Business in USA before Wal-Mart Opened - Assignment Example

Business in USA before Wal-Mart Opened The business world has and is still constantly changing due to influences ofseveral factors such as consumer preferences, technology advancements, and entry of new firms among others. Entry of new firms into an industry is bound to have some effects mainly due to increased levels of competition. As such, players in a particular industry have to create effective marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage. To clearly understand the effect of entry of new firms, a more specific approach such as establishment of Wal-Mart is necessary.

Wal-Mart started as a single outlet in Rogers, Ark in 1962 and has grown steadily over the years to become a leading retail outlet globally. Entry of such a strong firm into the retail industry has significantly changed the course of business in numerous ways. Wal-Mart’s philosophy from the start has always been to offer the lowest prices possible while maintaining high quality (Fishman, 2006). The strategy of low prices is highly effective especially in the retail industry because it offers solutions to everyday problems.

Retailers deal in simple goods that serve the basic needs of customers such as toiletries and groceries. As such, their customer base is limited to only a few people but rather touches on everyone. Normally, people go for the lowest prices hence Wal-Mart’s strategy was bound to gain a good reception. Before the entry of Wal-Mart prices were relatively high due to reduced competition and price uniformity. However, Wal-Mart’s strategy changed the retail industry since all other firms had to adjust their prices to keep up with the rising competition hence threatening existence of small businesses (Tuttle, 2012).

Additionally, intermittent sales that was a common practice in the retail industry was neglected. Moreover, Wal-Mart presented an opportunity for customers to choose from a wide range of products. Although the major stores had different items for customers to choose from earlier on, Wal-Mart took this a step further. This can be clearly seen in today’s world where people prefer to shop in supermarkets (Ellickson, 2015). This is important since it allows customers to compare substitute goods in relation to price and quality hence settling for the most satisfying.

Wal-Mart has a wide range of goods ranging from simple everyday necessities to seemingly luxurious items such as expensive watches. As such, the strategy of having a wide variety welcomes all people whether rich or middle class. The retail industry has hence changed business strategies such that most successful businesses provide a wide range of products. Furthermore, Wal-Mart’s culture of weekly meetings has provided players within and outside the industry a new business strategy especially in relation to management.

Although, the culture of the weekly Saturday meetings may not be still in play, Wal-Mart certainly brought in an effective business strategy. This culture instilled an entrepreneurial spirit and allowed people to view decentralized management as a possible strategy. Earlier on organizational management was mainly centralized mostly with only one annual employee meeting. Additionally, the culture united workers making Wal-Mart and other firms that adopted the technique solid due to employee loyalty and retention.

As such, Wal-Mart made an important contribution not only to the retail industry but also across all other industries. Conclusively, entry of new firms into an industry brings about new developments due to increased competition hence introduction of new strategies. As such, entry of Wal-Mart in the retail industry changed the course of business starting with reduced prices. Additionally, firms adopted the practice of providing customers with a wide variety of products to choose from. Moreover, Wal-Mart facilitated the culture of decentralized management by holding individual outlet meetings hence promoting unity.

Based on this influences it is evident that Wal-Mart has contributed to changes in ways of conducting business across all industries. Works Cited Ellickson, Paul. The Evolution of the Supermarket Industry: From A &P to Wal-Mart. 2015. Fishman, Charles. “The Wal-Mart Effect: How the Worlds Most Powerful Company Really Works and How Its Transforming the American Economy”. New York: Penguin Press, 2006. Print. Tuttle, Brad. “The Unexpected Effects of Walmart Coming to Town”. Time. 12 Jun. 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

http://business.time.com/2012/06/04/the-unexpected-effects-of-walmart-coming-to-town/.