Verified Document

Marketing Retail Store Visit WAL-MART Term Paper

2. Products/Merchandise

The target store included various types of merchandise, such as electronics, music and video (DVDs and CDs), beauty products, clothing and shoes and automotive parts.

Additionally, the target stores also included a food department, mainly with non-perishable items. There are two main factors differentiating the target store from the Wal-Mart store previously analyzed, in terms of products. First of all, the Wal-Mart store did not have a food department, residing only on non-food items. On the other hand, the quality and especially the image of the products offered in the target store may be considered superior to that of Wal-Mart's. One of the relevant examples in this sense is the fact that the target store is relying consistently on brand strategy, signing important designers like Liz Lange, for example. With a solid discount component aimed at lower income categories, the store had the capacity to attract consumers from higher income segments as well.

3. Pricing

The store could be included in the low/medium price-medium/high quality segment. The reasons for this are closely associated with those previously discussed. As such, while offering discount products to its consumers, the store aims to be a little more and turn itself into a department store, with the ability to provide high quality merchandise when necessary. This can be especially noticed in terms of shoes and clothing, but also in terms of jewelry.

4. Promotion/Presentation

The accent laid on the store's image is noticeable in terms of product presentation and general store organization. The aisles are wider than at the Wal-Mart store, with a general better product presentation. The image of nearness to class that the store has been aiming to promote is relevantly pointed out by the fact that many refer to it with a French accent. Image is thus important to promote a positioning of the store elsewhere than strictly in the discount store segment.

5. Service

Basically, there is no differentiation in terms of service between...

The availability and capacity to provide useful information when asked, as well as proper training, was a fact for the Target employees as well.
Overall Evaluation and Conclusion

First of all, it is important to note that the two stores share part of the targeted segment of consumers, individuals with average income levels. On the other hand, Target stores have widened their perspective and included a certain diversification by operating with well-known designers and being involved in brand and image promotion. This may prove a significant advantage for Target stores in the future, as it can base its operations on a wider, more solid segment of consumers, capable of providing not only higher revenues, but better responses in cases of economic recessions.

Nevertheless, there have been signs that Wal-Mart has been adopting some of the methods used by Target. It is less likely that these will bring consistent changes to the actual operating capacities at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has been a company that has aimed nothing more than being a discount store for the last 40 years and it is difficult to change that now. Distinct and increased involvement with China and cheap Chinese labor come to show that Wal-Mart will stick to its winning policy in the short run.

We are thus dealing here with a challenge between low priced policies (Wal-Mart) and low priced with a twist (Target). While Wal-Mart has the advantage of having a consolidated set of consumers, Target will benefit in the future from its ability to build upon a larger base of consumers.

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Martand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target

2. The Wal-Mart website at http://www.walmart.com/

3. The Target website at http://www.targetcorp.com/targetcorp_group/investor-relations/investor-relations.jhtml?url=http%3A//www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml%3Fticker%3DTGT%26script%3D410%26item_id%3D751558

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Store_brand

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Retail Business Analysis: Wal-Mart Marketing Tactics Why
Words: 820 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Retail Business Analysis: Wal-Mart Marketing Tactics Why does a business need a marketing strategy? The basic answer is simple: to generate sales. However, the manner in which a business goes about developing its marketing strategy can differ significantly from one business to another. In order to understand what type of marketing strategy works best for a certain company, one must first understand the basics of each specific strategy along with viewing

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Nyse:wmt Has
Words: 5503 Length: 18 Document Type: Term Paper

Bargaining power of customers: Our main question here is whether Wal-Mart customers can walk away from buying a product at Wal-Mart and find it cheaper elsewhere. For the most part, the answer is no. Wal-Mart has built its reputation by providing products at a considerably lower price than its competitors (Is Wal-Mart good, 2005). Certainly, customers can try to find lower prices at other retailers; and the proliferation of the

Wal-Mart Nation the Dream of Sam Walton
Words: 2263 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Wal-Mart Nation The dream of Sam Walton was a simple one: "Give people high value, low prices and a warm welcome" (Walton, 2003). At an early age, he was working hard delivering what the customer needed and wanted at a reasonable price - newspapers and selling milk from the cow (Huey, 1998). The development of Wal-Mart, KMart, and Target has brought about a retail business that is highly competitive within the

Wal-Mart Background, Mission, Vision Today
Words: 2338 Length: 7 Document Type: Thesis

16; Wilbert, 2006, p. 2) Strategic process, planning and decision making As confirmed by Lee Scot's words regarding the aggressive strategy followed by each Wal-Mart store (Mohideen, 2009, p. 9), even if general stream planning and decision making is still largely centralized, being undertaken at the Wal-Mart Headquarters in Arkansas (for elements such as type of products to be sold, stores to be opened or closed, financial results and objectives, etc.),

Wal-Mart Corporation Mission and Vision Statement Analysis
Words: 4775 Length: 12 Document Type: Capstone Project

Wal-Mart Corporation Mission and Vision Statement Analysis Linking Wal-Mart's Mission and Vision to Their Strategic Goals ands Objectives Assessing the Link Between Wal-Mart's Financial Performance And Its Strategic Goals Wal-Mart Competitive and Marketing Analysis Wal-Mart Marketing Analysis Selecting An Appropriate Strategy (low cost, differentiation or niche) For Maximizing Organization's Return on Shareholders Potential Wal-Mart Merger & Acquisition Strategy Incentive and Reward Strategies for Wal-Mart Employees Evaluating How Current Strategies Define Ethicacy Levels at Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Ratio Analysis Income Statement Analysis,

Marketing Analysis for Mcdonald's Corporation History and
Words: 4955 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Marketing Analysis for McDonald's Corporation History and Scope of Business No one will argue that the golden arches is as much of an American icon as apple pie and baseball. The McDonalds sign is one of the most recognized logos in American and now it is quickly becoming one of the most recognized in the world. McDonald's got its beginning in the late 1940s when Dick and Mac McDonalds were searching for

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now