Buy essay on Walmart marketing strategy

Promotion of Walmart is performed through many channels. Walmart website and online orders are a significant source of revenue, and the orders with shipment to the desired place are very popular among Walmart customers. In addition to the discounts, the company has seasonal offers, fixed low prices, bulk discounts etc (Brunn, 2006). All these practices are attracting more customers to Walmart worldwide. In every country there are domestic competitors which have certain advantages over Walmart, but in the countries where Walmart managed to survive and prosper, it quickly gains competitive advantage over other retail stores due its economy of scale and wide choice of merchandise.
In China, Walmart started in 1996 with several supercenters and Sam’s Clubs, and currently the company operates a chain of hypermarkets called Trust-Mart with more than 100 locations as well as 227 Walmart Supercenters (Walmart Stores, 2011). Walmart managed to succeed at China, but it had a lot of struggle there, due to diverse population, lack of infrastructure and protectionism policy (Taylor & Archer, 2005). Bureaucracy and regulatory restrictions continue to add problems to the operations of Walmart in China (Taylor & Archer, 2005). In addition to this, there is a strong competitor (Carrefour) of Walmart in China, which managed to be more flexible.
The company established a joint venture with an Indian company called Bharti Enterprises in 2007 (Walmart Stores, 2011). The venture called Bharti Walmart Private Limited performs back-end supply and cash-and-carry operations. Walmart also opened own BestPrice Modern Wholesale in 2009 (there are 7 of them by the middle of 2011). Walmart is struggling in India, and this is mainly due to the dysfunctional supply chain in Indian economy (Taylor & Archer, 2005), which does not allow Walmart to implement its favorite economy of scale. The market is highly fragmented, and Indian customers are price sensitive (Taylor & Archer, 2005). Cultural differences also play its role, since the Walmart chain is still perceived with cautiousness. Although Indian market is very promising, Walmart has to adapt its business model to Indian reality.
In the UK, Walmart runs under the name of ASDA. Walmart acquired this chain in 1999, and has managed to grow into second largest chain of superstores in the UK, after Target. In the UK, ASDA focuses on compact hypermarkets (303 locations) and supermarkets (178 locations), with only 29 ASDA supercenters (Walmart Stores, 2011). The success in the UK is conditioned by the solid ASDA background, and by the similarity of customer base in the US and the UK (compared to China, India, etc.). However, Walmart had to adjust to the UK environment, mostly with regard to employee policy (Taylor & Archer, 2005) and the relationship between price and quality of the merchandise. ASDA is targeted at somewhat more financially secure and picky customer group compared to the US.
In Mexico there was also a joint venture in 1991 with Cifra, which then changed its name to WALMEX (Walmart Stores, 2011). In 2007, Walmart also opened a bank in Mexico, and currently there are plenty of supercenters, Bodega Aurerra Express stores, suburbias and restaurants in Mexico (Walmart Stores, 2011). Here the immense success of Walmart was conditioned by the positive image of the company, price leadership, well-organized retail services and the support of Mexican government. The acquisition of Cifra gave a good start for Walmart. Low price strategy matched the needs of the 70% of Mexico population living below the poverty level (Taylor & Archer, 2005), and the banking services helped to develop credit lines and slightly improve the quality of living. In Mexico, Walmart managed to outplay Sears and Kmart, and is currently the market leader.
Overall, Walmart is successfully tailoring its main competitive advantage – price leadership and the economy of scale – to the domestic environments in different countries. Although there are many cultural and economical challenges for Walmart International, the company is moving forward and bringing its retail culture to new locations.

References
Brunn, S.D. (2006). Wal-Mart world: the world’s biggest corporation in the global economy. Routledge.
Taylor, D.D. & Archer, J.S. (2005). Up against the Wal-Marts: how your business can prosper in the shadow of the retail giants. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Walmart Stores. (2011).