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Essay / Analysis of Walmart's Globalization Strategy
This part of the research evaluates Walmart's globalization strategy at present. Additionally, my personal analysis is discussed and the overall impact of Walmart's globalization effort. Finally, past and present globalization strategies were compared to determine whether the company has made significant changes and improvements. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Walmart's strategy is based primarily on cost leadership, IT, logistics, and customer focus. At the same time, in order to be efficient and remain competitive in the global market, Walmart has adopted several strategies. First, the company's multi-national strategy in the United States, which resulted in successful penetration, was adapted to meet the needs of host countries. Walmart has been very popular thanks to its lowest price strategy and the integration of some of its American products into its overseas outlets. However, Walmart needed to change its U.S.-focused products and include a variety of products to meet demand from host countries. Second, Walmart is moving toward a transnational strategy to effectively use local and global skills. The company is taking steps to achieve a balance between global standardization of operational strategy and local customization of store layout and practices. Additionally, the company has resorted to acquisitions and joint ventures for its global expansion. It has approximately 6,148 stores worldwide and accounts for 16.7% of international sales. Meanwhile, Walmart's globalization strategies have revealed some weaknesses. First, in China, many Chinese products, at very low prices, have been seen on the shelves of Walmart. This led to negative marketing and negative perception from buyers in other countries who believed Chinese products to be of inferior quality. Second, the company has also been accused of unethical practices of selling its products at very low prices, making it difficult for other retailers to compete. Third, Walmart does not have a visionary strategy, unlike its close rival Kmart in the United States. The company's management policy does not contain clear guidelines and strategies on how to succeed in the future. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay There are significant experiences that Walmart has learned from its past efforts in globalization strategy. In China, the company was quite surprised by a completely different retail setup than in the United States. There are thousands of mom-and-pop shops and many Chinese shoppers are reluctant to drive and visit retail stores. Walmart has tried to adapt and use its own strategies, for example targeting middle class consumers by removing the ELDP model but offering more premium products and goods that appeal to middle class consumers. At the same time, the company has not seen significant success in Japan and South Korea using its ELDP model, as Japanese and Korean consumers are more concerned with quality than price. Walmart needs to adapt other pricing strategies, such as price skimming, value-based pricing, dynamic pricing strategy, and high-low pricing strategy, rather than its ELDP model..