Assignment task: In the early 2010s, WalMart was almost absent from the African continent and sought an entry point that would enable it to expand rapidly. In May 2011, WalMart thought it had found the solution in acquiring the South African distributor Massmart, a minor local player with 1.2% of market share but with subsidiaries in most African countries, including the one with the highest population, Nigeria. The American multinational entered a difficult industry, strongly dominated by two local distributors, Shoprite (18.3% market share) and Pick 'n' Pay (14.4%). Neither of these had been overtaken by the foreign companies already present in South Africa, largest amongst them Dutch SPAR with 9.2% of the market and the Australian Woolworths with 3.6%. WalMart made its entry in this environment, intending to challenge the two local champions, owned by the richest and most influential families in South Africa (the Wiese family for Shoprite and the Ackerman family for Pick 'n' Pay). WalMart's entry in South Africa has, so far, not been in 2015 what the American multinational hoped for, with Massmart's market share dropping to 1% in 2015. Numerous industry analysts anticipated Wal-Mart's divestment of the company from the local company and the company declared recently that actually it wants to buy the full control over the company.
Q1. Present the history of the market entry and current situation of WalMart in South Africa (research on different sources from Kedge Library, annual reports, and other reliable sources)
Q2. Compare South African retail to American retail industry (common features and differences)
Q3. Compare Walmart's behaviour and history in South Africa and their experience in Brazil.
Q4. What were the reasons for South African stakeholders to have a resistance and a negative opinion and acceptance of WalMart in their market?
Q5. What is your opinion, will WalMart succeed in South Africa or leave? Why?
Q6. Apply the CEBC Model for Ethical Business Cultures and draft a list of recommendations to design a ethical business culture for South Africa for each part(5) of the framework.