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Wal-Mart: Retail Juggernaut Or Reeling Goliath?

Introduction
Wal-Mart is the world’s leader in the retail industry. Although it has excelled in its innovation in supply chain management and cost leadership, its competitors are beginning to catch up. Wal-Mart’s net profit advantage over its competitors is undeniable, but as far as growth, the edge may go to competitors. Competitors are growing 2-5 times faster than Wal-Mart. Public image is poor, law suits fill the media front, and company growth seems stunted.
General Environment
Political-legal segment
Wal-Mart has been plagued by political problems affecting its ability to attract new customers. For example, some cities have erected laws preventing building of new stores. Trade, health care, the environment, discrimination, and worker wage disputes have also been at the forefront of the legal issues for Wal-Mart. This segment has a major impact on its retail sales because of the publicity generated. With legal barrier preventing expansion and growth stunted by poor public image from all the lawsuits, Wal-Mart’s decrease in growth rate can be attributed to the political-legal segment.
Economic segment
The economic environment drives consumer retail purchases. Economic trends that hit consumers will affect the retail sales of Wal-Mart. Concerns in the U.S. economy regarding high oil prices, the mortgage “crunch”, and slow growing GDP are factors that will affect Wal-Mart’s target consumer. Because of globalization, nations are now interconnected and Wal-Mart needs to scan, monitor, forecast and asses the health of economies outside of the United States.
Demographic segment
Population size, age structure, geographic distribution, and ethnic mix have not been properly addressed by Wal-Mart and thus have impacted sales. Wal-Mart’s core generic strategy is “everyday low prices”; but for whom? Wal-Mart is essentially a mass marketer trying to pull in as many people and numbers as possible. Realizing its lack of integration, Wal-Mart has...