CRS 481- Blog #2

The Wall Street Journal- New Chief at Wal-Mart Looks Abroad For Growth

On February 2nd, the wall street journal published an article on Wal-mart's new CEO and his future plans for Wal-Mart.

As the article stated, Mike Duke, the new Chief Executive of Wal-Mart stores Inc. plans on continuing to take the retail giant global and leave the focus OFF domestic expansion. Many analysts and colleagues are backing this decision because of Mr. Duke's previous success as Wal-mart's head in the international division. In this position Mr. Duke pulled Wal-Mart out of both Germany and South Korea because the two markets were unprofitable and yet he still surged the Wal-mart's expansion into India and Japan, two countries where laws limit foreign investment. And to continue Wal-mart's success in these arenas, Mr. Duke, took a bold move to hire native-born managers who already understood the local customs and languages of these two new markets.

Now with 3,400 international stores, Wal-mart's international sector makes up 1/4 of the company's revenue. Wal-mart is now planning on moving into Chile and other South American coutries, as well as expanding throughout Russia, starting with Moscow. And according to the article, "some experts say Wal-Mart has a chance to grow explosively around the globe as it brings its discount formula to countries where retailing is less sophisticated."


I found this article to be very interesting because it is a great example of how retailing is going global! and expansion into other countries is not going to slow down any time soon, for Wal-mart or any other retailer. It is important for students in our major to realize that retail, whether apparel or appliances, is growing rapidly outside of this country. We can no longer focus on the United States as a place to do business; we need to consider the endless possibilities of the world. This also means learning and knowing about different cultures, languages, and markets.

After reading this article and several others on global expansion, I understand why our classes at UNCG are trying to take the students beyond the US market and keep giving assignments on foriegn country markets. I think that having a class that connects with different countries is not only interesting, but very smart, in that it helps prepare students for the global future.


Source:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123351900555237017.html?mod=dist_smartbrief