Walmart Painful Lesson

Case Study 2 – Wal-Mart’s Painful Lessons.

Q1. List and discuss in details the issues surrounding the failure of Walmart indoing business in countries such as Japan, India, Russia and chile.

Wal-mart like any other retailers has faced issues when they were trying to go international, In Wal-mart’s case they have faced issue when they were going into Japan, Russia, India and Chile.

With a population of 127 million and the highest per capita and the 2nd largest economy in the world, It is no wonder why many retailers want to enter Japan. In Japan, the biggest issue faced is the cultural misunderstanding. Instead of adapting business operations to the Japanese culture, the company essentially assumed the Japanese is ready to adapt to Wal-Mart’s concept. The Japanese would require a local store customization and feel foreign to the American idea of large retail store. The Japanese are the total opposites , they tend to have small specialities stores. Other than that , they also tend to buy more fresh produce comparing to pre-packaged goods which most Wal-mart stock most. Also, the Walmart’s concept of “Everyday Low Prices “does not appeal in the Japanese market in the same way as Japanese mentality that the higher the price, the better quality it is. Their purchase decision relies on the packaging and aesthetics of the product. Just like the two international competitors, are Carrefour from France and Tesco from the United Kingdom. Their determination and cautious expansion are well taught and helped them in the Japanese industries. Walmart would have to do more research into the cultural values and purchasing patterns to avoid the issues occurred.

As for India and Russia, it is known as the fastest growing retail market. However it has also faced certain issues undergoing when it has enter both the countries. In india, USD 350 billion retail sector is composed of small family run business such as mom and pop’s store. In India, it had been treated as a...