Strategies
As determined by the IE Matrix, Wal-Mart fits into the category of grow and build strategies. Thus, the aforementioned strategies would fit Wal-Mart very well. All three of the strategies that we decided on are grow and build types. The three strategies that Wal-Mart would benefit most from are: market penetration, market development, and product development.
1. Market Penetration
The market penetration strategy is when a company is seeking to increase the market share for present products or services in present markets through greater marketing efforts. This is also an appropriate strategy for Wal-Mart to implement because they can take advantage of the bankruptcy of K-Mart. Through the increase of Wal-Mart's marketing campaigns, they can attract and retain most of K-Mart's customers. Also, because K-Mart has been closing hundreds of stores, Wal-Mart has a distinct advantage of controlling markets where both Wal-Mart and K-Mart are located. Also, because of Wal-Mart's economies of scale against its rivals, they have the power to influence markets in their direction.
The company culture is also well suited for this type of strategy. The management of Wal-Mart has ingrained in the employees the core values needed to excel at increasing their market penetration. Again, their EDLP and Rollback campaigns can readily be diffused into markets where they do not have as much of a market share as they want. This will also have a positive impact on the company culture because of the increased opportunities available to current employees. As their market share increases, they would also probably begin to add to their product offerings in that area. This will, in turn, allow employees the ability to grow with the company and ...