Walmart Vs Target

INTRODUCTION

Since 1962 and the beginning of the discount retailer market Wal-Mart has been ahead of the retail game. By 1967 there were 24 Wal-Marts that had grossed 12.6 million dollars. In just 7 years Wal-mart had spread into 9 states. By 1979 Wal-Mart was the fastest store to reach a billion dollars in sales. In 2005 Wal-Mart has 3,800 domestic stores along with 3,800 stores internationally, and had made over 312 billion dollars. As you can see the Wal-Mart empire has grown monumentally. To move into this segment of the market would be tough.

The first Target store was also opened in 1962. It was started under the Dayton Hudson Corporation. As you can see the Target corporation has a decorated past as well. Target now has 1,300 stores in 47 states. The store count itself is still a lot less than Wal-mart. For every one Target store, there is three Wal-Marts. To put together a plan of action we must first research many facets of the Wal-Mart corporation such as: Marketing, Products, and Services provided. From these main areas we will be able to put together a plan for immediate implementation.

Products/Services/Marketing

The first area to be observed is the products that Wal-Mart sells compared to Target. Wal-Mart offers products in the areas of: Apparel, Baby, Books, Electronics, Garden and patio, Gifts and Flowers, Home, Jewelry, Pets, Sports, Toys, Video Games, Automotive, as well as groceries, and cleaning supplies.

Along with being the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart is also the world's largest grocer. A full grocery center has been added to many of the Wal-mart's nation wide. Wal-Mart's most current goal is to become a player in the organic food market. Adding organic foods to its current line up of products.

It is now known that over 70 percent of all merchandise in Wal-Mart was made in China. Inventory from China is now reaching 18 billion dollars, and has increased 20 percent over the past two years. Currently over 5,000 suppliers have steady alliances with Wal-Mart. Not only does this benefit U.S. customers by keeping prices down, but it keeps the Wal-Mart corp. very well received by the Chinese people. A large portion of the world's population is located in China being a respected company in this part of the world will greatly increase sales. Wal-Mart is, however, responsible for 10 percent of the countries trade deficit to China.

When it comes to Services, Wal-Mart also has the upper hand. In many stores they offer: a Bakery, Meats, Photo Centers as well a on site photographers, Automotive services, Hair Salons, Banks, Optical Offices, Pharmacy, Nail Salons as well as restaurants such as McDonald's, and Subway. Target has rivaled many of these services providing in store Starbucks, Taco Bell/Pizza huts, and the most recent