Research Paper on:
Wal-Mart / Case Study In Discount Retailing

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
laid-out store and transformed it into one where an unspeakably large volume of products is sold at prices that can not be rivaled anywhere. In effect, Wal-Mart has managed to  create outlet stores where people can hope to shop for and purchase virtually any product they need: From food to clothes to computers, televisions, bicycles, vacuum cleaners and more, Wal-Mart  stocks all of the top brands at the lowest prices possible. And indeed, even a cursory examination of this case reveals that Wal-Marts appearance is very much  a reflection of its core strategy. Consider first that Wal-Marts founder was reportedly "obsessed" with maintaining prices that were unquestionably lower than anyone elses. To accomplish such a task, Sam  Walton followed a low-cost theme that his buyers presumably still follow today: In selecting merchandise for resale, Walton would cut costs so dramatically on every business trip that hed walk  instead of ride in taxis or stay with several peer executives in a hotel room instead of booking several individual rooms. By paying such strong attention to cost, Wal-Mart has  always been able to reduce retail prices effectively. Market research for the company has not just been about determining what products consumers demand the most, it has also become based  upon the practice of determining what methodologies can be used to obtain those products at the lowest costs and share such fortune with their customers. Innovative  location strategy has also been key to beating the competition. Instead of just opening up stores in large, urban centers, Wal-Mart has consciously targeted small towns and opened up "super"  stores in a large number of them. The companys rationale has been that they can literally effect change from the inside-out; By opening a Wal-Mart store in a small town,