Walmart's Foreign Expansion

1) Do you think Wal-Mart could translate its merchandising strategy wholesale to another country and succeed? If not, why not?

Wal-Mart could translate its merchandising strategy wholesale to another country and succeed because it succeeded when it did so in China and Mexico. Before it does so, however, it must investigate the rivals and purchasing power as well as customers' purchasing habits before it enters to a completely new market. Without taking the culture and purchasing habits of customers into account could lead to failure.

2) Why do you think Wal-Mart was successful in Mexico?

Wal-Mart was successful in Mexico because it adjusted its strategy to meet the local conditions, such as, consumers not having cars and how they liked to purchase fresh products. Wal-Mart hired local managers that understood Mexican culture and they let those managers control the merchandising strategy. They also built smaller stores that people could walk to instead of drive to and they offered more fresh produce. Wal-Mart was able to lower its own costs, which led to lower prices for the consumers.

3) Why do you think Wal-Mart failed in South Korea and Germany? What are the differences between these countries and Mexico?

Wal-Mart failed in South Korea and Germany because its competition was local rival that were already well-established. The consumers in these countries had a preference for higher quality merchandise and they weren't attracted to Wal-Mart's discount strategies as consumers in the U.S. and Mexico were.

4) What must Wal-Mart do to succeed in China? Is it on track?

To succeed in China, Wal-Mart must adapt its merchandising and operations strategy to mesh with the Chinese culture. Chinese people like to have their food freshly harvested or even killed in front of them, so Wal-Mart started to display its meat uncovered and it installed fish tanks into which shoppers could plunge fishing nets to pull out their meal and they also began to sell live turtles for turtle soup. Wal-Mart also needed to embrace unions in China. Wal-Mart is on its track considering all the changes it made to please the Chinese.

5) To what extent can a company like Wal-Mart change the culture of the nation where it is doing business?

Wal-Mart would only be able to change the culture of the nation where it is doing business to a certain extent. But in order to do so, Wal-Mart has to change for its consumers more than the consumers change for them. Even though Wal-Mart does have to make changes to the way it operates, changing the culture is possible. For example, in Mexico, Wal-Mart was able to do so by making the consumers of that country shop for produce at their stores instead of at the local stores how they once did.