How Wal-Mart Maintains Sustainable Growth and Development?

WAL-MART
Name
Institution
Executive Summary
The United States’ retail industry plays a significant role in the growth and development of the national economy with its wide range of activities. Retailing serves as the final bridge between manufacturers and consumers as it breaks down the bulk of goods and services from the former into smaller packages for the latter. The process involves a wide range of activities and thus providing equally diverse employment opportunities for the nation while also creating profits and revenue for the proprietors. Wal-Mart, the leading retail chain store in the United States and around the world, provides such services. An evaluative analysis of the organization’s key elements provides a comprehensive understanding of some of the industry’s concepts.
WAL-MART
Introduction
The retail industry accounts for over 5% of the United States gross domestic product as it generates approximately over a trillion dollars of additional value to the economy CITATION Bel01 \l 1033 (Bell, 2001). The largest revenue contributors in the United States’ retail industry include its automobile wing at $212 billion and the grocery business coming second at a net worth of over $165 billion in revenue generation CITATION Bel01 \l 1033 (Bell, 2001). Sectors within the retail industry are dealing with or rather retailing the general merchandise account for the industry’s $161 billion of the entire revenue generated annually CITATION Bel01 \l 1033 (Bell, 2001). The diverse marketing strategies taken by the retail firms ranging from online retailing to delivery services, the industry creates entry-level employment for over 5 million Americans at a minimum wage thus leading to the sustainable growth of the economy. Wal-Mart is one of the leading retail firms in the United States and around the world, a status it enjoys courtesy of its wide coverage and penetration of the highly competitive global retail market. The firm’s structural organization, revenue generation, market share, and management strategies provide an excellent platform for the analysis and understanding of the key elements facilitating its sustainable growth and development.
Wal-Mart’s Background Information
The firm built on the premise of its founder’s vision of revolutionizing the American retail industry by offering great value for their money with exemplary customer services. Sam Walton, the founder, believed that it is the customers who were the key to the sustainable growth of the retail business. He focused on enhancing the lives of his consumers by helping them save money on their purchases by reducing the prices of goods stocked at his store CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). At the age 44, Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas in the year 1962 with a strategic sales approach of providing consumers the lowest prices at any time and anywhere with the best customer service experience CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). The retail firm’s steady growth since its foundation led to its incorporation in 1969 to become Walmart Stores Inc. with an expansion of over 25 stores across the United States. The company went public in 1972 trading at $16. 50 per share in the New York Stock Exchange with a total of 51 stores under its management CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). The company made $78 million in the stock market, which further propelled its growth and expansion into other markets within the United States. As of the late 1970s, the retail firm was operational in 11 states through the 276 stores located across the different locations around the nation CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). Sam Walton’s visionary leadership was integral to the firm’s growth as he was open to trying the new and emerging technologies and retail formats. In the 1980s, for instance, the founder launched the first Sam’s club alongside the Wal-Mart Supercenter CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). It was also through the founder’s leadership and the firm’s positive cultural organization that led to its early internationalization with the 1990s entry into the Mexican, Canadian, and Chinese markets. Wal-Mart was embracing the concept of globalization at its onset and thus enjoying its current status and its wealth of benefits.
The firm has since grown into other markets including the competitive European market towards the end of the 1990s with its entry into the United Kingdom in 1999 CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). Wal-Mart also plays a significant role in advocating for sustainable growth and development through its global environmental protection initiatives. Wal-Mart commits to reducing waste production through its zero waste initiative and the selling of recyclable products that have no negative impact on the environment. The company is further involved in the promotion of renewable energy production as it targets to achieve a 100% supply of all its energy needs from the renewable energy sources CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018).
Wal-Mart’s Market Form
The giant retail grocery store currently operates over 5,300 stores in the United States distributed across its diverse formats as Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club outlets across the nation CITATION Wal181 \l 1033 (Walmart, Our History, 2018). It operates in over 6,500 outlets or locations at the global level and boasts of being the leading retail outlet in Canada and Mexico. The business organization is also operational in other parts of South America and Africa in Chile and South Africa respectively. Additionally, the company enjoys a huge customer base from the internet thus accounting for the over 260 million shoppers visiting both the stores and their online platforms CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). The company employs over 1.5 million employees around the world making it the biggest global source of employment CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walmart, About Us, 2018). With over $300 billion worth of sales per year, the company ranks the highest in the retail industry and outshines its competitors such as Home Depot, Kmart, Target, as well as Safeway and Kroger CITATION Wal181 \l 1033 (Walmart, Our History, 2018). A detailed breakdown of the firm’s key elements of its daily operations and geographical reach highlights some of its groundbreaking achievements and the underlying reasons for the sustainable growth and development.
* Operations
The daily oper...