It is hard to believe that Wal-Mart's brilliant achievements have grown from scratch to the top in just a few decades. 1940, founder of Wal-Mart, Sam? Sam walton received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Missouri; Walton served in the army intelligence force during World War II. 1950 Sam? Wharton opened a store name in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA? 5- 10 cents? Our fair-price store is just a little-known local small enterprise. 1962 Wal-Mart opened its first chain store, and 1970 established its first distribution center. Since then, it has embarked on the road of rapid development.
1983, the first Sam club was established. 1988, the first Wal-Mart shopping plaza opened. 199 1 year, Wal-Mart's annual sales exceeded $40 billion, making it one of the largest retail enterprises in the world. According to the classified ranking of American service industry 1994 published by Happiness magazine in May, the sales of Wal-Mart 1993 reached US$ 67.34 billion, an increase of more than11800 million over the previous year, surpassing Sears, which ranked first in 1992, and ranked first in American retail industry. From 65438 to 0995, Wal-Mart's sales continued to grow, setting a world record in retail industry, achieving annual sales of 93.6 billion US dollars, ranking fourth in Fortune magazine's list of 95 largest enterprises in the United States. In fact, Wal-Mart's annual sales are equivalent to the sum of all department stores in the United States, and it still maintains a strong development momentum.
By April of 200 1, 15, the company had 4,249 chain stores at home and abroad, which were divided into discount stores, shopping malls, Sam member stores and home stores, all of which were controlled by the company and operated directly. All over the United States, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, China, Indonesia and other places. It has developed so rapidly in just a few decades that it has to be said that it is a miracle of the retail industry. Let's see how Wal-Mart created this miracle.
Enterprise strategy 1. Customer oriented
Wal-Mart believes this? Customer first? Is the key to its success. 1985 was listed as the richest man by Forbes magazine. 1992 was the winner of the presidential medal of freedom and the founder of Wal-Mart's huge business, Sam? Walton put it this way: there is only one boss, and that is our customer. It is he who pays us every month, and only he has the right to fire everyone below the chairman. The reason is simple, as long as he changes his shopping habits and goes to another store to buy things. ? Wal-Mart's business premises are always marked with its business creed: Article 1: The customer is always right; Article 2: If in doubt, please refer to Article 1. ?
Wal-Mart's concept of serving customers not only stays on signs and slogans, but also goes deep into the operation of services. The corridors and lighting of Wal-Mart stores are designed to make customers more comfortable. The greeter in front of the store is more enthusiastic than other peers; Cashiers always work standing to show respect for customers; When any customer is 3 meters away from the salesperson, the salesperson must face the customer, smile, take the initiative to say hello and ask? Can I help you? Wal-Mart tries to make customers feel at every chain store. This is their shop? Will you get it? Attentive and sincere reception? To make sure of that. Do not discount to meet customer needs? . It is this customer-centered bit by bit that has won the goodwill and trust of Wal-Mart customers.
Enterprise strategy two, low price every day.
Wal-Mart has always paid special attention to price competition and has long pursued the business policy of small profits but quick turnover. Walton's famous saying is:? A commodity costs 80 cents. If the price tag is 1 yuan, but the sales volume is three times that of 1.2 yuan, I don't earn much on a commodity, but if I sell more, I will make a profit? . So Wal-Mart put forward a resounding slogan:? The goods sold are always at the lowest price? . Among similar products, the price of Wal-Mart is 5% lower than that of Kmart, one of its biggest competitors. However, maintaining long-term low prices is not an easy task. Wal-Mart's long-term price advantage also benefits from its effective cost control.
1, strive for a low purchase price. Wal-Mart avoids all intermediate links and buys goods directly from the factory. Its strong economic strength makes it have strong bargaining power. More importantly, Wal-Mart does not increase profits by wantonly damaging suppliers because of its large scale and strong strength, but attaches importance to establishing friendly and harmonious cooperative relations with suppliers and protecting their interests. Wal-Mart offers preferential treatment to suppliers far more than its peers. Kmart, the third largest retailer in the United States, pays for its goods in an average of 45 days, while Wal-Mart pays in an average of 29 days, which greatly stimulates the enthusiasm of suppliers to establish business with Wal-Mart, thus ensuring the optimal purchase price of Wal-Mart products.
2. Perfect logistics management system. Wal-Mart is known as the leader of the retail distribution revolution. Its unique distribution system greatly reduces the cost, accelerates the inventory turnover, and becomes? Low price every day? The strongest support. What is Wal-Mart's inventory replenishment method? Cross loading and unloading method? . This set? The supply system of direct transportation * * * includes three parts:
Efficient distribution center. Wal-Mart suppliers send goods to Wal-Mart's distribution center according to the orders of each branch, and the distribution center is responsible for the screening, packaging and sorting of goods. Wal-Mart's distribution center has highly modern mechanical facilities, and 85% of the goods sent here are processed by machinery, which greatly reduces the cost of manual processing of goods. At the same time, due to the huge number of purchased goods, automatic machinery and equipment can be fully utilized and the scale advantage can be fully demonstrated.
Rapid transportation system. Wal-Mart's motorized transport fleet is another incomparable advantage of its supply system. By 1996, Wal-Mart has 30 distribution centers and more than 2,000 delivery vehicles, which ensures that the time from the warehouse to any store does not exceed 48 hours. Compared with other stores in the same industry, Wal-Mart can ensure that the shelves in its branches are replenished twice a week on average. Fast delivery enables Wal-Mart stores to maintain normal sales even if they only maintain a small inventory, thus greatly saving storage space and expenses. Due to the effective operation of this rapid transportation system, 85% of Wal-Mart's goods are transported through its own distribution center, while Kmart only has 5%. As a result, Wal-Mart's sales cost is 2-3% lower than the average sales cost of the same industry, which has also become a solid cornerstone of Wal-Mart's annual low-price strategy.
Advanced satellite communication network. The satellite communication network system invested heavily makes Wal-Mart's supply system more perfect. The application of this system enables the distribution center, suppliers and each sales point of each branch to form an online operation, which can be completed in just a few hours. Fill in the order? Order summary of each branch? Send an order? The whole process greatly improves the efficiency and accuracy of the business.
3. Effective control of marketing cost. Wal-Mart has strict control over marketing expenses. Wal-Mart's advertising expenditure is only one-third that of Sears, the second largest chain store in the United States, and its sales per square foot is twice that of Kmart, the third largest chain store in the United States. Wal-Mart's marketing cost only accounts for 1.5% of its sales, and the loss rate of goods is only 1. 1%, while the average of these two indicators in general American retail stores is as high as 5% and 2% respectively. All these have further strengthened Wal-Mart's ability to implement the low-price strategy.
Company strategy three. One stop? New shopping concept
In Wal-Mart, consumers can experience? One stop? Shopping (one? Stop shopping) new concept. In terms of commodity structure, we strive to be rich in varieties and distinctive in characteristics to meet customers' various preferences. Its business projects are diverse, including food, toys, new clothes, cosmetics, household appliances, daily necessities, meat, fruits and vegetables.