Case Study- The man who said no to Wal-Mart Study

- The man who said no to Wal-Mart - Case Study Example Almost no matter what you're selling, the gravitational force of Wal-Mart's 3,811 U.S. "doorways" is irresistible" (Fishman, 2006). So what would make Jim Wier the CEO of lawn-equipment maker Simplicity say no to Wal-Mart This research endeavors to unravel this mystery by critically evaluating the issues that arise from the case study and independent research. 1. From its inception Wal-Mart's center of attention has always been about Every Day Low Pricing, and that view remains to this day. Sam Walton in "Made in America." is quoted as saying that Wal-Mart is obsessed with having the lowest prices. On the other hand, according to Wier, snapper is obsessed with having differentiated, high-end, quality products" and not the price. These are two very different points of view. These differences in corporate objectives can also be glimpsed from sentiments by a Wal-Mart high-ranking executive that a trillion dollars in annual turnover for the group is not as unreal as it may sound while Wier's own sentiments don't seem to share this view. He says that snapper is not primarily as keen on volumes. Target Customers and Market Segmentation. Market segmentation is an issue that arises as we study the snapper/Wal-Mart case. It can be defined as the division of a market into subsets of prospects with similar characteristics that distinguish them as likely to purchase certain offerings. Walker, Mullins, Boyd & Larreche. (2006). There are different categories of need that an offering satisfies and customers fit in different categories depending on their needs. Wal-Mart for all its worth uses low price as its key marketing and competitive strategy and often targets lower and lower middle-class customers. These low prices have another advantage in that they eliminate the cost of regular sales promotions. Wal-mart has also adopted a unique inventory system that that has allowed economies of scale resulting in a reduction in the costs of sales. Wal-Mart takes advantage in its being able to purchase in bulk and selling the goods itself. The strategy has served Wal-Mart-well over the years as evidenced by its unprecedented growth . Wal-Mart offers a selection of goods based on their customer's requirements. They are low on high-end goods because of the belief that people need discounted prices on practical products as opposed to the expensive brand name goods. Wal-Mart relies on their convenience and low prices. Wal-Mart does not have specific sections for specific brands. Snapper on the other hand is convinced that customers are different and targets high-end users. Believing that their customer's primary motivation would be performance and the longevity not low price. The Wal-Mart's popularity is mainly due to the following Every Day Low Price strategy. This has proved to be an all time winner mainly