Wal-Mart in Japan

Assignment Chapter 6

Wal-Mart in Japan

Task Environment

---Suppliers

In suppliers aspect, because of the specific ties between suppliers and wholesalers in Japan, a product might go through several hand before reaching a retailer, supplier sell their product to only certain wholesalers, who sell to other wholesalers and so on. Thus, the price of products will higher than retailers directly buy from suppliers. Wal-Mart is trying to bypass the network of suppliers and wholesalers to get lower price than their competitors. However, because of lack of network of warehouse and trucks, Wal-Mart is working with wholesalers for the time being.

---Customers

Different from American consumers, Wal-Mart needs to figure out the nation of Japanese consumers. Japanese consumers will appreciate the emphasis on price and efficiency over service and quality. They often demand the freshest foods and orderly stores, with short checkout lines and an abundance of clerks to do everything from answer questions to keep fruit displays tidy. Company has to employ enough staff to keep shelves constantly stocked and checkout waits short. Another biggest challenge is that Japanese consumers think if it is too cheap, the quality is bad, such as the lower price sashimi, some customs think it must be stale, so they put it on a low price. Therefore, Wal-Mart should try to change those perceptions.

---Competitors

Competitors are the biggest challenge in Japanese market to Wal-Mart. Japanese rivals try to get a step ahead, they try to slashed prices, built single-store supercenters with acres of parking, launched “Made in Japan” campaigns and made headway in breaking the stranglehold of middlemen over the supply chain. In order to compete with this U.S. giant, Japanese rivals mimic Wal-Mart’s advantages. For example, Mr. Toyoshima’s company match Wal-Mart’s low price and still meet Japanese standards. His company follows the same strategy of Wal-Mart, such as...