Fluent Essays

Wal-Mart’s Global Strategies (100 Points) In Chapters 8 and 9, we reviewed several types of global expansion strategies a company can undertake when entering new markets. For this assignment, you will read Walmart’s Global Strategies case study (p. 279) and then respond to the following questions and make decisions based on those questions. What was Walmart’s early global expansion strategy? Was this a good strategy for Walmart? Why or why not? What cultural problems did Walmart face in some of the international markets it entered? Now, assume the role as the Director of Walmart’s global strategic planning team. You have been tasked to explore the benefits and challenges of expansion into one of the following regions. Choose one of the following regions and describe the opportunities and challenges in that region. Summarize the cultural environment, choose an entry strategy from the text, and describe how you would implement this entry strategy. Make sure you are very detailed in your explanation.  Regions: Latin America European Union Southeast Asia Russia Middle East Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:  Be 6 pages in length, which does not include the title page, abstract, or required reference page, which are never a part of the content minimum requirements. Use  University academic writing standards and APA style guidelines. Support your submission with course material concepts, principles and theories from the textbook and at least 5 scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.279 operations, with 6,300 stores and more than 900,000 asso- ciates in 27 countries outside the continental U.S.5 (See Exhibit 1.) According to international chief C. Douglas McMillon, Walmart is “progressing from being a domes- tic company with an international division to being a global company.” In two decades Walmart International has become a $100 billion business. If it were a stand- alone company, it would rank among the top five global retailers.6 (See Exhibit 2.) Walmart International’s Introduction In 1991, Walmart became an international company when it opened a Sam’s Club near Mexico City. Just two years later, Walmart International was created. Since venturing into Mexico in 1991, Walmart International has grown somewhat erratically. During the 1990s, the retailer exported its big-box, low-price model, an approach the company expected to be as successful in foreign markets as it was in the United States. Although Walmart has had success in several overseas markets, this success has been far from universal. For example, in Mexico, China, and the U.K., the company’s efforts to offer the lowest price to customers backfired because of resistance from established retailers. And in Germany, Walmart could not seem to fit its model to local tastes and preferences. In Japan, its joint venture had a series of setbacks, many related to buying habits for which the Walmart model did not respond well. In Mexico, three of the largest domestic retailers con- structed a joint buying and operational alliance solely to compete with Walmart.1 Its presence in Hong Kong ended after only two years during the 1990s, and it shuttered operations in Indonesia in the mid-1990s after rioting inci- dents in Jakarta. Walmart also owned approximately 16 stores in South Korea and 85 in Germany; however, it sold off these operations in 2006 after merchandise failed to match consumer tastes, distribution and re-bagging prob- lems arose, and strong loyalties to other brands made attracting customers difficult and expensive.2 In addition, labor advocates and environmentalists have created headaches for the U.S. behemoth, making contin- ued expansion both cumbersome and expensive. For instance, in 2006, Walmart faced a strong public relations campaign from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) over Walmart’s refusal to let its workers in China unionize. Walmart was eventually forced to con- cede, perhaps because the Chinese government also lent its weight to the ACFTU’s campaign in its effort to estab- lish unions in all foreign-funded enterprises throughout the country.3 Despite its public battle with the ACFTU, Walmart China received the Howard Award for “Most Respectable Foreign Enterprise in China” in 2014.4 As Walmart continues to expand its global operations, ana- lysts are curious to see how the company is received and whether consumers’ opinions in fragmented market set- tings are a match with Walmart’s low-p