f the world and is a well-known retail chain among consumers internationally. Wal-Mart possesses one of the best inventory control systems in the industry. Wal-Mart has excellent distribution channels throughout the country. Wal-Mart has a distribution warehouse no more than six hours from any of its stores location. Additionally, the fact that they do not have to pay outside shipping companies to deliver the goods to the stores saves a considerable amount of money on their distribution costs. However, despite Wal-Mart’s strengths, the company also has weaknesses that need to be addressed. One of their weaknesses is the company’s strong focus on a lower price strategy that often gives the consumer a perception of goods and services of poor quality. Also, some consumers view Wal-Mart as mom and pop killers when they build a new superstore in a small town. Many consumers value their personal relationships with hometown department stores and would not like to see them eliminated. A dollar must circulate several times within a community in order for there to be a good local economy. Most of Wal-Mart’s dollars leave the local community aside from their employees salary’s. This trend eventually makes a community poorer over time. Finally, most of Wal-Mart’s competition competes on many of the same elements, such as price, promotion, distribution, and products. This makes it harder to gain a competitive advantage for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has many opportunities it may consider to pursue for its future success. The international marketplace is the trend of the future for many companies. Wal-Mart has started to expand overseas with limited success. However, it will take a certain time period for consumers to adapt to Wal-Mart’s concepts. Another opportunity may be to expand their Sam’s Club stores and their Superstores because they are very profitable for the company. A final opportunit...
