None of the competing companies was able to invest such funds in expansion. The key to the success of Wal-Mart worldwide was the strategy of aggressive expansion combined with low prices. However, a significant role was also played by the distinct specialization of trading enterprises in four areas: cheap goods stores (discounters), grocery supermarkets combined with stores of cheap industrial goods, Sam’s clubs involving paid membership of buyers, local markets – exclusively food products are sold there. When deciding which option to prefer when opening a new retail establishment, the company carefully studies the conditions of the relevant area. By the way, the corporation’s primary business is the sale of non-food products, carried out through discounters.
The innovative working methods of the Wal-Mart network are perfectly combined with the classic methods of competition. Thus, when moving to the next market, the company actively uses several simple but effective tactics, particularly deliberately lowering prices to suppress competition. An essential tool in the effective promotion of the company to the consumer is that the top managers of Wal-Mart strive to take into account the social context in which this consumer lives and works.
The fact that the company prefers to buy existing networks of shopping centers and then rebuild them, considering its principles and connecting them to a unified system of delivery and accounting of goods, also reduces costs when moving to new markets. It is evident that along with such networks, the company also acquires its clientele.
