Wal-Mart Stores: Development History

Business development and its main markers and determinants are very important for the contemporary business makers and practitioners. The successes and failures of the worlds largest businesses are used as the sources of knowledge for the future generations. Reviewing the paths and strategies of the most successful and unsuccessful companies the beginners learn about the techniques that work and the ones that are likely to lead a huge loss. Wal-Mart Stores is one of the worlds biggest corporations, and it operates on an international level. The history of its development stretches out through several decades and incorporates several ups and downs and valuable experiences and conclusions. This paper explores the history of Walmarts development, its stages adjustments and progress.

Past and Present Stages of Development of the Organization

Over the several decades Walmart has been through peaks of its success and through rather slow periods. For example, the organization has experienced a massive jump between 1995 and 2000, which was followed by a significant slowdown (Hartung, 2012). As a result, the value of stock of the corporation in 2012 was lower than ten years before that. Walmart started as a regional corporation. Today, it is a large chain of discount department stores which operates on the global level is among the leaders in the list of the worlds biggest corporations in terms of revenue. The companys rapid growth through the 1980s and 1990s soon resulted in a number of errors that made the price of the corporate stick drop by several points. Further policies of the companys CEO and his risky investments made the investors lose faith in Walmart (Frank, 2015).

How has the Company Developed?

Funded in Arkansas, gradually the corporation expanded to several more of the American states and became a regional giant (Experience Walmarts History, 2015). During the 1980s Walmart experienced rapid growth, hundreds of new stores were opened every year. The organizations expansion continued throughout the 1990s and by the 1995 it has conquered all of the American states and also expanded to the nearby countries such as Mexico and Canada. Walmart managed to outsell its largest competitors within just a decade.

One of the reasons why the investors became reluctant to cooperate with Walmart during the 1990s is its investment into the technologies which were not treated as a viable path to the better future at that time. Besides, bad press made a huge impact on reputation of the company. Walmart was attacked by film makers and newspapers that created a negative image for the corporation (Frank, 2015).

How has the companys stage of development been reflected in its vision and value statements over time?

Today, the business strategy of Walmart contains of four main points: dominating the retail market, international expansion, maintenance of positive brand image, and branching out to the new fields of retail (Hayden, Lee, McMahon & Pereira, 2002). This has been the strategy the company employed to improve its slowing down economy. Over the last decade Walmart has experienced a huge number of changes which never are easy for such large businesses. The company changes along with the needs of its customers (Heller 2014). If earlier the main purpose of the company was to provide lower prices to attract more customers, today Walmart tries to provide choice and convenience to make the clients want to shop.

Conclusion

Walmart has been through its best and worst years. Even though today the company is gaining back its popularity and strength, there are still a number of challenges for Walmart. The new stage of its development is interesting for the researchers who look forward for more innovative solutions and interesting turns.