Marketing Analysis of Wal-Mart

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Introduction Wal-Mart is a marketing and retailing juggernaut. Since 1962, Wal-Mart has been the model for retailing in the United States. Generally, a retailer who succeeded in getting a bargain from their wholesaler would leave his retail prices unchanged and pocket the extra capital. Mr. Walton, by contrast, realized he could do better by passing on the savings to his customers and earning his profits through volume. This was and is still the cornerstone of their business model. Today, marketing for Wal-Mart is slightly different than it was in the 1960s. Many reasons precipitated this marketing response however one reason specifically was the reason; sustainable competitive advantage. Today, there are simply too many demographics and too many different tastes to market to; Wal-Mart’s marketing staff must be proactive in their solutions to market to these peoples, cultures, and tastes. Targeted marketing to Wal-Mart’s various demographics is the emphasis of this essay. I will defend their transition from mass marketing to the general consumer to today’s targeted marketing strategies. Certainly Wal-Mart has come a long way from their Bentonville, Arkansas roots. Discussion In 1962, Wal-Mart opened their first retail store in Arkansas. This store, Wal-Mart Discount City, was founded on the principles of volume selling rather than high prices. By keeping retail markup to a minimum he achieved his dream of opening 24 stores in five years across Arkansas at over $12.5 million in sales. This set the stage for incorporation in 1980 as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc and now they are in 14 countries and operate 2,701 stores (Annual report, 2006). This staying power is a direct result of mass marketing. Over the past 40 years, Wal-Mart has prided themselves on providing the lowest price, Always. More than a slogan, this has turned out to be a very successful

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