Walmart - what is it? The name of the company is increasingly appearing on the lips of people and on the Web. For 10 years now, it has been America's most extensive supermarket chain. The leadership of this giant is constantly looking for new markets, and gradually the brand is being developed in various countries.
The secret to success is very simple: the company adheres to a knowingly winning low price policy. This made it possible to quickly get accustomed in any city and forced competitors to lower prices. Despite the tremendous decline in the cost of goods, profit indicators all the time go up.
History of Walmart
Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, the largest U.S. chain of stores, opened his first store right after serving in the army on September 1, 1942. He received funds from his father-in-law as a loan immediately after the wedding.
It was a small franchised establishment in a town with a population of 7,000, but it became so popular and profitable that the owner did not renew Sam's franchise. He decided that he was just lucky to find a good place, which means that further business can be conducted without him.
The young American gained invaluable experience and, together with his family, moved to an even smaller town and opened his own store, which was called "5 and 10 cents." Then there was the second, third, and after 5 years there were 24 of them, and the total profit of the family was $ 12,000,000.
The founder of the young company decided to conquer small cities, because there was too much and serious competition in megacities, but, fortunately for him, small and remote settlements were not important to seasoned “sharks”.
This strategy, combined with a low price policy, turned out to be so advantageous that by 1979 the number of stores with the name Wal-Mart reached 230, and its revenue was more than a billion. After 11 years, the company became one of the largest, and in 1992 its founder received a medal from the President of the United States.
To date, the brand’s cash flow exceeds $ 400 billion. For decades, the company has been guided by the principle of Save Money. Live Better, which translates as “Save Your Money. Live better. ”
Walking through the supermarkets of Sam Walton, you will notice that at least a third of the products presented are made by completely unfamiliar brands, but names that are known around the world can not be found.
The fact is that most of the price is brand awareness, which contradicts the policy of the company, because the cost of most goods tends to the price of the manufacturer.
What does Walmart mean? For most of their customers, this is a place where you can buy what you want at a price that no one else has. The family atmosphere attracts people of all ages and they no longer want to go to other stores.
Range
Now the Walmart store can offer an extremely huge assortment of products for any need. You can choose stylish clothes from well-known brands, as well as more budget options. New models of the season, trends of past years - almost everything that comes to mind is in the catalog.
Household appliances, computers, tablets and other gadgets. The products of companies such as Apple, Samsung, Asus, lie next to unknown brands. The company offers everything for home and garden, beauty and health, cars and their repair.
Regardless of age or gender, each person will find what they need and will be satisfied. The range is constantly growing and updated with new products and products from little-known companies.
Manufacturing countries
In the Walmart (Canada) catalog, as well as in others, you can find special “Made in USA” marks, which mean that the product was manufactured directly in America, and not in any other country, and collected in the United States. There are goods from various countries, but the largest partner and supplier, of course, is China.
Due to the fact that the main principle of the company is low prices, the products of the Celestial Empire are perfectly suited for fruitful cooperation. If there are any doubts about the quality of the goods offered, there is always the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the reviews that real customers leave.
Discounts and promotions
Walmart - what is it? Literally, this is a territory where, despite very low prices and already advantageous offers, the administration of supermarkets and online stores constantly offers amazing promotions and discounts that can be random in nature or be tied to any particular event.
For example, “Black Friday” is known worldwide - a sale of grandiose proportions. Especially on this day there are mind-blowing offers that make customers just go crazy and behave inappropriately.
Also very popular is the “product of the day” promotion. A very low cost is set for a product all day, so you can save a lot of money.
Payment
At Walmart Stores you can pay for your purchases in any convenient way. The only difficulties that may arise during the payment process are related to shipping to another country. But even in this case, managers are always ready to help and provide advice.
The company's management is constantly adding new methods of calculation and improving existing ones. Therefore, to purchase goods in such a supermarket is not only profitable, but also convenient.
Delivery
Another service that Walmart offers. What it is? A large staff allows you to sort, pack and send the order to the customer extremely quickly and without any delay. The only negative is that they only do this in the United States. Good news - if the purchase amount exceeds $ 50, then the delivery will not cost a penny.
If you need to arrange delivery outside the United States, then for these purposes there is an industry of forwarding companies that for a fee will bring almost anything and anywhere. But when working with such intermediaries, it is worthwhile first of all to read reviews about their activities, because a large number of scammers thrive on the network.
Checkout
Walmart online store - what is it? A convenient and fast platform that allows you to place an order as simply and quickly as possible. In this case, you do not need to go anywhere or even take any action. Just a couple of clicks - and the goods will be sent to the specified address.
All you need is to have your own account. For this, it is enough to go through a very simple registration. In the window you will be asked to subscribe to the newsletter of offers, promotions and other company news. After that, the system will prompt you to enter the delivery address and payment details. It is important that when filling out the delivery address and the payer address match, this will avoid some difficulties in the future.
These fields are filled once, then all purchases will be made in a couple of clicks, which can significantly save time. You don’t have to worry about the safety of the entered payment data, because the system is reliably protected from various kinds of threats.
Walmart in Russia
The company's management constantly makes statements about the importance of the Russian market and about the great future. In fact, several attempts were made to expand its network in the territory of the Russian Federation.
The first steps in this direction were taken in 2008. After the registration of the subsidiary and the opening of the Walmart office, Moscow became the first city in which a successful American brand appeared.
The very first attempt to create branded supermarkets based on the existing Karusel chain was unsuccessful. The leadership of the giant did not give up attempts and in the same year tried to acquire other hypermarkets. But this deal did not take place.
In 2010, the last attempt was made to introduce it into the Russian market by purchasing the Kopeika chain of stores, but then the large domestic retail X5 Retail Group, which was the first to purchase all the property, was on the way.
At this, the leadership of the American company decided to suspend expansion. If you believe the statements of representatives of Walmart, then the American giant will certainly try to “conquer” the Russian market again and just wait for the right time.