Bryan Roberts - Walmart: Key Insights and Practical Lessons From the Worlds Largest Retailer

This ebook published in 2011 by

Kogan Page Limited

120 Pentonville Road

London N1 9JN

UK

www.koganpage.com

Bryan Roberts and Natalie Berg, 2012

E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6274 1

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

N atalie and Bryan wish to thank Joanna Perry for getting the ball rolling and for her invaluable guidance in all matters technological. They also wish to express their gratitude to all past and present Walmart associates who contributed their insights and opinions, both on and off the record. Thanks also to the whole team at Kogan Page for their support.

Bryan wishes to thank Suzy for her support and editorial input and also Luca and Fynn for putting up with countless research trips to Asda.

Natalie wishes to thank Steve for coping with endless dinner chats about EDLP and range rationalization during their first year of marriage, and her Mom who has always been so supportive.

Is Walmart the best-positioned retailer on the globe?

T here are some very visible success stories in the globalized economy. Billions of consumers around the world are familiar with names such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Heinz, Apple and Nike. Manufacturers, financial services providers and retailers have built up vast multinational empires, seeking to profit from consumers in wealthy developed markets and exploiting the rapid growth potential of less affluent markets. In this book, published in Walmarts 50th year, we will portray one of the biggest and most successful proponents of global growth.

There is a Fortune article from January 1989 that hangs in the Visitors Center in Bentonville, Arkansas, titled Walmart: Will It Take Over the World? Some quotes from that article (written by John Huey) include In just a couple of years, Walmart Stores will be the largest retailer in the US and Yo u may never have shopped in a Walmart because the company is really just getting started so sooner or later, theres bound to be a Walmart in your future. Looking back, the understated prescience of the article is spot on.

The truth of the matter is that, globally, Walmart is only just getting started. CEO Mike Duke told investors at the 2011 Shareholders meeting that the same culture that drove our growth during our first 50 years can drive our growth for the next 50 years, adding that Walmart is the best-positioned retailer on the globe.

No disrespect to the good people of Arkansas, but the state is an unlikely home for one of the largest and most technology-driven enterprises on earth. From these humble, and somewhat unlikely, roots has blossomed one of the most impactful organizations in the history of humanity. Not only has the company grown into the largest retail enterprise on earth, with a lead that is unlikely to be challenged by any retailer other than Amazon, but its influence on the broader global retail and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries has been virtually immeasurable. Walmarts impact has reshaped the world of distribution. The company has directly influenced the technolo gy that is now universally used to make sure that shoppers get the products they desire. Walmarts economic impact, in terms of bringing lower prices to shoppers, runs into billions and billions of dollars. The company accounts for a massive chunk of the annual revenues of many of the worlds largest consumer goods suppliers. Walmart has perhaps caused, or undoubtedly accele rated, the demise of many competing retailers. Simply put, it is one of the most important commercial organizations in the world.

There are many facts and figures that are testimony to the sheer scale of the business:

• W almarts annual sales in 2010 stood at $419 billion: if it were a country, it would be the worlds 25th largest in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), ahead of Norway.
• I t is the worlds largest commercial employer, and the second-largest employer in the world behind the Chinese military.
• P rocter & Gambles sales to Walmart amount to some $13 billion, bigger than the total sales of many leading retailers and FMCG suppliers around the world.
• W almart now sells more groceries than Kroger and Safeway combined it is salient to remember here that Walmart only started selling groceries in a meaningful fashion a little over 20 years ago.
• O ver the same period, over 30 sizeable supermarket chains in the United States have entered bankruptcy protection.
• F our of the top ten richest people in the United States are from the Walton family.
• A s a standalone retailer, Walmart International will be the worlds second-largest retailer by 2012, trailing only Walmart US. Its rapid growth has been juxtaposed with former number two Carrefours divestments and stagnant trading.

We are assessing the worlds largest retailer at an intriguing time. We cannot refute Mr Dukes claim that Walmart is currently the best-positioned retailer in the world. Owing to their scale, they are best positioned to absorb inflation, to drive efficiencies in the supply chain, to leverage power over their suppliers, to influence the millions of consumers who shop at a Walmart every week. They have achieved unprecedented levels of growth in their 50-year history.

But the question is just how much is left? Walmart got to where it is today because of ruthless efficiency. Very simply, focusing on driving costs ou t of the business has enabled them to offer consistently low prices on a wide assortment of branded goods. Price and assortment, price and assortment.

But is this enough for todays demanding, tech-savvy shoppers? Its no secre t that when Walmart veers away from its core business model of price and assortment, it fails. This is why we witnessed over two years worth of declining comparable store sales in its domestic business. We recognized we needed to improve in certain areas and we are working hard to do that. We must increase customer traffic, uphold our price leadership and make sure that we have the broadest assortment and the right products in every store, Bill Simon, President and CEO of Walmart, told the authors in an exclusive interview for this book.