Challenges that Walmart and M&S Face Term Paper

Challenges that Walmart and M&S Face - Term Paper Example Walmart is a multinational corporation of the US that operates a large chain of discounted departmental stores. Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart opened its first store in 1962 with a discounting model of retailing. Walmart has expanded and has its presence globally (Walmart, 2011). Michael Mark and Thomas Spencer jointly opened the Marks and Spencer store in the UK, popularly known as M&S, in 1894. M&S operates several retail shops in the UK and is present in other nations as well (Marks & Spencer plc, 2011). Walmart has been able to grow internationally and operate in several countries. There were various challenges present from the diverse forces of the business environment. However, they have been successful in establishing its brand and its presence all over the world. Similarly, M&S grew big with a lot of challenges and created its brand image globally. Both companies operate globally and are also well-known to be the largest retail chains in the world (North Dakota State Univ ersity, 2003). The success of Walmart was its strategy of business operations. They based the operations on web-based application to support their motto of ‘everyday low pricing’ and enhance the satisfaction level of customers (North Dakota State University, 2003). The low pricing strategy and satisfaction level of customers were the major guiding principles of Walmart for their success. They are still following this concept with their existing products and new innovative ideas as well (North Dakota State University, 2003). The success of M&S was because of the innovative development of their knitwear in the UK market. It led to a significant change in the textile industry of the market. During the nineteenth century the market was dominated by the wholesalers, but in the twentieth century, the retail industry started to rule the market. M&S’s innovative idea of product development made the brand international (Riello, 2003). Both Walmart and M&S have been succes sful in their host country first and then as they grew, they became international by opening different stores at several locations of the world. M&S and Walmart are in a similar industry and operate in the international market. Their global presence has made them face global challenges in recent times. The pressures of the international market upon the two are similar in nature as the overall retail industry faces similar challenges. The chief challenge that both M&S and Walmart are facing is that of customer retention. Retention of the customers both in the domestic and the international market has been the biggest challenge. In recent times, the intense competition for retaining and acquiring customers has become the chief challenge and an important objective of the retailers.