هل سمعت about the global Walmart retail chain؟ هى أكبر شركة بيع بالتجزئة حول العالم و التى بدأت فى “أركانسس” الأمريكية عام 1962 ،

and reported revenue of $482.1 billion for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2016.

كبداية نجد أن هذا النجاح الساحق تحقق بناءًا على “الأرباح المخفضة” و التى أدت إلى توافد المستهلكين على المتاجر و إزاحة عديد المنافسين فى

market by offering consumer goods at low prices. In addition, Walmart continually keeps pace with market needs by consistently offering what is in greatest demand. Simply put

إذا كتبت فى جوجل بالإنجليزية “is walmart ….” ستجد أغلب ترشيحات البحث اسئلة عن عمل وول مارت فى المناسبات المختلفة من عدمه.

It also offers customer service that goes above and beyond—from opening stores near warehouses to make same-day delivery easy, to giving customers the option to

get back the difference in price on an item they’ve purchased. Walmart has a mobile app that lets you take a photo after shopping to verify the price. It then checks whether there are

منتجات مشابهة فى المتاجر الأخرى – المنافسة لوول مارت – بسعر أقل فإذا تم ايجاد واحد منهم يعود اليك حينها الفرق فى السعر!)…..هل صادفت ذلك

in an Arab country?!

تأسست متاجر وول مارت على يد “سام والتون” الذى بدأ حياته العملية فى أحد متاجر البيع بالتجزئة كمتدرب، ثم قام عام 1945 باقتراض مبلغ 20

ألف دولار من والده بالتبنى استغله فى شراء حق الامتياز لأحد متاجر ولاية “أركانسس” – متجر “بن فرانكلين” -محولا خسائره إلى كونه المتجر

the first in the chain nationwide. He would visit competing stores to study their pricing strategies and displays, and source products directly from manufacturers… (His business acumen was developing rapidly.)

السلع من المصنعين مباشرة…(عقلية البيزنس لديه تتطور بشكل لافت)

إلى أن انتهى عقد ايجار متجره، انتقل مع زوجته لبلدة صغيرة أقام فيها أولى فروع وول مارت بعد رفض الشركة الأم لمتجر “بن فرانكلين” طلبه

to expand into rural areas and small towns. He saw them as a promising opportunity for discount stores—and he was absolutely right.

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Sales take off and Walmart goes global

 Walmart’s and its founder’s core ideas (low profit margins and continuous adaptation) generated enormous sales and drove the expansion of its stores across the United States.

By 1989, it had reached 1,402 stores and 272,000 employees. Then, in the 1990s, global expansion began, surpassing 10,000 stores in

2011, and this was due to the following:

.
1 . New and technological methods:

— كان والتون مقتنعًا بأهمية التكنولوجيا لنجاح متاجره فكان دائم التردد على مدرسة آى بى ام فى نيويورك لاكتشاف العقول التكنولوجية الواعدة

and bring them into his company, keeping Walmart at the top.

As a straightforward result of this forward-thinking approach, Walmart became the first retailer in the United States to adopt barcode technology and apply barcodes to the products it sold.

To scan items at checkout using a dedicated scanner connected to a computer that records all merchandise. An inventory program also tracked sales and remaining stock, which helped

manage inventory more effectively, reduce expenses, and reorder items as needed.

This approach made it possible to identify the best-selling products, driving rapid growth and improving competitiveness.

.

— كذلك تقديم تجارب تسوق مختلفة و متنوعة حيث تحولت من مجرد متاجر تقدم منتجات بأسعار منخفضة لتشمل:

A. Large shopping centers combining discount stores with a full-service supermarket.

ب –  نادى سامز: هى سلسلة من النوادى فى شكل متاجر لبيع المواد الغذائية، السلع المختلفة بالجملة للأعضاء فقط و يمكن للشركات الصغيرة

They also offered memberships.

ج – محلات البقالة الصغيرة: تبيع المواد الغذائية الأصغر حجمًا.

.

 2 .  Treating the customer like the boss:

This was one of Walton’s most famous sayings, but he truly put it into practice. This philosophy led him to introduce many customer-focused services and activities that aligned with

life in small American towns—from the greeter at the entrance of every store to the customer satisfaction sign he placed in

أولى متاجر وول مارت تحت شعار “رضاكم مضمون” و التى كان يجدها العملاء مُطبقة فعليًا و ليس مجرد شعار.

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 3 . Economic Impact and Community Role:

هنا ستجد أرقام مثل 18 مليون دولار تبرعات فى حالات الأزمات الكارثية، 2450 شاحنة مساعدات لضحايا إعصارى “كاترينا و ريتا” بالإضافة إلى

a drug prevention program and a commitment to spend $2 billion by the end of 2015 to end hunger in the United States. Its distinctive role in employment is also notable:

it currently employs 2.3 million people worldwide!

The economic impact is positive, driving a remarkable increase in domestic trade in the countries and cities where its stores operate. A 2001 study by the McKinsey Global Institute

found that Walmart was responsible for labor productivity growth from 1995 to 2000, having accelerated the pace of productivity in

the retail sector, but the impact on competitors is clearly negative—a phenomenon known as the Walmart effect.

In a 1997 research paper, Professor Kenneth Stone, an economics professor at Iowa State University, found that some small towns could lose nearly

half of their retail trade within 10 years of a Walmart opening there. A 2009 study by the Tuck School of

Business also found that Walmart’s entry into the market affects Market them severely, with sales at similar large stores falling by 40% and supermarket sales by

17%. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research also found negative effects on competing businesses located 5 to 10 miles from

Opening a new Walmart store

It is now one of the world’s top companies by sales and ranks among the 20 largest companies globally by market capitalization.

.

 4 . Using data to predict customer behavior:

حيث استمر الاهتمام بالتكنولوجيا بعد رحيل والتون فقامت عام 2011 بالاستحواذ على شركة البرمجيات “كوزميكس” لتتمكن من تحليل بيانات العملاء

in real time and use predictive analytics to grow the business by anticipating customer behavior. In 2012, it also created its own search engine, which led

to widespread privacy concerns over the vast amount of data it handles.

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5. The Marketing Mix:

From the beginning, Walton’s market strategy was to sell larger quantities of goods at low prices and low profit margins, supported by finding low-cost suppliers

and entering into contracts with them.

تجد ذلك فى الMission Statement الخاصة بوول مارت التى تتلخص فى سلوجان ” نحن نوفر الأموال للناس لذلك يستطيعوا العيش بشكل

أفضل” و المحققة لرؤيتهم المتطلعة ليكونوا أكبر شركة بيع بالتجزئة حول العالم.

يواجه وول مارت منافسة شديدة داخل أمريكا و خارجها حيث يأتى كارفور عالميًا هو الأبرز فى منافسته، أما فى أمريكا يأتى “تارجت” و كذلك متاجر

“كل شىء بدولار” الأمريكية و التى ادى ظهورها لانخفاض نسبة مبيعات وول مارت مقارنة بالسنوات الماضية. بينما تنافسها أمازون فى مجال

online sales, as its physical stores have not yet expanded enough to create fierce competition.

Walmart’s marketing mix consists of the following elements:

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  المُنتج:

Its primary business is retail. It attracts consumers by offering products that meet their needs and influence their purchasing decisions, along with good customer service. Employees are

at its various branches are trained to help customers find the products they are looking for. It satisfies its customers by stocking its stores with a wide

ضخمة من مختلف البضائع (مواد غذائية،الكترونيات،أثاث،منتجات الصحة و التجميل،منتجات الأطفال،الفروع الكبرى يتواجد بها كذلك صيدليات…الخ).

Walmart follows a policy of prioritizing local suppliers while maintaining good relationships with their international counterparts. And, as I mentioned, its founder’s tech-forward mindset

and the fact that this approach continued after his departure make it easy to see how Walmart could have an integrated product inventory system linked to suppliers to track

stock levels in real time.

.

 السعر:

وول مارت تتبع منهجية Everyday Low Price (EDLP) “سعر منخفض كل يوم” و تهدف لجذب أعداد ضخمة من الناس و تستد فى ذلك لتعاملها

with low-cost suppliers and consistently offers discounts during special occasions, such as Christmas and American football games.

Despite its high customer traffic and huge sales, Walmart maintains this approach because it strengthens its competitiveness and preserves its price leadership in

The retail industry.

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 المكان:

Walmart has thousands of stores around the world, conveniently located in major city centers and squares, making them easy for consumers to reach. It also

keeps its warehouses near its stores to make it easier to restock them and quickly deliver goods that require transportation to customers. It also has a fleet of

trucks for transporting goods from its main warehouses.

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Advertising and promotion:

It relies heavily on digital marketing, print advertising, and television advertising, and spent $2.1, $2.4, and $2.5 billion.

Advertising spend in 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively, was limited to these levels, which are in line with the revenue generated.

Other channels, such as newspaper ads, radio, and circulars, are used less often.

.

The choice of channel depends on the objective:

* Television ads reinforce Walmart’s image as offering quality products at low prices.

* Radio delivers specific information about the most popular products.

* Monthly circulars and newspaper ads draw attention to discount offers.

And, as it does at its headquarters in Bentonville, Walmart avoids advertising fanfare to keep costs down.