浅析沃尔玛在中国本土化及对中国企业的启示.docx

浅析沃尔玛在中国本土化及对中国企业的启示.docx

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浅析沃尔玛在中国本土化及对中国企业的启示

Introduction

Wal-MartStores,Inc.wasfoundedbyAmericanretaillegendMr.SamWaltoninArkansasin1962.Overfortyyearslater,ithasbecometheworld’slargestprivateemployerandretailer,oneoftheFortune500andhasbeenamongthemostvaluablebrandsformanyyears.Thecompanyemploysover1.8millionassociatesworldwideandoperatesmorethan6,600unitsin16countries.Wal-Martservesmorethan176millioncustomersworldwideperweek.

Wal-MartisthelargestgroceryretailerintheUnitedStates,withanestimated20%oftheretailgroceryandconsumablebusiness.Besides,itisalsothelargesttoysellerintheUnitedStates,withanestimated22%oftheretailtoybusiness,havingsurpassedToys"R"Usinthelate-1990s.

Internationally,Wal-MartoperatesinMexicoasWalmex,intheUnitedKingdomasASDAandinJapanasTheSeiyuCo.,Ltd.In2006,Wal-Mart'sinternationaloperationsaccountedforapproximately20.1%oftotalsales.Wholly-ownedoperationsarelocatedinArgentina,Brazil,Canada,SouthKorea,PuertoRico,andtheUnitedKingdom.Wal-Mart'sinvestmentsoutsideNorthAmericahaveproducedmixedresults.RecentlyWal-MartmovedtosellitsretailoperationsinSouthKoreaandGermany.

Today,withover2.1millionassociatesworldwide,Wal-Martoperatesmorethan8,400unitsin15countriesunder55differentbanners,andservesmorethan200millioncustomersperweek.Wal-Marthad$405billioninannualsalesinfiscalyear2010（FYE10,Feb.1,2009toJan.31,2010）.Thecharitablegivingnumbersincludingcashandin-kindgiftswasmorethan$512millioninFYE10;a20%increaseoverthepreviousyear’sgiving.In2010,Wal-MartregainedtheseatatthetopoftheFortune500,andrankedfirstamongretailersinFortuneMagazine’s2010MostAdmiredCompaniessurvey.

ChinahasbecomeWal-Mart’ssecondlargestmarketintheworldfollowingAmericaandChinaisgraduallybecomingitsmostimportantoverseasmarket.ContinuingtomaintainitsleadershipinChina'sretailmarketwillbeWal-Mart’smainobjective.TheanalysisandstudyofWal-Mart’smarketingstrategieswillprovideastrongreferencetopeopleengaginginretailindustryandhaveaprofoundinfluenceontheprosperityanddevelopmentofourretailindustry.

Beforethispaper,manyscholarshaveresearchedWal-Mart’slocalizationprocessinChina.ItiswellknownthatWal-MartdoesnotachieveitsgoalinChina,andlogisticssystemandinformationsystemareusuallyconsideredasthemainreasonswhyWal-Martfailswatchdog’sconfidence.Inthispaper,theauthorwillconductananalysisofWal-Mart’sspecificmarketingstrategyandresearchits4P.

Inthispaper,theauthorwillanalyzethereasonsfromtwoaspects:

Firstly,DifferentobjectiveconditionsbetweenChinaandUS,mainlyonlogisticsystemandinformationsystem.Secondly,themistakesthatWal-Martmadeinmarketingstrategy,mainlyon4P-product,promotion,priceandplace.

1．Background

Chineseeconomyhasgrownrapidlysincereformandopeningup.Thankstothat,from1994-2007,China’sretailvolumeincreasedby16.3%everyyearonaverage.AccordingtotheruleofWTO,in2004,Chinaconcealedforeignretailinvestor’sregionalrestriction,shareholdingregulationandquantitylimitation.In2005,thenumberofforeignretailerswhichwereauthorizedtoinvestinChinasoaredby65%.Tillnow,morethan40oftheworld’s50largestretailershaveinvestedinChina.

Wal-MartenteredtheChinesemarketin1996.ThefirstSupercenterandSam'sClubwereopenedinShenzhen,GuangdongProvince.TillJune2006,therewere60unitsin30cities,includingBeijing,Changchun,Changsha,Chongqing,Dalian,Dongguan,Fuzhou,Guiyang,Harbin,Jinan,Jinjiang,Kunming,Nanchang,Nanjing,Nanning,Qingdao,Shantou,Shanghai,Shenyang,Shenzhen,Taiyuan,Tianjin,Weifang,Wuhan,Wuhu,Xiamen,Yueyang,Yuxi,YantaiandJinhua.

ButWal-Mart,theworld’slargestretailer,failsthepeoplewhoareconfidentinitsfutureinChina.WhenWal-MartfirstenteredChina’sinteriorarea,ithadhopedtoachieve$100billioninsales.However,notonlyisWal-Mart’s$100billionfigureadistantgoal,inChina’sretailingmarket,Wal-Mart’smarketsharehasretreated.

AccordingtodataofTradeDepartmentin2003,Wal-Martranked17thinChineseretailindustry.In2004,Wal-Marthasslidto20th.In2005,Wal-Martranked30th.In2006,Wal-Martopened78newstores,lessthanitsmainopponentCarrefour’s84newstores.Bothin2007and2008,it’snewly-openedstoreslessthanitplanned.

2．AnalysisofWal-Mart’sfrustration

ThereareseveralreasonsthatcausedWal-Mart’sfrustrationinChinalikelocalization,strategy,furiouscompetitionandthecommunicationwithgovernment.

2.1Objectiveconditions

2.1.1Logisticssystem

FlexibleandefficientlogisticssystemisanimportantreasonwhyWal-Martissosuccessfulallovertheworld.Wal-Marthassetupalargenumberofstoresaroundadistributioncenter.Whenthenumberreachestoacertainscale,thedistributionwillexertfunctionstoguaranteeitspriceadvantageinthemarkets.Withthehelpofefficientlogisticssystem,Wal-Martminimizesitsproductsstockandtransportationtime.Inaddition,theoperatingcostsarelowered.Itisonlytakestwodaysdistributeafterreceivestore’sorders.ButthispatternnotperformsinChina.

Thehighefficienthighwaynetworkisakeyfactortothissystem.ButChina’shighwayisnotwelldeveloped.Till2035,China’shighwaylengthwillreacheighthundredandninetythousandkilometerswhichisthesamelevelastheUnitedStatesin1950.AndinChina,thehighwaycompaniesaskforsomeirrationalfeesthatincreasethetransportingcosts.Besides,AmericadoesnothavetopayhighwaytollsWhileChinaimposehighwaytoll.Thatincreasethetransportationcost.

IntheUnitedStates,85%ofWal-Mart’scommoditiesaretransportedbyitsdistributioncenterinordertoreducethecosts.Till2007,Wal-MartopenedmorethanfourthousandstoresintheUnitedStates.Everydistributioncentersupportsonehundredandtwentystoresonaverage.Itsdistributioncostsarelessthan3%ofsalesvolume,whileitsopponentsare4.5%to5%.InChinesemarket,Wal-Martonlyhas2distributioncentersinShenzhenandTianjin.SoinChina,itisverydifficulttobuildalogisticssystemasinUS.

2.1.2Informationsystems

TheadvancedandefficientinformationsystemownedbyWal-Martisveryfamousinretailindustry.Withthehelpofcommercialsatellites,itisconvenientforWal-Marttorealizeglobalnetworkingofinformationsystem.Wal-Marthasmorethan4,000storesallovertheworld,andinanhourthesestorescantakestockeverycommodity’sinventoryandsales.Becauseofthecloseconnectionbetweeninternalandexternalinformationsystem,Wal-Martcanexchangesales,transportationandorderinformationwithsuppliersdaily,whichmakesthestoresalesandorderingcankeeppacewithproduction.Inaddition,since1980,Wal-Martbegantoforcesupplierstodockwithitsinformationsystem;thisisareasonwhyWal-MartsystemcanplayanimportantroleintheUnitedStates.Butatthepresentstage,China’sbusinessenvironmentweakenedWal-Mart’sinformationadvantage,mostdomesticsuppliers’informatizationlevelislow,andonlysimpledatacanbeexchanged.Atthesametime,becauseofthepolicyrestriction,thesatellitecommunicationsystemscannotbeputintouseinChina.Soitsglobalprocurementsystemandgloballogisticssystemcannotworkeffectively;thebackstagelogisticssystemcannotcloselycooperateasinforeigncountries;cross-regionalchainofdistributionisdifficulttoachieve.ThatwillgreatlyinfluencetheexecutionofWal-Mart’slowpricepolicyinChina.IntheUnitedStates,Wal-Mart’spolicyforsuppliersisnotonlydemandthatsupplier’sproducthaveagoodrankinthesameproducts,andclaims"noEDI（dataexchangeinterface）,don'tcometome".InChina,Wal-Martfacesanothersituation.Itisdifficulttorealizeitspolicyofpurchasingdirectlyfromfactorytoreducecosts.

2.2Strategies

2.2.1Localization

Wal-MarteverfanciedthatinChinaitcouldcopyitsconsistentmanagementmodeandculturephilosophythatisusedineverybrancharoundtheworld,butitdidnotsucceed.Theproblemhereisthatthesystemcanbereestablished,butculturecannotbesimplyduplicated.Enterprisecultureistheconstantlyaccumulationofacompany’sphilosophy,valueandmoralstandardduringdevelopmentprocess,itpermeateseveryemployeeideas.SoenterprisecultureisthecruxofWal-Martpresentmanagementproblems.NowthesituationhasshownthatinthelocalizationprocessWal-Martisacclimatized.WecansaythatifthelogisticsproblemisWal-Mart’sflaw,theninChina,corporatecultureistheWal-Martofinternalinjury.

2.2.2Product

Wal-Marthasavarietyofproducts，includingalotofrelativelyuniqueimportedgoods.Thatshouldbeitsadvantage.ButsomeforeignbrandproductsinChinacannotgetconsumers’recognition,andthepriceishigh,soitsmarketsaleisnotsatisfying.Secondly,thelocatingplacesofgoodshaveproblems.Instorearrangement,Wal-Marthighlightsleisure,butthisisnotapplicableinChina,theChineseliketopickgoodsfromapileofcommodities.SuchasinCarrefour,goodsarrangementiscompactandsalesatmosphereiswarm.TheopenspaceofWal-Martcannotformavisualimpactfeelingonconsumers.Theclassificationofgoodsshelvesandgoodsmarksisnotdistinct,thatisusuallyconfusingconsumers.

OnWal-Mart’sownbrandinChina,ithas1800brandsofproductsinsales（thesebrandnameshavenocontactwiththewordWal-Mart）.Self-ownedbrandshavearelativelylowpriceandabiggerprofitmarg