Strategic Challenges
The challenges Wal-Mart faces today are actually not much different from what they have been for the past several years. These following quotes come from an article in April 2003: “Even though it is the nation’s largest apparel retailer with more than 12 percent of the market, Wal-Mart could be doing better in this category” “It would like to be a fashion retailer and take on Target with good quality at a low price-point,but it hasn’t convinced the American consumer it should be a destination for casual fashion” “Wal-Mart is … looking abroad for future sales growth” “Wal-Mart will need to struggle against the urge to centralize operations and eliminate decision making from the frontlines where managers have face-to-face contact with customers” and “The only area in which Wal-Mart has not been able to pummel its competition is against Costco.” One of the company’s challenges may be to stop proliferating nearly identical sets of challenges each year. Like the stock price,the challenges appear to be stuck in a holding pattern.