Walmart Application of Marketing

Introduction

As stated by Kotler & Keller (2009 p. 90) "Marketing research is a systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company."

Wal-Mart Main Line of Business

The company I have selected from the fortune 500 list is Wal-Mart Store; which has knocked Exxon Mobil out of the top slot for the fortune 500, 2010. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. As stated by Wal-Mart, (2011, n.d.) stated "Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,969 retail units under 55 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs 2.1 million associates worldwide. A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Wal-Mart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine's 2010 Most Admired Companies survey"

As further stated by Wal-Mart, (2011, n.d.) "The Wal-Mart Discount Stores was opened in 1962, and offers a variety of products such Family Apparel, Health and Beauty Aids, Electronics, Toys, Lawn and garden items, Jewelry, Automotive products, Home furnishings, Hardware, Sporting goods, Pet supplies, and House wares etc. The Supercenters were developed in 1988 to meet the growing demand for convenient, one-stop family shopping featuring their famous Every Day Low Prices. Most of their supercenters are open 24 hours. They offers, Bakery goods, Meat and dairy products, Fresh produce, Dry goods and staples, Beverages, Deli foods, Frozen foods, Canned and packaged goods, Condiments and spices, Household supplies. Most Supercenters also have many specialty shops such as, Vision center, Tire & Lube Express, Brand-name restaurants, Portrait studio, one-hour photo center, Pharmacy, Health clinic, and Hair salon."

Four Countries in which Wal-Mart Operates

Wal-Mart Operates in Mexico, United Kingdom, Brazil and China. In 1991 Wal-Mart entered into a joint venture with Cifra to a Sam's Club in Mexico City. Mexico became the first country in Wal-Mart's international division. By 1997, they had acquired the majority of Cifra and by February 2000, the name was successfully changed to Wal-Mart De Mexico. In 1999, Asda, a store that was founded by two brothers from Yorkshire was acquired by Wal-Mart and is now the second largest supermarket in Britain. In 1995 Wal-Mart opened two supercenters and three Sam's Club in Brazil. Wal-Mart began their retail operations in China in 1996 with one Supercentre and a Sam's Club in Shenzhen.

The Implementation of the 4P's Marketing Mix Concepts

The first of the Four P's is product. The marketing mix would be unsuccessful without the product that has to be marketed. Now when it comes to Wal-Mart being that they are a large retail store they would definitely have many products that they are mass-produced or mass manufactured. Wal-Mart has an advantage over many of the regular retail stores because they sell a large variety of items. Wal-Mart is considered as a one-stop shop because one can purchase food, clothing or even household items from cleaning, furniture and toys. Depending on the season, they focus on certain products; which means the marketing plan would change to fit what they are trying to sell. For example, during the Christmas holidays Wal-Mart focus would be their Christmas decorations and certain high selling items. For one who shops at Wal-Mart quite a bit they have what they call a seasonal aisle, which focuses on whatever it is going on at that time, i.e. Back-to-School or Holidays.

The next element of the marketing mix to be discussed would be place. Place, where