Essay - Wal-mart Stores, Inc. and Target Corporation - Where Are They...

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Target Corporation - Where are they taking the retailing industry?

Wal-Mart *****, Inc. ***** Target Corporation have recently received a lot of positive media coverage on *****ir all-round, better than expected performance. To name just ********** example, in an article titled 'Discount Stores power retail sales', Michael Niemira, Vice President, Bank ***** Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. was quoted as say*****g " Discounters are still the dominant force." The same ***** reports "Overall, Target Corp. reported a 6.8 percent incre*****se in sales during March at stores open at least a year... which analysts consider the best measure of a retailer's financial health... Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, again outperformed the rest of the *****...reporting a 9.5% incre*****se in March same-store sales, a gain that topped Wall Street expectations" (TwinCities.com, April 2002).

***** above-mentioned article is just one, among many, favorable reports that ***** and Target have been enjoying especially in ***** last five *****s. Having avidly followed the fortunes of these two companies, I thought it would be interesting to:

***** the key factors behind such consistently good performance

Determine as to which of the two ***** ***** be a *****tter investment and Predict ***** possible future influence of both companies on the overall Retailing Industry.

***** success can be traced back to its beginnings in ***** 1960's, when it revolutionized discount retailing by taking its proposition ***** 'discount merch*****ise coupled with friendly service' to rural America. Wal-Mart's concept of 'The Discount City Store' that offered prices equal to or lower than the nearest big city ********** off in rural America s*****ce this w***** a geographic segment virtually ignored by o*****r discount *****s.

The rise of Wal-Mart, muses Claudia Goldin, an economic historian at Harvard, reminds her a lot of flour. And meatpacking. Until the early 20th century, she explains, even smallish towns housed a mill where housewives brought whe*****t to be ground and a slaughterhouse ***** farmers brought *****ir doomed s*****ck. But technological innovations, combined with the vision of people ***** names like Pillsbury, Armour, and Swift, changed the way people got their ***** ***** meat. Pillsbury made thousands of tiny flourmills obsolete; Wal-Mart did the same with mom-and-pop shops" (Fortune.com, April 15,*****.)

It is evident from ***** above ***** Wal-Mart founded its success on its ability to spot market opportunities, coupled with ***** philosophy ***** "We're all working together; that's the secret. And we'll ***** ***** cost of living for every*****, not just in America, but we'll give the world an opportunity to see what it's like ***** save *****d have a better lifestyle..."- Sam Walton (News, Wal-Mart website).

Post its ***** in rural *****, Wal-Mart began extending its business model to ***** big cities in the 1990's, bringing it into direct competition with established players such as Kmart, *****, J.C. Penney and Sears. Even in the face of big *****, Wal-Mart continued down ***** path to success growing in***** the No.1 retailer position in ***** United States in 1990 ***** the world's largest retailer and company