Q1: What historically has been the key source of competitive Advantage of Wall-M art in Discount Retailing?

Solution: Wall Mart Competitive Advantage At the time discount stores were located within large towns, WMs strategy was to put good-sized stores into little one-horse towns that everyone else was ignorin g. WM alternative was to build their own distribution centers so that they could b uy in volume at attractive prices and store the merchandise. WM earn the trust of their customers every day by providing a broad assortment of quality merchandise and services at everyday low prices (EDLP) so that their cu stomers trust that the prices will not change under frequent activity. WM introduced Remix system designed to reduce inventories, speed deliveries to sto res, and eliminate stock-outs. WM ordered supplies on a 5-day rather than 4-week basis which would lead to lower inventories in distribution centers and retail stores. Its direct import initiative involved, purchasing directly from overseas suppliers rather than through importers, and second, taking the control of import logisti cs. Individual store managers were given considerable decision-making authority in r elation to product range, product positioning within store, and pricing. Decisio ns over pricing and merchandising were made either at head office or at regional offices. In 2008 WM changed their logo and redesigned their stores, the new logo looked o rganic, trying to say that they are an eco-aware company. WM was a pioneer in applying information and communication technology. WM was am ong the first retailers to use computers for inventory control, to initiate EDI with its vendors, and to introduce bar code scanning for point-of-sale and inven tory control. WM was pioneering the use of data-mining for retail merchandising. WMs web of information system extends far beyond. WM has made diversification by establishing the warehouse club as the most excit ing retail format since discounting targeted the owner of small business and low risk groups of individual customers. Q2: How sustainable is Competitive Advantage of Wall-Mart in Discount Retailing? Solution: WM has shown sustainability in various aspects in its operations and competitive advantage. It is learnt that Wal-Mart strives on three generic strategies consi sting of Focus Strategy, the Differentiation Strategy and overall cost leadershi p. Managers strive hard to make their organizations unique, distinctive and iden tify key success factors that will drive the customers to buy their products. Th us, firm specific resources and capabilities are crucial in explaining the firm s performance. Sustainability at the top place is the most important job that makes its manager s strives hard to frame the policies and strategy to compete with its rivals in the market. Slack, Imitation, Substitution and Hold-up are some of the threats t o any organization in retail industry. However, Wal-Mart with its visionary goal of attaining zero waste status and reaching 100% renewable energy has planned t o launch number of sustainability initiatives. According to Fishman (2006) Americans spend $26 million every hour at Wal-Mart w hich makes it believable that Wal-Mart is financially very strong and is capable of combating any threat from its rivals in the market. Wal-Mart is ever expandi ng its boundaries by way of acquisition and mergers. Thus Wal-Mart with such a v ast network of stores and alliances and many other stores is well protected enou gh to sustain its top position in the retail industry. A company can outperform its rivals or competitors in the market only with super ior management and efficient control creating a difference from the others which eventually attracts customers. Porter defines operational effectiveness as perf ormance of similar activities as its rivals but better than them. In a study, it is stated the Wal-Mart is expert in manipulating perceptions. It is termed that

low price is not the strategy of Wal-Mart but the advertisement manipulates the consumer perceptions by making them think that its prices are lower than its co mpetitors price using price spin . Wal-Mart makes the consumer addicted coming t o its stores by convincing them the prices are lower than in the other stores by selling itself cheaper by advertising that we have lower prices than anyone else and placing a opening price point . The opening price point is the lowest price in the store which is kept at high visibility which makes consumer believes tha t the products in this store are really cheaper. From the decades, it is known a s Best Retailing Store due to its sustainability. Q3: Will Sams Club prove a great Success for Wall-Mart as Discount Stores? Solution: Sams Club Wal-Mart is having great network with almost over 7800 stores and Sam s Club loc ations in 16 markets worldwide. It employs more than 2 million associates and se rves more than 100 million customers every year. Even folks over 21 get carded at Sam s Club, the #2 US warehouse club chain (beh ind Costco). A division of Wal-Mart Stores since 1983, Sam s Club accounts for n early 12% of Wal-Mart s sales. It runs some 600 locations in 48 US states, plus another 160 or so stores in Brazil, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Sam s Club c harges its small business and individual members in the US annual fees that rang e from $35 to $100. The warehouse club stores average 133,000 square feet and of fer more than 4,000 discounted items, including bulk office supplies and food, e lectronic goods, jewelry, clothes, insurance and travel services, and Member s M ark store-brand products. Although in the beginning it gives losses to companys p rofit but now it is sustainable in generating profit in different locations. It has proven success to the company and will be in future.