Ashley Murrell Tara Estes English 101 December 2, 2016 The Battle of Walmart, Kmart and Target In today’s shopping world, there are so many places people can go. There are stores that have everything you need in one place. Target stores are the newest to come up, competing with Walmart and Kmart, which have been around for decades. All of these stores have the same idea, but are, also, very much different. From the neighborhoods they are placed in, to their catch phrases, and prices. They all have services that are similar, and customer shopping experience. Each offers almost the same departments, but different layouts, sizes of the area, and brand names. Target the newest star to join the market; it has shown up in urban neighborhoods with spot light prices. Using the catch phrase of “Expect More, Pay Less,” they drew in a younger crowd. Target customers pay a little more than what those that shop at Walmart pay, but save more than Kmart customers. Walmart that came in after Kmart is known for their smiley roll back prices, and are the home of the “Save Money, Live Better,” catch phrase. They are found in most metropolitan cities, and along travel routes; thus making them easily accusable to travelers. Walmart comes in as the cheapest of these three marketplaces. Kmart and their “Blue Light Specials” are getting harder to find due to their closings nationwide. They once targeted the same areas as Walmart, and now they are few and far between. Kmart is also dead last when he
(3) In an effort to replace foreign- sourced goods sold at Wal-Mart stores with American-made ones, Wal-Mart developed its “Buy American” program. By 1989, the company estimated it had converted or retained over $1.7 billion in retail purchases that would have been placed or produced offshore, and created or retained over 41,000 jobs for the American work force.
the superior tracking capability of RFID chips would reduce shrinkage and other forms of loss by up
Wal-Mart and Target are both great retail stores to go and find a good bang for your buck shopping experience. After researching both companies, it appears they have the same ideas as a mission, saving the customer money. Wal-Mart Mission statement reads;
Both Amazon and Walmart are seeking to accomplish the same goal, to become the world’s largest retailer by providing customers with a seamless shopping experience. Both companies have their own strengths, with Amazon being the leader in the online retail space, while Walmart is the clear leader in the brick-and-mortar arena. As more online and brick-and-mortar retailers are eating into the market, both Amazon and Walmart must content with other companies as well as each other. Amazon and Walmart were both created and detonated extraordinary growth due to an innovative push unlike any other in their own respective arenas. “If either Amazon or Walmart is destined to come out on top, it must come from a massive innovation push, a willingness to
Target’s business-level strategy is one that does not strictly focus entirely on one plan to gain a competitive advantage over competition. It encompasses various strategic and meticulous planning and decision making that is implemented in order to position the company at the top of the retail industry. With competition from the likes of Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Costco, Target uses several clever and “out-of-the-box” ideas to attract consumer attention and ultimately increase market share within the industry. Most of the company’s ideas centered more on the differentiation of products and services provided to customers than lowering prices. For quite some time, the company’s plan was to not compete head-to-head with Wal-Mart in terms of lowering prices but instead to provide their customers, who they identify as “guests”, with a special experience every time they visited a Target location. One idea that was implemented was to market and sell upscale, trendy clothing and unique merchandise at discounted prices.1 This strategy, known as the “cheap-chic” strategy, focused on providing good quality clothing from various well known designers and fancy products from high-profile manufacturers for prices lower than their competition. This plan was vital because it began essentially began the concept of customers referring to Target as “Tar-zhay” which according to Patrick Barwise and Sean Meehan, who are university professors, as a “connote its trendy sensibility”. Target
Since 1962 and the beginning of the discount retailer market Wal-Mart has been ahead of the retail game. By 1967 there were 24 Wal-Marts that had grossed 12.6 million dollars. In just 7 years Wal-mart had spread into 9 states. By 1979 Wal-Mart was the fastest store to reach a billion dollars in sales. In 2005 Wal-Mart has 3,800 domestic stores along with 3,800 stores internationally, and had made over 312 billion dollars. As you can see the Wal-Mart empire has grown monumentally. To move into this segment of the market would be tough.
Target sells a wide variety of general merchandise and food through the store and with the use modern technology. Target’s broad-spectrum
The retail industry is one of the largest industries in the world, by business numbers and employees. Plunkett Research Ltd. As of 2011 Wal-Mart was still the giant of the retail market. As Wal-Mart nearest competitor Target heats up the market, Target seems to be gaining in customer loyalty and has picked up on Wal-Marts grocery strategy. According to the Plunkett report, recession ravaged consumers not only want dry goods at a discount, but they also want groceries discounted (PlunkettResearch.Com, 2012). Target also has been gaining customers who want stylish well organized stores that appeal to their senses.
Mirzayev, E. (2015, July 7).Target vs. Walmart: Who's winning the big box war? Retrieved from
Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. The position Wal-Mart holds gives the company a large responsibility to contribute to the community that supports the stores. As an organization Wal-Mart owes its success to the stake holders of their business. Wal-Mart requires the community to continue business operations, Trevino and Nelson state that “a major stakeholder in business must be the communities of which corporations and other organizations are a part” (2011). Wal-Mart must consider the community happiness with their business decisions to remain profitable.
Wal-Mart represents the sickness of capitalism at its almost fully evolved state. As Jim Hightower said, "Why single out Wal-Mart? Because it's a hog. Despite the homespun image it cultivates in its ads, it operates with an arrogance and avarice that would make Enron blush and John D. Rockefeller envious. It's the world's biggest retail corporation and America's largest private employer; Sam Robson Walton, a member of the ruling family, is one of the richest people on earth. Wal-Mart and the Waltons got to the top the old-fashioned way: by roughing people up. Their low, low prices are the product of two ruthless commandments: Extract the last penny possible from human toil and squeeze the last
 Illustrates low prices and at the same time, not portray a cheap image to consumer.
1. How well do you think Wal-Mart’s earlier, more limited health benefits supported the company’s overall business strategy?
Stores like Wal-Mart are famous for keeping their prices so low. This is one reason why they are able to maintain a grip on the consumers of an area. They accomplish this by keeping the cost to produce and transport the goods low. In January, a study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. found that, “an individual family could save $589 a year on groceries by shopping at a supercenter. Overall, shoppers could save $3.76 billion in merchandise nationwide.” (Blazier, A, 2004) A major reason they can keep prices lower than mom-and-pop run businesses is their ability to buy merchandise in bulk. Buying in bulk works the same way it does for a consumer. The more of a product that is purchased, the less the cost is per unit. Consumers see this every day when they go to stores like Sam’s Club or Costco. When they buy their merchandise in bulk, they are able to offer it to the consumer at a lower price. (Kale, 2011) This is what could eventually drive the mom-and-pop owned businesses out of the area, and draw a negative criticism from the public. The interesting thing about this criticism is that the public complains about Wal-Mart
Another one of the 3 supermarkets that we are analyzing is Walmart. Walmart is known for their slogan, “Save Money, Live Better.” Unlike Target, Walmart doesnt sell their own brand of items. Walmart however is also known for their matching prices rule. Walmart agrees to match the price of any other store selling the same item if you bring in the add that shows the price. It is also one of the most popular stores on Oʻahu.