--Wal-Mart: A Story of Retailing Success

Wal-Mart may be the most successful retailer in history. Since its founder, Sam Walton, opened the first store in 1962 in Arkansas, the company has become the largest retailer in the world. With $137 billion in sales for fiscal year 1999 at their 3,000+ stores, it sells approximately three times as much goods as the next largest retailer, Sears Roebuck. Even more astounding is that the company now employs over 800,000 people and is the next largest employer after the United States Government. According to "Management's Discussion and Analysis" in the 1999 Annual Report, the company continues to grow at a rapid pace: 37 new Wal-Mart stores, 123 Supercenters (offering a combination of merchandise and food items), eight SAM's Club units and 114 international units (China, Korea, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, etc. To accelerate its international growth, Wal-Mart has acquired a controlling interest in Mexico's largest retailer, Cifra, and purchased 21 Wertkauf hypermarkets in Germany and 122 Woolco stores in Canada. It also views the Internet as a vehicle for retail growth by selling thousands of different products online. Question: Along with general information about the company, many of the articles below cover the controversy surrounding the growth of Wal-Mart in small towns. Come up with a retail business that is more likely to succeed in a small town that has a Wal-Mart. Explain the reasons for your choice. To start, look at Ten Survival Strategies for the Small Retailer Living in the Shadow of Wal-Mart (by D. Taylor and J.S. Archer, Chain Store Age), especially numbers 1, 4, 5 and 6 on the list. Wal-Mart Web Site Retail Markets by NCR. Wal-Mart uses a huge computer database system for tracking inventory, identifying customer trends and other information-related tasks. Megastores Vs. Creativity by Murray Forseter, Chain Store Age. The author takes the position that small retailers can still find successful market niches to compete with megastores such as Wal-Mart. Ready or Not, Here Comes Wal-Mart by David Clark Scott, The Christian Science Monitor. Covers the controversy in many small towns where there is local resistance to allowing Wal-Marts and other large discount stores in an effort to preserve their current way of life. Wal-Mart Won't Like Shils Report by Lee Wessman, Sacramento Business Journal, March 6, 1998. A summary of extensive report prepared by Edward Shils, director of Wharton Entrepreneurship Center, on the impact of Wal-Mart on small towns and rural areas, including competing retailers, local tax collection and the vitality of downtown shopping areas. --- How Wal-Mart Will Kill Mom and Pop on the Web by Jesse Berst, ZDNet. The writer contends that Wal-Mart may prevent many small businesses from ever making a profit through sales on the Internet. Do you agree? Why or why not? Before you answer this question:
1.	Take a look at some of the reader comments in the "Talkback" section for different viewpoints.
2.	Obtain the total price to purchase and ship several specific products available at Wal-Mart's site. Then, search for and compare prices at other Web sites that also sell the exact same products. Who offers the most appealing combination of price, service and shopping experience?

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