BUS 450

Business Policies

Strategic Analysis of Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Grocery

Professor: Greg Dean

Cohort: BBA1-21

Maria Ferry

April 27, 2010

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Table of Contents

3Executive Summary �

4Situational Analysis �

4Environment �

4Industry �

5Threat of new entrants �

5Bargaining Power of Buyers �

6Bargaining Power of Suppliers �

7Substitute Products/Services �

8Intense Rivalry �

10Firm �

12Market Strategy �

14Problems in Situational Analysis �

17Strategic Alternatives for Problems �

19Selection of Strategic Alternatives and Implementation �

20Summary �

Financial Analysis……………………………………………………………………………22-27

References………………………………………………………………………………… 28 - 30

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Executive Summary

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is a major domestic and international company. Wal-Mart reported net sales of more than $401.2 billion for 2009. Despite difficult economic conditions throughout the rest of the nation, Wal-Mart's profits grew 7.2% since 2008. Increases in the company's stock reflected the success Wal-Mart experienced with earnings per share calculated at $3.35.

English: Inside the Walmart (still branded as Wal-...

A protest in Utah against Wal-Mart

English: Exterior of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Mad...

Wal-Mart's overwhelming success may be attributed to the company's ability to maintain a comparative advantage in a highly competitive global market ("Wal-Mart 2009", 2010).

Examination of Wal-Mart from an organizational, financial, and marketing standpoint shows how the company has developed dynamic strategies to compete with rival companies. One of the organization's strategies has been to increase the number of Wal-Mart Superstores throughout the nation. These supercenters provide consumers with additional products, such as groceries and other produce. The supercenters have been immensely successful and the grocery division alone accounted for 51% of the company's profits in 2009 alone (Talley, 2010).

Wal-Mart is a unique company that has seen its share of controversy and conflict. The company has attempted to enter many international markets. For the most part, Wal-Mart has been successful in entering foreign markets; however, in the past few years...