1.     Objective:

The objective of this report is to analyse the business plan developed by the Sam Welton when he first started Walmart Inc. What follows in the rest of the report is a breakdown under various headings that will explain the business plan and what the purpose of company is based on, from the findings.

2.     Mission, Vision and Culture

2.1  Mission

Walmart’s Inc. has maintained their corporate mission, which is to help their consumers save money and allow them to live better (Walmart, 2018). The company still makes strategic decisions mainly based on this statement, they use the price of products as their selling point to attract their target consumer market – they involve their low prices as a great business strategy.

2.2  Vision

The corporate vision of Walmart Inc. is that they should be the ultimate destination for people who want to save money for anything they want to buy, not just a specific range of products. While the low prices are a big selling point for the company, they also maintain quality of products and the service that the consumers get inside the store (Pope & Pope, 2015). These two latter points have had a big impact in shaping the work culture of the company. While providing quality goods at low prices, their vision also extends to maintaining responsible manufacturing of their products so, they are able to maintain the increase in growth and reputation.

2.3  Culture

The leaders of the Walmart believe that all their associates contribute greatly to the growth of the business so their voice needs to be heard. Important initiative made by the company that have helped it to reduce overall waste produced and the maximization of the energy efficiency were ideas that were shared by the company’s associates (Elder & Dauvergne, 2015). Walmart executives know that for them to make their corporate strategy a reality, they need to give their associates more freedom to express their ideas. This strategy comes from the company’s slogan of “our values in action”. Every Walmart employee is encouraged to practice the behaviours that are consistent with the brand’s strategies – “service to the customer, respect for the individual, strive for excellence and act with integrity” (Walmart, 2018).

3.     Company Description:

3.1  Start-up Summary:

Sam Welton, a former J. C. Penney employee, had bought a brand of Ben Franklin stores from the Butler Brothers in 1945 (Gopalkrishna, Subramanian & Fleischmann, 2016). Welton bought this store with the aim that he was going to be selling products at low prices so that he can earn a higher volume of sales while maintaining a lower profit margin. Initially, Welton faced various setbacks because the of the price of rent of the branch, however once he was able to associate with lower-cost suppliers, other than the ones that are already being used by other stores. Welton’s strategy of growing a successful business around offering lower prices while maintaining good quality to its consumers was not well appreciated by his competitors, as they did not think that he would be able to make it work.

 However, with this strategy, Welton was able to increase his sales by almost 45% in his first year. Less than 20 years later, Welton opened the first Walmart. The company has now spread across the world with around 11,300 stores functioning presently in the U.S and also internationally.

3.2  Company Ownership:

Walmart quickly earned the title of being the most profitable retailer in the US and also became the largest in terms of revenue. This allows the company to manifest a significant hold over its suppliers. Walmart is a family owned business which is publicly traded – they were listed on the NYSE in 1972. Many of the shares that have invested in the company is owned by the Walton family, and various other institutions and private investors.

Doug McMilon became the CEO of Walmart in 2014, after working as the head of Sam’s Club and of Walmart International. In 2015, Walmart was able to report a net income of almost US$17 billion and almost $500 billion in revenue. According to Forbes, Walmart has now been ranked #18 in the list of public corporations. Every year, the shareholders of the company decide the members of the twelve-member board of directors. Tom Coughlin was appointed the position of vice chairperson of Walmart but he was later denounced since he was convicted of wire fraud and tax evasion due to theft of thousands of dollars from the company’s funds (Nassauer, 2016).

4.     References:

Pope, D. G., & Pope, J. C. (2015). When Walmart comes to town: Always low housing prices? Always?. Journal of Urban Economics, 87, 1-13.

Elder, S. D., & Dauvergne, P. (2015). Farming for Walmart: the politics of corporate control and responsibility in the global South. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 42(5), 1029-1046.

Gopalakrishna, P., Subramanian, R., & Fleischmann, D. (2016). Walmart in India. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 22(3), 99.

Our History. (2018). Retrieved from https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-history

Nassauer, S. (2016). Former Wal-Mart Executive Tom Coughlin Was Sam Walton Protégé: 1949-2016. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-wal-mart-executive-tom-coughlin-was-sam-walton-protege-1949-2016-1459718218

Schuetz, J. (2015). Why are Walmart and Target next-door neighbors?. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 54, 38-48.