about the company?
What accounts for Wal-Mart’s success over the past 25+ years?
Is it a great strategy, superb strategy implementation and execution, or great leadership?
What aspects of Wal-Mart do you find unimpressive?
Which of the five generic strategies is Wal-Mart employing? What are the chief elements of its strategy? The generic strategy that Wal-Mart employs is mainly a low-cost leader. This is evident by the company’s purpose: “saving people money so they can live better”. Wal-Mart believes that having a lower price matters to their customers. They continuously seek to reduce costs throughout their company, which will in turn reduce costs for
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If the corporate culture were not cost conscious and were not continuously looking for ways to improve aspects of the company such as the value chain, their low-cost strategy would be in jeopardy. Strategies must be sought after and employed by everybody in the company, and it usually starts from the top. By having a corporate culture that is continuously looking for ways to be the low-cost leader they are, Wal-Mart will continue to be successful.
Financial Analysis Analysis of Wal-Mart Financials | | | | | | | | | | | | Year (Numbers in $Mil) | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | Revenue | $191,329.0 | $217,799.0 | $229,616.0 | $256,329.0 | $285,222.0 | COGS | $150,255.0 | $171,562.0 | $178,299.0 | $198,747.0 | $219,793.0 | SG&A | $31,550.0 | $36,173.0 | $39,983.0 | $44,909.0 | $51,105.0 | Operating Income | $10,116.0 | $11,579.0 | $13,295.0 | $15,025.0 | $17,300.0 | Net Income | $6,295.0 | $6,671.0 | $7,955.0 | $9,054.0 | $10,267.0 | | | | | | | Total Assets | $78,130.0 | $83,451.0 | $94,808.0 | $104,912.0 | $120,223.0 | Total Liabilities | $46,787.0 | $48,349.0 | $55,347.0 | $61,782.0 | $70,827.0 | Total Equity | $31,343.0 | $35,102.0 | $39,461.0 | $43,623.0 | $49,396.0 | | | | | | | COGS as % of Revenue | 78.5% | 78.8% | 77.7% | 77.5% | 77.1% | SG&A as % of Revenue | 16.5% | 16.6% | 17.4% | 17.5% | 17.9% | Operating Income as a % of Revenue | 5.3% | 5.3% | 5.8% | 5.9%